Separation of the metallic and non-metallic fraction from printed circuit boards employing green technology

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 311; pp. 91 - 99
• Main Authors: Estrada-Ruiz, R.H., Flores-Campos, R., Gámez-Altamirano, H.A., Velarde-Sánchez, E.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 05-07-2016
• Subjects: Boards; Comminution; Electronic waste; Inverse; Inverse flotation; Particle size; Printed circuit board; Printed circuits; Recycling; Separation; PCBs; NMF; e-waste; MF; Printed circuit board; CAH; Recycling; Inverse flotation; Jg
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.02.061

[Display omitted]
•Small sizes of particles are required in order to separate the different fractions.•Inverse flotation process is an efficient green technology to separate fractions.•Superficial air velocity is the main variable in the inverse flotation process.•Inverse flotation is a green process because the pulṕs pH is 7.0 during the test.
The generation of electrical and electronic waste is increasing day by day; recycling is attractive because of the metallic fraction containing these. Nevertheless, conventional techniques are highly polluting. The comminution of the printed circuit boards followed by an inverse flotation process is a clean technique that allows one to separate the metallic fraction from the non-metallic fraction. It was found that particle size and superficial air velocity are the main variables in the separation of the different fractions. In this way an efficient separation is achieved by avoiding the environmental contamination coupled with the possible utilization of the different fractions obtained.