e Waste

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Chapter 6
A Review of Technology of Metal Recovery from

Electronic Waste
Vidyadhar Ari
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
Abstract
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is an emerging problem with developed nations as with

developing nations. In the absence of proper collection and disposal systems, aware‐
ness, and proper regulations, the problem is rather more acute in developing nations.
These wastes are environmentally hazardous on one hand and valuable on the other.
They contain substantial amount of metal value, including precious metals. Personal
computers are the biggest contributors to e-waste, followed closely by televisions
and mobile phones. The growth in their consumption pattern indicates a manifold
increase in the volume of e-waste and calls for immediate attention to the manage‐
ment of e-waste in general and their recycling and reuse in particular.
Their recovery, recycle, and reuse have become mandatory. Research and develop‐
ment work on their recycling has led to several technological options. However, a
close investigation of the options reveals that there is no universally acceptable mod‐
el for management of e-waste and they are still evolving. The technology for recy‐
cling depends on the economic status of the region along with several other factors.
R&D efforts towards the management of e-waste and its recycling is seriously lack‐
ing in India.
There are three main constituents of e-waste, namely, glass, plastics, and metals. The
glass may be re-melted for production of glass or for recovery of lead. The thermo‐
setting plastics are difficult to recycle. The other types of plastics can be recycled for
use as fuels or production of chemicals. The metals may be separated from the plas‐
tics and processed for recovery of individual metals. It may be said that physical sep‐
aration techniques followed by metallurgical treatment is the best proposition for the
recovery of metals. Detailed technology development needs to be taken up for the
recycling of e-waste that may serve the interest of the region best.
Keywords: Electronic waste, collection and disposal, recycling practices, metal recovery
© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
122 E-Waste in Transition - From Pollution to Resource
. Introduction
Safe and sustainable disposal of End-of-Life EOL electronic waste has been considered to be
a major sphere of concern both by the government and public as well, due to its perilous impact
on human life and environment, arising from its hazardous and highly toxic constituents.
Disposal of such heterogeneous mix of organic materials, metals, etc., entails a scientific
approach and special treatment to prevent exposing the inhabitants to the consequential
damage implications arising from leakage and dissipation of the same for effectively mitigating
the emerging risk phenomena escalating with the passage of time [ ]. The threat perception
arising over the last decade from accelerated accumulation of e-waste on account of the
emerging consumption patterns across all sections of the society, influenced by the associated
advantages ranging from affordability to comfort in day-to-day utility with respect to com‐
puters, cell phones, and other personal electronic equipment has been found to be phenomenal.
It is now imperative for the society at large to evolve safe and scientific methodologies, both
as a deterrent to the impending damage potential to the environment and also for recovering
economically the embedded valuable and rare metals in contributing to immense value
addition to the waste, which otherwise leads to large scale environmental and ground water
pollution. Recycling, recovering, and reusing of obsolete electronics in new product cycles
have now been globally recognized as a formidable challenge, taking into account the inherent
value addition potential of metals such as gold, silver, copper, palladium, including rare
metals, etc., which has immensely contributed to the concept of recycling to be a very lucrative
business opportunity in both developed as well as developing countries. “lso, the sheer
volume of such waste generated on account of the present-day usage pattern poses a formi‐
dable problem in terms of storage handling and disposal space, which as a natural corollary,
happens to be a major trigger across the globe for processing these wastes aimed at effectively
extracting the metal values and remove the non-metallic constituents.
“ccording to the United Nations UN , the initiative to estimate e-waste production, the world
produced approximately million tons of e-waste in , on an average of lbs. per person
across the globe. In , the UN also stated that, the United Kingdom UK produced, . million
tons of e-waste. China generated . million tons of e-waste that was followed by the United
States US that accounted for million tons in [ ]. In Western Europe, million tons of
electric and electronic wastes were generated in . The amount of this waste is expected to
increase by at least % per annum [ ]. This study also indicated that in the US, over million
computers would be at EOL by the year . The same scenario applies to mobile phones and
other hand-held electronic items used in the present society. In , over million mobile
phones were discarded alone in the US and by in Japan, million mobile phones will be
disposed off. Every year, a European Union citizen leaves behind nearly kg of e-waste [ ].
The problem of e-waste is global, for example, in China about million consumer electronic
and electric equipment EEEs and million mobile phones reach EOL each year [ ] and in
India computer ownership per capita grew % during the period far exceeding
the world average of % [ ]. “bout tons per hour of e-waste is generated worldwide
[ ]. The printed circuit board PC” is a major constituent of these obsolete and discarded
electronic scraps. The typical composition of PC” is non-metals plastics, epoxy resins, glass
> %, copper ~ %, solder ~ %, iron, ferrite ~ %, nickel ~ %, silver . %, gold . %, palladium
. %, others bismuth, antimony, tantalum, etc. < . % [ ].
A Review of Technology of Metal Recovery from Electronic Waste 123
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
Veit et al. [ ] reported a combination of magnetic and electrostatic separation for removing
metallics from non-metallics. The authors reported that it is possible to obtain a fraction
concentrated in metals containing more than % of copper, % of tin, and % of lead. Zhang
and Forssberg [ ] have done extensive work on liberation and classification of electronic
scrap. In this work, liberation and its impact on the separation of computer scrap and PC”
scrap has been studied. In Taiwan, research is being carried out on the processing of scrap
computers with a view to recycling. It is reported that a recycling plant can recover useful
materials from the main machines and monitors of scrap computers to the extent of . wt
% and . wt%, respectively [ ]. This study also deals with the processing of cathode ray
tubes CRTs and PC”s separately. Zhang and Forssberg [ ] studied electrodynamic separa‐
tion and reported that copper products with the grade ranging from % to % and recovery
from % to % can be achieved by this technique.
“n excellent review by Williams [ ] presented the current scope of technology, recycling

