Research of the thermal decomposition mechanism and pyrolysis pathways from macromonomer to small molecule of waste printed circuit board

Pyrolysis is an important pre-treatment technology for pyrometallurgy, which could reduce pollution and recover materials from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). However, present studies on mechanism of pyrolysis were insufficient, which results in the unclear of controlling reaction rate and inhibiting side reaction. To further develop pyrolysis technology, the in-depth research on the pyrolysis mechanism is necessary. In this study, we investigated the thermal decomposition process and pyrolysis pathways from macromonomers to products of WPCBs. The results showed that HBr was produced at the initial stage of pyrolysis. Then, the resin body depolymerized into macromonomers, followed by random rupture and free radical reactions to form pyrolysis products. Besides, possible mechanism for bisphenol A thermal decomposing was analyzed by bond energy. The results suggested that methyl groups in bisphenol A would be preferentially removed because of low bond energy. The six possible pathways may occur simultaneously when energy sufficient. Moreover, the mechanism function was determined by Skvara-Sestak method as: G(alpha) = [-ln (1-alpha)](2), which indicated pyrolysis reaction agreed with the model of random nucleation followed by random growth. This study provided the theoretical basis for pollution control, process optimization and reactor design of WPCBs pyrolysis.