Evaluation of Pyrolysis as a Method of Waste Recovery from the Non-Metallic Fraction of Printed Circuit Board Waste

Abstract

Pyrolysis has been examined as an effective alternative waste disposal treatment, compared with land filling and incineration of solid waste. The pyrolysis technology allows minimal energy usage, material utilization and a cleaner resource recovery. This research addresses state of the art Pyrolysis of the Non-Metallic Fraction (NMF) of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), after the copper separation process is complete. The aim is reducing emissions and increasing the production quality at optimal conditions. The main objectives of this research are to demonstrate the feasibility of using pyrolys is to recover NMF material and results of the experiments were aimed to make a critical argument to the current waste disposal treatments by comparing the possibilities of using pyrolysis as waste disposal treatment. This research investigates technological developments, production yield, production quality and the environmental impacts, to create an argument against current waste disposal treatments, which are not an ideal solution for NMF of PCBs. Within this research, firstly the characteristics of NMF materials and the elemental composition of the materials are reviewed and investigated. Then, the influence of important operating parameters such as reaction temperature, heating rate and processing time in the reaction zone of the pyrolysis process are reviewed and scrutinized. Next, the pyrolysis production characteristics, yield quality and the main properties of the products are explored and summarized. In the final section, the emissions from the NMF pyrolysis process, such as CO, NOx, Sox and other possible formation gases are reviewed and summarized. It can be concluded that the innovative pyrolysis process is an effective waste recovery method, especially for NMF in terms of maximizing material utilization. Based on this research information, the prospect of applying this innovative pyrolysis technology to effectively dispose of the NMF material is evaluated and it is suggested that this is a more suitable and effective waste disposal treatment for NMF material.