process design, and controls. The author also indicated the direction of future research
emphasizing the needs of automated processes, controls, and optimum data acquisition. Kang
and Schoenung [ ] have also presented a review of technology options for recovery of
materials from e-waste. Various recycling technologies for glass, plastics, and metals that are
present in electronic scrap are discussed. The authors emphasized the need for a stable supply
of scrap, a cost-effective technology for recycling, and a stable demand of recycled materials
for the success of the electronic scrap recycling industry.
In spite of having several technological options, it appears that a quest for a cost-effective
technology for processing electronic scrap is still on. Yokoyama and Iji [ ] have invented a
dry separation method for recovering valuable metals from PC”s. Their method is based on
two-step grinding of the boards, followed by air current centrifugal classification for gravity
separation and electrostatic separation. Menad et al. [ ] suggested that plastics contained in
the electronic scrap may be used as combustible in some metallurgical processes. However,
the authors cautioned that during combustion, halogenated flame retardants present in them
would produce dibenzo-dioxins and dibenzo-furans, which are hazardous. Zhang et al. [ ]
have proposed an eddy-current method for recovering aluminum metals from PC” and
personal computer scrap. It is reported that materials on the High-force eddy-current separa‐
tor, an aluminum concentrate out of personal computer scrap can be obtained with a purity
of %, while maintaining a recovery in excess of %, with the feed rate being up to . kg/
min. Sinha-Khetriwal et al. [ ] compared the recycling of e-waste in Switzerland as one of the
few countries with long-term experience in managing e-waste in India, which handles huge
amounts of imported e-waste, but is continually experiencing problems. Market players are
taking measures to recycle e-waste in order to reduce the pollution and environmental hazards
caused by it. In June , Dell, a leading computer manufacturer, launched its first computer
that is made of plastics obtained from recycled electronics. The company has started selling
its first computer the OptiPlex , which is made up of old electronics using the closed
loop recycling process. Recently, Dell has also started using recycled plastics in its other
desktops and monitors. Millions of refrigerators, TV sets, and cell phones are replaced with
newer versions due to the users' growing inclination towards technologically advanced
gadgets [ ].
Developed countries such as the US, Europe, and Japan have adopted fully automated, high-
cost technology for e-waste recycling [ ]. E-waste is crushed, shredded in total, followed by
the separation of metals and non-metals by adopting unit operations/metallurgical principles.
The disposal and recycling of e-waste, particularly computer and related wastes, in India, has
become a serious problem since the methods of disposal are very rudimentary and pose grave
environmental and health hazards. The situation is aggravated as current e-waste management
and disposal methods suffer from a number of drawbacks such as inadequate legislations, lack
of funds, poor awareness, and reluctance on the part of the governments and the corporate
organizations to address the critical issues. In view of the dwindling reserve of good quality
metallic ore for production of metals, environmental pollution, and need for recycle, an
indigenous technology for processing this waste is certainly necessary today. In India, e-waste
management assumes greater significance not only due to the generation of its own e-waste
but also because of the dumping of e-waste from developed countries. Solid waste manage‐
ment, which is already a mammoth task in India, has become more complicated by the invasion
of e-waste. There is an urgent need for exploring different options of e-waste recycling in
developing countries.
The present review article provides an overview of India's current e-waste scenario, environ‐
mental and health hazards, current disposal, collection, and recycling. It also provides a
comprehensive view of the technologies available in the developed countries as well as the
developing countries for the recycling of e-waste. The review research methodology as
adopted by the researcher and proceeds encompasses reliability factor designed to deliver a
balanced view from both macro and micro perspective of process feasibility and economics as
well, based on authentic information about growth and forecasts.
. E-waste and its composition
. . Definition of e-waste
Electronic waste or e-waste, according to the WEEE directive of the European Commission, is
defined as waste material consisting of any broken or unwanted electronic appliance. Elec‐
tronic waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones, and other elec‐
tronic items that have been discarded by their original users. Despite its common classification
as a waste, disposed electronics is a category of considerable secondary resource due to its
significant suitability for direct reuse for example, many fully functional computers and
components are discarded during upgrades , refurbishing, and material recycling of its
constituent raw materials [ ].
. . The key benefits for recycling EOL e-waste

E-waste is the most rapidly growing segment of the municipal waste stream and the Global
E-waste Management Market is expected to reach $ . billion by , with compounded
annual growth rate C“GR of . % , with maximum share of e-waste manage‐
ment market attributable to information technology IT and telecommunications, followed
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
by household appliances and consumer electronic goods. E-waste contains many valuable,
recoverable materials such as aluminum, ferrous metals, copper, gold, and silver. In order to
conserve natural resources and the energy needed to produce new electronic equipment from
virgin resources, electronic equipment should be refurbished, reused, and recycled whenever
possible. E-waste also contains toxic and hazardous waste materials including mercury, lead,
cadmium, chromium, antimony, and many other chemicals. Recycling will prevent them from
posing an environmental hazard.
. . Health and environmental impact of e-waste
EOL of electrical and electronic equipments comprise numerous components, many of which
are inherently hazardous and highly toxic in nature, which if not arrested through scientifically
sustainable recycling and disposal, can lead to a disastrous impact on life, environment, and
climate as well. Certain examples of sources of e-waste and their related adverse health impacts
are listed in Table [ ]. However, if handled in a controlled environment and disposed-off
adopting safe and sustainable methodology, these e-wastes provide immense value addition
and new product cycle, driving great economic prospect, without posing risks to life, envi‐
ronment, and climate. However, haphazard recycling and disposal of e-waste by the unor‐
ganized sector without access to adequate technology and resources, guided by profit-only
motive can have damaging consequences to inhabitants and the environment, including but
not limited to the workforce engaged in this trade, groundwater pollution, etc., especially on
account of highly toxic release into the soil, air, and ground water [ ].
E-waste sources Constitutents Health effects
Solder in PC”s, glass panels, and gaskets in Lead Causes damage to the nervous system,
computer monitors circulatory system, and kidney. “lso affects
brain developments in children.
Chip resistors and semiconductors Cadmium Causes neural damage.
Relays and switches, PC”s Mercury Cause chronic damage to the brain and
respiratory and skin disorders.
Corrosion protection of untreated galvanized Hexavalent chromiun Causes bronchitis and DN“ damage.
steel plates, decorator, or hardener for steel
housing
Cabling and computer housing Plastics including PVC “ffects the reproductive system and immune
system and lead to hormonal disorder.
Plastic housing of electronic equipments and ”rominated flame Disrupts endocrine system functions.
circuit boards retardants
Front panel of CRTs ”arium, phosphor, and Causes muscle weakness and damage to heart,
heavy metals liver, and spleen.
Motherboard ”eryllium Carcinogenic in nature causing skin diseases
Table . E-waste sources and their health effects.

Landfilling, being one of the widely prevalent methods of e-waste disposal, is as such prone
to hazardous implications attributable to leachate that often contains heavy metals, and this
equally applies to the state-of-the-art landfills methodologies that are adopted or sealed for
the long-term. The older landfill sites and uncontrolled dumps factually pose a much greater
danger of releasing hazardous emissions, since mercury, cadmium, and lead comprise the most
toxic elements of the leachates Table . Mercury, for example, will leach when certain
electronic devices such as circuit breakers, etc., are subjected to disposal and recycling lead
has been found to leach from broken lead-containing glasses, such as the cone glass of CRTs
from televisions and monitors when brominated flame-retarded plastics or plastics containing
cadmium are landfilled, both P”DE polybrominated diphenyl ethers and cadmium may
leach out into the soil and groundwater. In addition, landfills are also prone to uncontrolled
fire, release source for toxic fumes [ ].
The toxicity is due in part to lead, mercury, cadmium, beryllium, ”rominated Flame Retard‐
ants ”FRs , PVC, and phosphorus compounds and a number of other substances. “ typical
computer monitor may contain more than % lead by weight, much of which is in the lead glass
of the CRT. Up to thirty-eight separate chemical elements are incorporated into e-waste items.
Though some of the materials are used in small quantities in each computer, the net volumes
being recycled are significant and have a huge impact on both environment and human health.
The unsustainability of discarding electronic items is another reason for the need to recycle
or perhaps more practically, reuse e-waste. Quantification of some of the toxic elements present
in an average computer, weighing approximately . kg [ ] shown in Table .
Element Quantity
Plastics . kg
Lead . kg
Mercury . g
“rsenic . g
Cadmium . g
Chromium . g
”arium . g
”eryllium . g
Table . Toxic elements present in an average computer.
Given the diverse range of materials found in WEEE, it is difficult to give a generalized material
composition for the entire waste stream. However, most studies examine five categories of
materials ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, glass, plastics, and others. Figure shows the
material fractions in e-waste [ ]. Metals are the major common materials found in e-waste
representing about %. Plastics are the second largest component by weight representing
about %. Figures shows the material composition of a personal computer [ , ],
followed by television sets [ ] and mobile phones [ ].
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
Figure . Material fractions in e-waste [ ].
Figure . Material composition of a typical computer.
Figure . Material composition of a typical TV.

