Waste-Printed Circuit Board Recycling: Focusing on Preparing Polymer Composites and Geopolymers

The waste from end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment has become the fastest growing waste problem in the world. The difficult-to-treat waste-printed circuit boards (WPCBs), which are nearly 3-6 wt % of the total electronic waste, generate great environmental concern nowadays. For WPCB treatment and recycling, the mechanical-physical method has turned out to be more technologically and economically feasible. In this work, the mechanical-physical treatment and recycling technologies for WPCBs were investigated, and future research was directed as well. Removing electric and electronic components (EECs) from WPCBs is critical for their crushing and metal recovery; however, environmentally friendly and high-efficiency removal techniques need be developed. Concentrated metals rich in Cu, Al, Au, Pb, and Sn recovered from WPCBs need be further refined to add to their economic values. The low value-added nonmetallic fraction of waste-printed circuit boards (NMF-WPCBs) accounts for approximately 60 wt % of the WPCBs. From the perspective of environmental management, a zero-waste approach to recycling them should be developed to gain values. Preparing polymer composites and geopolymers offers many advantages and has potential applications in various fields, especially as construction and building materials. However, the mechanical and thermal properties of NMF-WPCBs composites should be further improved for preparing polymer composites. Surface modification or filler blending could be applied to improve the interfacial comparability between NMF-WPCBs and the polymer matrix. The NMF-WPCBs shows potential in preparing cement mortar and geological polymers, but the environmental safety resulting from metals needs to be taken into account. This study will provide a significant reference for the industrial recycling of NMF-WPCBs.