To an electronic waste recycler, old mobile phones are quite literally as precious as gold. More than 200,000 mobile phones or 3 tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) is required to produce a 1 kg gold ingot, says Mr. John Ashok, Deputy Managing Director of e-waste recycling firm TES-AMM, Malaysia. E-waste has lots of other useful stuff that can be extracted too. For example, almost 97 per cent of a cell phone can be recycled for plastic, ferrous metals, lithium and other things. Only the LCD screen is non-recyclable because of its heavy metals content.

The cell phones collected is shipped to the TES-AMM factory and stored in a large warehouse, where they are weighed, verified, recorded and then sorted manually according to type. Mobile phones are then separated into components such as batteries, handsets and wires, after which they are dismantled. There are two different processes for extracting gold. The first is for waste with apparent gold. The stripped down components are dumped into a bin and then lowered into a sequence of different chemicals that will dissolve the gold. The resultant solution is put through an electrolysis process, separating the gold into plates. The materials without apparent gold content are crushed mechanically into powder and put into a chemical solution that strips away all precious metals. At the end of the recycling process, the 99.9 per cent gold dust obtained is smelted under a temperature of 1,200C and processed into a gold ingot.
Source: thestar.com.my

In India, where recycling e-waste is managed almost entirely in the unorganized sector, a huge opportunity exists in organizing the activity. At Roorkee, Attero Recycling is using its own technology for recycling non-reusable plastic, besides the metallurgical processes. The company has built a state-of-the-art integrated recycling facility with a capacity to recycle 30,000 t/y of e-waste. The plant is equipped to extract 98 per cent of materials such as copper, lead, nickel, zinc, plastic, iron, silver and even gold to an extent. To collect e-waste from various sources, Attero has signed up with Vikram Logistics, a third party logistics provider. Further, Attero has tied up with LG for a mobile take-back campaign with drop boxes at 50 LG centres. It has also linked up with corporates such as KPMG, Perot Systems, Visa and Tata DIESL to collect e-waste and in turn plant trees for free within their campuses for each computer Attero picks up.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

In the United States, the ecoATM automatically buys back used cell phones and portable electronics, under a consumer-friendly eWaste compliance solution that converts used gear into store dollars. The firm has set up its first Automated eCycling Station for eWaste recycling take-back programmes and trade-in promotions. By automating the buy-back and payment process, the system offers financial incentives to consumers for all used mobile phone models and will soon support other consumer electronics, regardless of their condition. The ecoATM solution makes it easy for consumers to give their used phones a second life or to recycle them. Contact: Mr. Mark Bowles, CEO, ecoATM Inc., San Diego, California, United States of America. Tel: +1 (415) 6993 411; Website: www.eco ATM.com.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Researchers in Spain report a systematic approach to define the reuse process for printed circuit board (PCB) components. The main goal of the researchers from Fundacin Robotiker and University of Deusto is to present an automated method to support the best selective and non-destructive way to disassemble electronic components in PCBs.

An automated dismantling station has been prototyped, to assess the technical and economical feasibility of the process at industrial scale. Potentially hazardous components have been extracted and managed as per European directives. First, the most suitable PCBs and their components are identified. Simulation is used to decide on the best method to extract parts automatically, considering their geometry, location within the PCB, the soldering method used, etc. This is followed by the design and construction of the decided solution, composed of an automatic handling device, desoldering and extracting system and functional verification of recovered components.
Source: www.informaworld.com