Figure . Material composition of a typical mobile phone.
. E-waste scenario
. . Global scenario
“ccelerated generation of e-waste with passage of time happens to be the natural outcome of
incremental penetration of IT in diverse spheres of day-to-day activities, adding up to the
municipal solid waste stream. E-waste equals % of solid waste on average in developed
countries and ranges from . % to % in developing countries [ ], and the same is expected
to inch up considerably in the near future. Some of the developed countries such as the US,
UK, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand have already developed advanced processing
techniques for recycling of the e-waste and patented them, as well. The Union Miniere
Company in ”elgium [ ] and ”oliden Mineral in Sweden [ ] have, since quite some time,
been operating recycling plants to process e-waste, while in China [ ], Taiwan [ , ],
and South Korea [ ] proactive measures are being pursued to recycle metal from e-waste, but
in India, no concrete or notable steps have been initiated so far in the large scale or in structured
format. Das et al. [ ] developed a flowsheet using a combination of wet and dry processes to
produce a rich concentrate with significantly high recoveries of metals from ground PC”
powder.
Every year, to million tons of electrical and electronic equipment wastes are discarded
worldwide and “sian countries discard an estimated of million tons [ ]. The share of the
developing economies of China, India, etc., with respect to consumption of computers in
particular, is likely to surge ahead, surpassing million in case of China and million in
case of India, out of the estimated million new computer users' global total [ ]. E-waste
generated in developed countries such as the US, etc., is often exported for recycling in
developing countries where labor is relatively cheap, apart from the prospect of ending up as
landfill, and as a result, the pollution menace is accelerating at very fast pace, especially in
countries such as China, India, and Pakistan, posing severe health and environmental hazard.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
Rampant approach of open-air burning of plastic wastes, toxic solders, river dumping of acids,
and widespread dumping and landfill in general [ ]. “ report from the International
“ssociation of Electronics Recyclers states that around billion units are expected to be
scrapped in the remaining years for the decade to end in the US alone, which works out to an
average of about million units a year, that includes million televisions and billion
units of computer equipment. “ccording to ”asel “ction Network ”“N , about % of old
electronics are in the offing to be scrapped in near future, which at present have been kept in
abeyance by the consumers, with the expectation being nurtured by them that they still have
some usage value left and at the same time remaining uncertain about its disposal methodol‐
ogy to be adopted [ ]. Most of the e-waste produced by developed countries is dumped in
developing and under-developed countries.
. . Indian scenario
“s there exists no dedicated or systematic collection provision for e-waste in India, no clear
data is available on the quantity actually generated and disposed off each year and the extent
of resultant environmental risk. The M“IT-GTZ study [ ] reported that a total of ,
metric tons of e-waste computers, televisions, and mobile handsets only was generated in
. “n additional , tons were unscrupulously imported into the country, mostly
mislabeled as charitable donations or scrap, and not specified as electronic scrap, generating
a annual e-waste of about , metric tons. Of this, only , tons were recycled, which
was factually complemented by the demand for refurbishing and reuse of electronic products
in the country and poor recycling infrastructure set-up in the unrecognized sector with
profiteering motive. Generation of e-waste in India is estimated to far exceed , metric
tons as on , out of which Mumbai generates around , tons of e-waste, Delhi
tons, ”engaluru tons and Chennai tons each year. Maharastra State including
Mumbai city alone produces , tons of e-waste annually [ ]. The Electronic Industry
“ssociation ELCIN“ in India has predicted that e-waste will increase by times as on ,
since the average lifespan of a personal computer is reduced to around years. The per capita
waste production in developing countries such as India and China, is still relatively small,
estimated less than kg per capita per year. In India electronic goods such as computers,
washing machines, televisions, and refrigerators will drive the future growth of the electronics
hardware industry. The e-waste generated from these four items during was found
to be , , . tons and it was expected to exceed to about , , tons by [ ].
In India, the problem of e-waste generation and disposal is steadily attaining an alarming
dimension with passage of time. It has been reported that computers are dismantled
every day in New Delhi alone. In , about tons of plastics, the same equivalent of iron,
tons of lead, . tons of mercury, tons of nickel, and tons of copper were expected
to be generated as e-waste in ”engaluru alone [ ]. These figures are set to increase by ten-fold
by . In India, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, and “ndhra Pradesh head the list of e-waste
generating states. Cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and ”engaluru contribute signifi‐
cantly to the e-waste generation as well. “ study done by Toxics Link in [ ] estimated
that Mumbai alone produces , tons of WEEE annually. “nother study had done jointly
by Toxics Link and the Centre for Quality Management Systems, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
estimates around tons of WEEE generation in the city of Kolkata [ ]. The future projection
of e-waste in India as per the Department of Information Technology is shown in Figure .
Figure . State-wise e-waste generation in India.
The results of a field survey conducted in Chennai, a metropolitan city of India, to assess the
average usage and life of the personal computers PCs , televisions TVs , and mobile phones
demonstrated that the average household usage of the PC ranges from . to . depending
on the income class [ ]. “lthough the per-capita waste production in India is still relatively
small, the total absolute volume of wastes generated is gigantic, and it continues to grow at an
alarmingly fast rate. The growth rate of mobile phones % is very high compared to that of
PCs % and TVs % . The public awareness on e-wastes and the willingness of the public
to pay for e-waste management, as assessed during the study, based on an organized ques‐
tionnaire revealed that about % of the public are aware of environmental and health impacts
of EOL electronic items. The willingness of the public to pay for e-waste management ranges
from . % to . % of the product cost for PCs, . % to . % for TV and . % to % for the
mobile phones [ ].
. E-waste sources and growth pattern
. . E-waste sources
The main sources of e-waste in India comprises the government, public, and private indus‐
trial sector discards, which account for almost % of the total e-waste generation. The growth
in the government sector alone has been a staggering % as of [ ]. Important govern‐
ment departments such as Railways, Defense, and Healthcare have been estimated to generate
large volumes of e-waste. In India, most organizations upgrade their hardware infrastructure
at an interval of years, and at times much earlier influenced by the benefit in rate of
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
allowable depreciation. Electronics goods are high price items and hence are not dumped in
streets or garbage yards. These are stored in houses or warehouses for a long period of time
and subsequently either passed on to or sold to scrap dealers for monetizing, however, this
practice is set to change with time. The contribution of individual households is relatively small
at about % while the balance is contributed by the commercial or business segment. Though
individual households are not large contributors to computer waste generation, large-scale
consumption of consumer durables such as televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc., are
certainly attributable to this segment. The trend of extended usage is also changing with rapid
advancements in technology and further complemented by lower product costs, which is
leading to scaled-up generation of domestic e-waste.
“nother major source of e-waste is unscrupulous import, which is adding to the volume of
waste being generated within the country, however, accurate data on such imports are not
available, owing largely to the nature of the trade. Developing countries, including India, have
been the destination ports for various types of hazardous waste from the developed world and
e-waste is no exception. Industrialized nations are scrounging for space for landfills to dispose
of huge amounts of e-waste being generated by them and with strict environmental regimes
being put to practice, especially in European countries, thereby, adding to the cost of disposal
[ ]. “s per available data, the cost of recycling a single computer in the US is US$ while the
same could be recycled in India for only US$ , a gross saving of US$ if the computer is
exported to India [ ]. Most developed countries stand to benefit economically by dumping
e-wastes in developing countries.
The lack of stringent environmental regulations, weak enforcement mechanism, cheap raw
materials and labor, and ill-informed population in combination with the unorganized nature
of the trade contributes significantly to the growing imports of e-waste in India. Even though
the import of e-waste is banned in India, there are many reports of such waste landing in Indian
ports under different nomenclature, such as mixed metal scrap or as goods meant for charity
[ ]. However, estimates suggest that unscrupulous imports of e-waste are equal to or even
more than that being generated in the country.
. . Growth of e-waste
Electronic and electrical goods are largely classified under three major heads white goods ,
comprise household appliances such as air conditioners, dishwashers, refrigerators, and
washing machines brown goods such as televisions, camcorders, cameras and gray goods
such as computers, printers, fax machines, scanners, etc. These gray goods are comparatively
more complex to recycle due to their multi-layered configuration and higher toxic composi‐
tion. The last decade has also witnessed major growth in the gray goods market and India is
expected to achieve a PC penetration rate of per one thousand by the year [ ].
The PC sales figure in India has been very impressive, showing a huge growth from a mere
, , in to , , in and is conservatively projected to touch
, , by . The expected annual average growth rate in the PC is likely to be %,
while consumption of PC in the top four cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai grew by
% as on [ ]. For the laptop segment, the growth is more impressive the sales figure
has jumped from , in to , , in having registered an astonishing

