Systematic conceptual design strategies for the recovery of metals from E-waste

Abstract

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As the consumption of electronics increases worldwide, significant strain is posed on both the availability of mineral resources and the accumulation of waste due to their disposal. Recovering valuable minerals from e-waste can potentially alleviate both. This paper discusses the systematic design of processes for the recycling of waste printed circuit boards (WPCB). After reviewing the relevant processing steps, the generation of processing superstructures is explained. Next, a formulation of the optimization problem is presented to identify the best processing pathway, and the use of process simulators to specify optimization-relevant parameters. These ideas are described in detail via a WPCB to metals case study.

Keywords

• process design
• process optimisation
• E-waste
• superstructure optimization
• mineral recovery
• process synthesis