Self-catalytic pyrolysis thermodynamics of waste printed circuit boards with co-existing metals

Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are generated increasingly recent years with the rapid replacement of electric and electronic products. Pyrolysis is considered to be a potential environmentally-friendly technology for recovering organic and metal resources from WPCBs. Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic analysis of WPCBs were carried out in this study. It showed that the co-existing metals (Cu, Fe, Ni) in WPCBs have positive self-catalytic influence during the pyrolysis process. To illustrate their catalytic effects, the apparent activation energy was calculated by differential model. Contributions of different reactions during catalytic pyrolysis process was studied and the mechanism function was obtained by Sestak-Berggen model. The results showed that Cu, Fe, Ni can promote the reaction progress and reduce the apparent activation energy. Among the three metals, Ni plays better catalytic role than Cu, then Fe. This work provides theoretical base for understanding the three metals' catalytic influence during the pyrolysis of non-metal powders in WPCBs. (C) Higher Education Press 2022

Automated summary

This study conducted thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic analysis, revealing the positive self-catalytic influence of co-existing metals in waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) during pyrolysis. It provides a theoretical basis for understanding the catalytic influence of these metals during the pyrolysis process.