growth rate of % in [ , ]. The overall PC sales in considerably
slowed down and the sales figure are well below the expectations. The overall sales figures
touched . million in , registering a growth of % over the last fiscal. Desktop
PCs continued to dominate the sales proceedings contributing around % of the sales
although it is somewhat lesser than last year's contribution of %. Notebook sales posted a
muted growth rate of % in compared to the % rate in the previous year. Tablet
PCs witnessed a massive growth rate of %. The sales for stood at . million units
as against . million units in [ ]. Sixty-five cities in India generate more than %
of the total e-waste generated in India. Ten states generate % of the total e-waste in India [ ].
Maharashtra ranks first followed by Tamil Nadu, “ndhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West
”engal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab in the list of e-waste gener‐
ating states in India Figure . “ccording to forecast, based on a logistic model and material
flow analysis [ ], the volume of obsolete PCs generated in developing regions will exceed
that of developed regions by . ”y , there would be two obsolete PCs in the
developing world for every obsolete PC in the developed world. Similar forecasts have been
arrived independently [ ]. The advent of LCD, plasma, and larger screens has changed the
way India views television and this has translated into phenomenal growth in sales, resulting
in a considerable surge in rate of disposal as well.
Figure . E-waste generation in India Past and forecasts for the future.
There are over million mobile users and the number has increased to million as of
[ ]. “n estimated , computers become obsolete every year from the IT industry in
”engaluru alone [ ]. India has about million computers and the base is expected to grow
to million computers by since the life cycle of a PC has come down to years from
to years a few years back, and the segment is suffering from an extremely high obsolescence
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
rate of % per year [ ]. The rapid growth in industrialization is immensely contributing to

the generation of huge quantities of waste. Some of the recent studies on e-waste generation
clearly reflect that this trend is likely to grow at a phenomenal rate, while penetrating to smaller
towns and cities.
“nother important contributing factor to incremental waste generation is the high obsoles‐
cence rate of these products and the inability of technology to support upgradation from the
perspective of economic viability. This consumption pattern and programmed obsolescence
is a part of business management strategy in planning in-built product design with limited life
that promotes a high-waste economy targeted at people with higher disposable income. Every
two years, a new computer model is introduced in the market, rendering the previous one
obsolete. The Indian mindset has so far been able to prolong the usage of such products by
devising innovative solutions however, this approach is undergoing gradual change after
being bitten by the new bug of consumerism.
. E-waste disposal methods and recycling practices
. . E-waste disposal methods

Computer scrap in India is handled through various approaches in management alternatives
such as product reuse, conventional disposal in landfills, incineration, and recycling. The
recycling of computer waste requires efficient and advanced processing technology, which
apart from being capital intensive, entails high-end operational skills and training of the
processing personnel. However, the disposal and recycling of EOL computers in the country
has become a menacing problem compounded on account of rudimentary methodology for
disposal and recycling by entrepreneurs in the unorganized sector drawn more with profit‐
eering motive, despite not having adequate access to sustainable technology, thereby posing
grave environmental and health hazards. “part from having to handle its own burden arising
from the accelerated accumulation of EOL-EEEs, India now faces the herculean task in
managing the waste being especially dumped by developed countries, leading to rapid
escalation of the risk phenomena associated to solid waste management, particularly computer
waste. Taking advantage of the relative slackness on environmental standards and working
conditions in developing countries, vis-à-vis stringent environmental norms followed in the
developed countries, e-waste is being sent or dumped for processing in India and China in
most cases, illegally. The random open-air disposal of e-waste, including incineration, is
factually contributing to the rapid escalation in pollution menace, affecting both life and
environment. Currently, the likely modes of disposing e-waste discussed in the following
sections.
. . . Product reuse
Refurbishing used computers and other electronic goods for reuse after minor modifications,
apart from the prevalent trend of passing on the same to relatives and friends, is a common
societal practice. “part from this, being lured by the retailers to monetise the old gadgets by
exchanging against new gadgets, in the form of additional discounts, are factually marketing
gimmicks for accelerating sales volume. The actual benefits to the customer in the new for old
exchange exercise, more often than not, are notional in reality, when viewed in perspective
from commercial angle. There are instances when educational institutes or charitable institu‐
tions receive old computers for reuse. Such deemed unhealthy practice adopted for product
reuse, despite their limited life span, which sooner or later ends up as waste, contributes
significantly to the burgeoning burden of computer waste.
. . . Conventional disposal in landfills
The product is dumped in landfill sites, where it may remain indefinitely. “ccording to the
Environmental Protection “gency EP“ , more than . million tons of e-waste ended up in
US landfills in [ ]. The extremely low biodegradable characteristics of plastic compo‐
nents in computers gets further compounded in dry conditions, which complements landfills
and in strictly regulated landfill sites, degradation is even slower. The highly toxic constituents
found in the different components of a computer contributes to metal leaching, leading to
large-scale soil and groundwater pollution, and the situation worsens with passage of time for
sites subjected to dumping for prolonged periods of time. When disposed off in landfills, the
multi-layered configuration of computer waste becomes a conglomeration of plastic and steel
casings, circuit boards, glass tubes, wires, and other assorted parts and materials. “bout %
of heavy metals including mercury and cadmium found in landfills come from electronic
discards [ ]. In CRTs were banned from municipal landfills in California and Massa‐
chusetts because of their recognized hazardous nature, while no such regulatory measures are
enforced in developing countries such as India, China, etc.
. . . Incineration or open-air burning
“fter manual separation of components, motherboards are introduced to open pit burning for
extracting the thin layer of copper foils laminated in the circuit board, which after charring, is
distilled through a simple froth floating process. The ash is washed out and the copper, with
some carbon impurity, goes to the next recycling stage. The defective IC chips and condensers,
which do not have a resale value, are burned in small enclosures with chimneys for extracting
the embedded metallic parts [ ].
. . . Recycling
Recycling practices for discarded personal computers are highly local and rudimentary, albeit,
the metal value recovered from computer waste lessens considerably the disposal burden and
consequent financial costs. Though a good fraction of computer waste is recycled in the
process, the unscientific methodology adopted for material salvaging has an extremely high
environment and health hazard impact attached to it as a natural corollary to the deployment
of rudimentary recycling and recovery process and its damaging implications both on life and
environment. “part from the challenges explained, such method of recycling has its inherent
limitations with respect to recovery of both metals and non-metals e.g., copper, gold, silver,
aluminum, iron, tin, lead, and plastics are recovered to some extent while such processing
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technique does not aid value addition in a true sense, keeping in mind the fact that many vital
metallic components, such as germanium, barium, platinum, antimony, cobalt, nickel, etc.
remain unrecovered.
. Recycling practices of e-waste
Recycling of e-waste, especially EOL-EEEs, such as computers and mobile phones, provides
lucrative business opportunity for extraction of valuable metals such as gold, silver, copper,
lead, etc. Currently, e-waste recycling in India, especially processing, to a large extent, almost
%, remains confined to the unorganized sector, which due to its inaccessibility to scientifi‐
cally focused and sustainable processing technologies with added constraints of limitation in
processing capacity, contributes significantly to pollution and environmental degradation.
This trade has mostly grown on the fringes of metropolitan and larger cities surrounding the
industry hub, however, with incremental growth in processing of e-waste, a shift to the
periphery of smaller towns has also been observed of late. The phenomena of e-waste proc‐
essing comprising dismantling and recycling for extracting valuable metals from PC”s,
including CRT re-gunning, etc., adopting crude process methodology such as open-air burning
or incineration, use of acid bath, etc., is primarily focused upon profiteering motive with
minimal capital investment. This leads to escalating the grave damage implications for both
life and environment, apart from endangering both the lives of workers engaged in the
processing activities and the residents of the surrounding localities.
The recycling operations, as explained above, employs a large section of the underprivileged
population, especially migrant unskilled laborers, including women and children, depending
on this trade for their day-to-day livelihood. The role of the unorganized sector involved in
the processing of such highly complex waste, exposing the life and environment to toxic
pollution, has since long been a subject of debate in the scientific sphere and the society at
large. Effectively, the real cause of concern for the escalating scenario emerging from such ill-
focused trade undertaken by the unorganized sector, hinging on primitive process method‐
ology, as adopted by them, and not on the trade or the stakeholders per se. However, it also
needs to be appreciated that the unorganized trade activities undertaken in this connection
contributes to the retrieval of a large percentage of the waste material and circulating back the
same to a new product cycle, based on its innovative and economical techniques, albeit
rudimentary, as developed by them, thereby, circumventing tons of e-waste being sent to
landfills, while generating wealth from the huge waste. Open-air burning of plastics, PVC-
coated wires, and PC”s are known to produce carcinogens such as dioxin and furan emissions
[ ]. The recovery of lead from circuit boards also emits dioxin and other chlorine compounds
into the air. ”roken picture tubes, contaminated with lead and barium, land up in glass
manufacturing units. Thus, CRT glass, with a significant percentage of mercury and lead, re-
enters the consumer's domain as a new recycled product [ ], while most of the population
unfortunately continue to remain ignorant about the grave health and environmental risks
associated with rudimentary processing of e-waste. On the other hand, non-recyclable
components are either dumped as landfill or burned in the open, releasing toxins into the
environment.
Recycling of EOL PCs is a very complex process on account of its multi-layered configuration
comprising numerous materials and components aimed at recovering the valuable metals and
other ingredients factually entails deployment of advanced processing technology and skilled
technical personnel. This can effectively meet the pre-requisite safety norms for arresting the
damage consequences, as explained, which as such is not generally accessible by recyclers in
the unorganized sector, who are engaged in salvaging the wealth from waste, on account of
multiple constraints ranging from finances, scalability factor, etc., including but not limited to
ignorance as well. Technology limitations notwithstanding, each PC component is either
refurbished for reuse or disassembled and recycled in India. However, liquid crystal displays
LCDs are rapidly replacing cathode tubes, but the menacingly escalating implications,
especially with respect to TV and PC waste, essentially needs to be encountered in the decade
ahead therefore, safety and solution to the impending environmental disaster lies in recycling
of the same in industry scale by the organized sector [ , ]. Computer monitors and TVs are
disassembled to recover CRT, copper yoke plastic casing, and plates. The functional CRTs are
sold for re-gunning as re-charged tubes, which has a potential sale value among local manu‐
facturers. The defective CRTs are broken down to recover iron frames, which are sold to the
scrap merchants. The copper recovered from deflection yoke coils and transformers mounted
in the circuit boards are sold to copper smelters. The circuit tray contains a number of con‐
densers of different sizes, which are disassembled to sell at secondary markets based on their
functionality. Defective condensers are sold along with the motherboard for recovery of
precious metal. The casing of monitors and TVs, including the insulator of copper wire and
cable, comprises of either PVC polyvinyl chloride or a combination of both PVC and “”S
acrylonitrile-butadiene styrene , however, PVC is not recyclable due to the presence of high
silicate percentage. “”S is recycled into high impact plastic, mostly for consumption by toy
manufacturers. The recovery methods followed [ ] by the units in the unorganized sector in
India for various components are described in the Table . The recovery of the components
from e-waste depends on their market value, while the residue and leftover such as ashes and
plastic residues from charred IC chips, condensers, etc., are disposed off in landfills.
The recycling process broadly involves shredding, sorting, grading, compacting, bailing, or
processing clean plastics and scrap metal. “fter segregating at source, physical separation,
identification, and testing are carried out. Present recovery practices, however, broadly
comprises glass, plastic, copper, aluminum, iron, etc., and do not cover precious metals.
Recovery of precious elements, albeit being a very technologically challenging task, is vital
from the economic perspective and presently, electronic waste in the form of populated PC”
components is exported to various countries to accomplish the objective of recovering these
elements, on account of technology limitations in India. The recovery aspects of certain
valuable elements such as silver “g , gold “u , palladium Pd , tantalum Ta , ruthenium
Ru , indium In , gallium Ga , beryllium ”e , etc., which are present in traces, have not been
explored so far since the economy of scale and processing feasibility is factually determined
by the recoverability aspect, taking into account the quantitative presence of the same in
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Recovered Module /Component /

Items Methods employed
Materials
• Cathode ray tube

• Dismantling manually using screwdrivers
• Circuit board
and pliers
Computer monitor, TV • Copper, steel
• Nonworking CRT broken
• Glass
with hammer
• Plastic casing
• Metals steel, aluminum

• Non-metals parts
• “ctuator magnet
• Manual with help of screwdriver, hammer,
CPU/Hard disk of computer • Platter
and pliers
• Circuit board
• Disk, floppy drive
• SNPS Power supply
• “fter preheating plate, removed with the

• Capacitor & condenser
help of pliers
• Gold
• “cid treatment/bath
Populated PC” • Copper
• Heating, incineration
• Lead, IC, CPU
• Crushing of boards by custom-made
• Chipped board
crushers
• Motor
Computer printer • Plastics • Dismantling using screw drivers
• Cartridge
Cables and wires Copper, aluminum • Incineration or stripping
Computer hard disk, floppy

Copper and brass alloys, aluminum, iron, • Melted after manual separation
drive, and power supply
and magnet of each part
SNPS
Capacitor and condensers “luminum Incineration to extract metallic part
Table . Techniques and tools used for e-waste recovery.
traces , as explained. However, the recovery of the said elements may be feasible if large
quantities of concentrated e-waste are processed for recovery, deploying suitably advanced
technology by striking a balance between desirable recovery vs. yield.
The recycling/recovery of valuable substances by industries in the organized sector with access
to requisite technology and manpower is carried out in protected environment, adopting
adequate preventive methodology to minimize damage to life and environment. The merit of
a focused approach by the stakeholders factually complements the efficacious recovery of
metals, including rare and precious metals present in traces, aided by advanced process
technology, wherein the processing capacity or volume plays a pivotal role in contributing to
the viability aspect, keeping in mind the high cost of capital investments for infrastructure
built-up and affordability for accessing technology advancements in the sphere. Every
stakeholder across the board, especially the government policy makers, the scientific com‐
munity, the industry engaged in the trade, and the society at large, need to introspect at depth
and contribute proactively with their respective contribution. This is imperative for arresting
the crisis-ridden scenario with tangible solutions, apart from putting forth their best of efforts
for raising the consciousness level in the society.
. . Authorized e-waste recyclers/reprocessors registered with central pollution control

board
For a developing country such as India, long identified as a potential scavenger of the
developed world's discarded waste, we have now embarked on a path to discard this concept
and identity, at the earliest. This is abundantly clear from the swift and quiet banning of a
whole host of imports, including e-waste from overseas, and this per se serves the purpose of
putting in place a multi-pronged waste management ethos in the country by regulatory
enforcements for productive utilization of domestic e-waste, as generated. Majority of the e-
waste in India is channelised through the unorganized sector, and on the flip side, the
organized recyclers are battling grossly inadequate input materials for recycling. In order to
address the issue, the MoEF had introduced adequate safeguard clauses in the Hazardous
Wastes Management Handling & Transboundary Movement Rules, [ ]. The MoEF had
advised all the government departments/offices that e-wastes generated in various offices and
establishments need to be essentially disposed off in an environmentally safe and sound
manner, in accordance with the extant rules. The occupiers are now accountable for environ‐
mentally safe and sound handling of such hazardous wastes generated in their establishments.
The MoEF has notified E-waste Management and Handling Rules, on st May, to
provide collection, handling, storage, dismantling, and recycling facilities. CPC” has notified
guidelines for implementation of e-wastes rules and also a list of registered e-waste
recyclers/dismantlers, that are in possession of e-waste recycling capabilities [ ]. “s of
November , there were a total of registered e-waste recyclers/dismantlers with CPC”
in the country that have recycling/dismantling capacity of , . metric ton per annum
MT“ for environmentally sound management of e-waste [ ].
. . Existence of e-waste recycling plants in India
. . . E-Parisara Pvt. Ltd

E-Parisara, an eco-friendly e-waste recycling unit on the outskirts of ”engaluru, has the
capacity to recycle tons of e-waste every day and is expected to be scaled up to achieve a -
ton capacity in five years [ , ]. The plant, which is India's first scientific e-waste recycling
unit, will reduce pollution, landfill waste, and recover valuable metals, plastics, and glass from
waste in an eco-friendly manner. E-parisara works on manual dismantling and segregation,
and it separates the materials containing toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, mercury,
and so on. Plastic and glass wastes are sold to recyclers authorized by Karnataka State Pollution
Control ”oard KSPC” [ ]. The metal content can be safely recycled and reused for other
processes, while the dust and other wastes can be safely land filled [ ]. The process of recycling
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involves non-incineration technology, consisting of manual dismantling, segregation, shred‐

ding, crushing, pulverizing, and density separation, which includes crushing assured destruc‐
tion, precious metal recovery, and consumer-friendly methodology [ ]. E-parisara Pvt. Ltd.
has shared its data of industrial operation, which indicates that ton of computers can recover
kg of ferrous and kg of non-ferrous metals, kg of cable, and kg of PC”s [ ]. The volume
and cost of the metals recovered from ton of PC”s are indicated in Table .
Recovered metal Weight “pproximate cost in US$
Gold . g @ . per g
Precious metals Pt, Pd, In . g @ . per g
Copper . Kg @ . per . g
“luminum . Kg . @ . per . g
Lead and Tin Pb/Sn . Kg . @ . per . g
Silver g . @ . per g
N” Data recovered on average recovery of one ton of populated PC”s and value is taken from the prevailing rate at that
point of time. These are only to give a perception of value from the metal recovery from e-waste.
Table . Market value of the metal recovered from kg of PC”s.
E-Parisara has developed a low-cost circuit to extend the life of tube lights. The circuit helps
to extend the life of fluorescent tubes by more than + hours and can also function at low
voltage supply of less than V. It can also be used for fused CFLs compact fluorescent
lamps . No starter is required for these tubes, only regular choke is used [ ]. E-Parisara also
acquired an export license and for the first time sent a consignment of e-waste to Umicore
Precious Metals Refining in ”elgium. Umicore operates as one of the world's largest precious
metals recycling facility [ ]. E-parisara not only recycles wastes in an efficient manner but
also provides employment opportunities to the rural and unorganized population and creates
public awareness by setting up e-waste collection boxes in and around educational institutions
and public places [ ].
. . . Ash recyclers
“sh Recyclers is a ”engaluru-based environmentally compliant electronic waste recycling

organization, which received KSPC” authorisation at around the same time as E-parisara in
. Their e-waste recycling and disposal solution consists of creating a balanced mix of
reusing and recycling e-waste in order to arrest, to a very large extent, the damaging life and
environmental impact while maximizing value addition from the processing of e-waste, which
serves the purpose of converting waste to wealth. It is known to encourage second-hand sale
through retrieval of working components and refurbishing of old equipment through manual
segregation of reusable components and dismantling of e-wastes to recover useful raw
materials, in a reasonably controlled environment [ ]. They are now in the process of setting
up a new plant for e-waste management including hydro metallurgical operations in

Mulbagal, about kms from ”engaluru.
. . . K.G. Nandini Enterprises
K.G. Nandini Enterprises KGN has started operations in ”engaluru and is India's first fully
integrated electronic waste recycling plant [ ]. The plant is located in ”idadi and has a capacity
of ton per hour. KGN has taken the license for a capacity of MT/annum and does accept
all kind of e-waste PC”s, computers, electric cables, electric transformers, small house hold
appliances, etc. . In a first step, hazardous wastes or elements are removed manually at the
loading point of the plant comprising the shredder. The reduced material then passes through
a magnet where Fe parts are removed. Thereafter, the material enters the delamination mill,
which is the heart of the process. Very high impact forces affect the composite materials,
leading to reduction and delaminated as well. The material is pneumatically transported from
the mill to a cyclone, which, after discharge, is transferred to a screening machine. The classified
material is subsequently introduced into a battery of separators, wherein non-ferrous metals
are separated from plastics. “ll process steps are interconnected by an automated, visually-
monitored conveying system. “ central filter system, which is equipped with explosion and
fire safety measures, de-dust the entire process. The equipment reflects the state-of-the-art
technology that had been developed and provided by swissRTec “G from Switzerland.
. Existing e-waste recycling technologies
The recycling methodology broadly comprises of shredding, sorting, grading, compacting,

baling, or processing segregated plastics and metal components, followed by separation,
identification, and testing as relevant. However, on account of non-availability of suitable
recovery technology in the country for some valuable elements such as palladium Pd ,
tantalum Ta , indium In , gallium Ga , beryllium ”e , etc., present in traces, the processing
of populated PC” components are outsourced overseas at present, despite its significant
economic potential and value addition prospect. Evolving suitable scientific technology alone
can facilitate the recovery of the valuable elements from the waste PC”s, subject to the
availability of large amount of concentrated e-waste containing the said elements.
. . CRT recycling
The risk-prone consequence and intense cost implications associated with the disposal of
obsolete or malfunctioning CRTs containing highly toxic and hazardous materials such as lead,
cadmium, mercury, etc., poses a severe threat to the region. Two major constituents of CRT
comprises of glass components viz., funnel glass, panel glass, solder glass, neck and non-
glass components viz., plastics, steel, copper, electron gun, phosphor coating , wherein, the
CRT glass components consists of SiO , NaO, CaO, coloring, oxidizing and X-ray protection
components K O, MgO, ZnO, ”aO, PbO and the lead content Pb in CRT entails safe handling
for its disposal to avert the contaminating impact on air, soil, and ground-water. The glass-to-
glass and glass-to-lead recycling, being the two technology route available at present for CRT
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generated from obsolete computer monitors, television, etc. recycling, converting the old to
new CRT glass, happens to be the preferred option, as of date, wherein, isolating the CRT cover
needs to be removed prior to depressurization of the CRTs at the Materials Recycling Facility
MRF . Preceding dispatch to CRT recyclers for glass-to-glass or glass-to-lead recycling,
separation of metals and shredding of plastics is a processing essentiality.
It is an economical process as compared to smelting, which prevents hazardous waste landfills

as well has been successfully evolved for recycling of CRT by Envirocycle US“, wherein,
absterged and sorted glass is utilized as a feedstock in manufacturing new CRT glass by the
glass manufacturers, the eventual capacity constraints in processing, however, poses a major
disadvantage. In Germany, the unidentifiable glasses are used as productive recycling avenues
such as in mines filling, producing sandpaper for scrubbing, the striking surface on match‐
boxes, etc. Cent-percent conversion of all recyclable components in commercial exploitation
and value addition is adopted by PERDI a company in the US“ , wherein, CRT glass is
recycled % into CLE“N-”L“ST sandblasting aggregate for detoxification of lead paints.
Circuit boards are outsourced to vendors overseas for recovering valuable and non-ferrous
metals. Copper reclaimed from insulated wires, plastic sorted and processed into regrind for
utilizing in conjunction with virgin plastic for conversion to new products. Polystyrene
recycled into stuffing for new products, corrugated boxes baled and outsourced for producing
insulation stuff and cartons. The sheet metal and other ferrous metals are sent to steel mills for
smelting and re-used to enter the new production line.
. . Glass-to-glass recycling
Glass-to-glass recycling is considered a closed loop process where the collected glass serves
as the feed material for producing new CRTs. “fter the separation of metals, whole glass is
ground into cullet without isolating the panel and funnel glass and the said cullet is used for
manufacturing new CRTs however, the disadvantage associated to unknown lead composi‐
tion in mixed grinding cullet on account of varied CRT glass compositions depending on the
manufacturer and its origin, especially for paneled glass is a potential risk. The deployment
of a special sawing method or tool to separate the paneled glass from funnel glass prevents
the breakage of the paneled glass, thereby keeping it intact and identifiable in contrast to the
conventional method of simultaneous breaking of all glass components leading to a mix, is a
sustainable approach in reducing risk of contamination [ ].
. . Glass-to-lead recycling
In the glass-to-lead recycling process, metallic lead Pb and copper Cu are separated and
recovered from the CRT glass through a smelting process. Variably, CRTs generally contain
. kg of lead in the glass [ ], which is a potential deterrent against X-ray emission
exposure. The recovered CRT glasses processed in the lead smelter also acts as a fluxing agent
in the smelting process. This process is automated with high overall throughput and is also
cost effective as compared with the glass-to-glass recycling process, apart from protecting the
work force from hazardous lead dust contamination on account of the automated nature and
its inherent emission control system, the deteriorating value of quality glass, however, is a
disadvantage.
. . Metals recovery
The separation of metallic components through magnetic and eddy current separators are in
vogue, wherein, ferrous components are separated, aided either by a permanent magnet or
electromagnet, while metals such as aluminum and copper from non-metallic materials are
separated in eddy current separator. Table shows the materials that can be separated by eddy
current separator. The main separation criteria is σ/ρ [ ]. On the basis of information provided
by the Union Miniere Company [ ], Figure presents a copper-smelting flowsheet for
recycling of scrap IC boards that is ideally carried out in a primary copper smelting plant,
however, such facilities are not well-established in most parts of the world. Thus, removal of
the non-recyclable materials e.g., epoxy resin and fiber glass from the IC board to enhance
the value of recyclable material is preferable since post-separation provides higher metal
concentration in lesser volume, thereafter the enriched metal content can then be sold and
transported to an appropriate recycling facility for further processing [ ].
Metal σ ρ σ/ρ Metal σ ρ σ/ρ

Al . . . Cu . . .
Zn . . . Brass . . .
Ag . . . Pb . . .
ρ density kg/m , σ electrical conductivity of material /Ωm .
Table . σ/ρ values for some metals.
Figure . Union Miniere Company's copper-smelting flowsheet for recycling of scrap IC board [ ].
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Generally, this type of separation plant comprises of a series of physical treatment units
devoted to processes such as crushing, grinding, screening, magnetic separation, air classifi‐
cation, eddy-current separation, electrical-conductivity separation, etc., wherein varied metal
fragments of various size and content are obtained, depending on the separation technique
and units deployed. The varied metal fragments, except iron, usually contain multiple types
of metals, thus, identifying appropriate recycling markets for such mixed metal fragments is
imperative [ ]. There being no necessity of either water or chemical additive in the processing
method, there is no wastewater-associated pollution issue, however, special attention should
be provided with respect to dust and noise pollution. The low capital and operational cost in
a physical separation plant for IC board recycling, being much less compared with a copper-
smelting plant, is undoubtedly an added advantage of immense significance. On the basis of
information provided by Huei-Chia-Dien Company, Taiwan [ ], Figure presents a physical
separation flowsheet for the recycling of scrap IC boards.
Figure . Huei-Chia-Dien Company's physical separation flowsheet for recycling of scrap IC boards [ ].
Processing technology has been successfully developed for the recycle and reuse of e-waste at
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Metallurgical Laboratory CSIR-NML ,
Jamshedpur, India, in which metal bearing e-waste components were shredded and pulver‐
ized at the initial operation stage. Subsequently, the metals are separated from the plastics in
the particulate mass, adopting a series of physical separation processes. The process does not
require much specialized and sophisticated equipment for processing of waste PC”s, since the
said equipment and machinery required are readily available, however, its efficiency, espe‐
cially with respect to commercial viability needs to be further worked upon [ ].
The natural hydrophobicity of non-metallic constituents is effectively exploited by a flotation

process and a continuous operation at plant level can reasonably be expected to minimize the
loss of ultrafine metal values to a negligible level. The operation is simple and the overall
processing cost is low, taking into account the comparatively inexpensive physical separation
processes deployed. The techniques used are purely physical in nature and thus generate no
additional harmful effluents. The process enables the recovery of both metallic and non-
metallic constituents separately. Pilot plant scale demonstration was done to recover precious
metals from metric ton of e-waste with a recovery rate of %. The process flow chart
developed for precious metals is depicted in the Figure [ , ]. Very recently, metal
extraction processes from e-waste, particularly the existing industrial practices and routes,
have been reviewed [ ].
Figure . Process flow chart for the technology developed for precious metals at CSIR-NML, Jamshedpur [ ].
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. . Precious metals recovery
In the precious metals refinery setup, gold, silver, palladium and platinum are recovered. The
anode slime from the copper electrolysis process is subjected to pressure leaching, followed
by drying of the leach residue and the same after addition of fluxes is smelted in a precious
metals furnace, leading to the recovery of selenium. The remaining material, primarily silver,
is cast into a silver anode, subsequently when subjected to a high-intensity electrolytic refining
process, a high-purity silver cathode and anode gold slime are formed while leaching of anode
gold slime leads to precipitation of high-purity gold, as well as palladium and platinum sludge.
Figure shows the precious metals recovery process. Recovery of precious metals from
electronic scraps factually is the key to its commercial exploitation by the recycling industry,
for profiteering, in the backdrop of the fact that e-scrap contains more than times the
concentration of gold content in gold ores found in the US [ ], which is almost one-third the
precious metal recovered in e-waste processing. The extraction of the precious metal is carried
out by the well-established techniques that are discussed in detail in various articles [ ].
Various methodologies such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and bi-hydrometallurgy
technologies are analyzed for the recovery of gold and also the evaluation of recovery efficiency
of gold from e-waste has been reviewed [ ].
Figure . Precious metals recovery process [ ].
. . Recovery of metals by pyro- and hydrometallurgical processing
Pyrometallurgical processing techniques, including conflagrating, smelting in a plasma arc

furnace, drossing, sintering, melting, and varied reactions in a gas phase at high temperatures
for recovering non-ferrous metals, as well as precious metals from e-waste, happens to be the
conventional method deployed in the past two decades, wherein, the crushed scraps are
liquefied in a furnace or in a molten bath to remove plastics and in the process, the refractory
oxides form a slag phase together with some metal oxides.
From the process review undertaken by Cui and Zhang [ ] with respect to recovering metals
from e-waste, the emerging view indicates that both hydro- and pyrometallurgical processes
were evaluated in-depth and discussed at length. The process review suggests that hydrome‐
tallurgical processes have certain benefits and merit as well when compared with pyrometal‐
lurgical processes on account of it being less of a hypothesis or more exact, predictable while
also being advantageous from the view point of its ease in control [ ]. On the flip side, though
hydrometallurgical routes have been adopted successfully to recover PMs from e-waste, from
the efficacy perspective, these processes are attributable to certain limiting disadvantages
including but not limited to scale-up constraints, which poses to be deterrent to their applica‐
tion at the industrial scale. The review suggests that pyrometallurgical routes are compara‐
tively more economical, eco-efficient, apart from being advantageous from the perspective of
maximizing the recovery of PMs [ ].
Veldbuizen and Sippel [ ] reported the Noranda process at Quebec, Canada as illustrated in
Figure . The smelter recycles about , tons of used electronic waste per year, repre‐
senting % of total throughput while the balance percentage comprises mostly of mined
copper concentrates. Materials entering the reactor are immersed in a molten metal bath
°C , which is churned by a mixture of supercharged air up to % oxygen , effectively reducing
energy consumption in the process since the same is compensated by the energy produced
through combustion of plastics and other inflammable materials in feeding. In the process,
impurities including iron, lead, and zinc are converted to oxides, forming silica-based slag
aided by the agitated oxidation zone, followed by cooling and milling of the slag for further
recovery of metals prior to its disposal. The precious metals content of the copper matte is
removed before being transferred to the converters, which after upgrade yields liquid blister
copper, and this after further refinement in anode furnaces is cast into anodes with purity as
high as . %. The precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, along
with other recoverable metals, such as selenium, tellurium, and nickel constitute the balance
of . %, which is recovered through electro-refining process of the anodes.
Pyrometallurgical processing for the recovery of metals from e-waste is applied by ”oliden
Ltd. Rönnskar Smelter, Sweden [ ]. Purity-linked multiple step feeding of e-scraps, is
illustrated in Figure . The scraps with high copper content scrap is processed in the Kaldo
Furnace and around , tons of scraps including e-waste was reportedly being processed
in the Kaldo Furnace year-on-year, as per an “PME report during the year . E-waste
blended with lead concentrates is processed in a Kaldo rector with skip-hoist assisted feeding
[ ] and the required oxygen for combustion in oil-oxygen burner is provided through an
oxygen lance in the system, while off-gases are subjected to additional combustion air at
around °C post-combustion. “ standard gas handling system recovers thermal energy
assisted by a suitably configured steam network. The mixed copper alloy produced by the
Kaldo Furnace is processed in a copper converter for recovery of metals Cu, “g, “u, Pd, Ni,
Se, and Zn , while the dust content containing Pb, Sb, In, and Cd is subjected to other
processing operations for the recovery of relevant metal content. However, the publications
lack detailed discussions on environmental issues, such as emission of pollutants in air and
water.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
Figure . Schematic diagram for the Noranda Smelting Processing [ ].
Figure . Schematic diagram for the Rönnskar Smelter [ ].
Umicore published [ , ] its precious metals refining process at Hoboken, ”elgium, which
is primarily focused on the recovery of precious metals from e-waste. Various industrial wastes
and by-products from other non-ferrous industries e.g., drosses, matters, speiss, anode
slimes , sweeps of precious metals and bullions, spent industrial catalysts, as well as consumer
recyclables such as car exhaust catalysts or PC”s are acceptable for the integrated metals
smelter and refinery process. The plant treats around , , tons of varied wastes per annual,
out of which electronic waste presently comprises up to % of the feed [ ]. It is the world's
largest precious metals recycling facility with a capacity of over tons of PGMs, over tons
of gold, and tons of silver [ ]. The first step in the precious metals operations PMO is
smelting by using an IsaSmelt furnace. Plastics or other organic substances that are contained
in the feed partially substitute the coke as a reducing agent and energy source. The smelter
separates precious metals in copper bullion from most other metals concentrated in a lead slag,
which are further treated at the ”ase Metals Operations ”MO . The copper bullion is subse‐
quently treated by copper-leaching and electrowinning and precious metals refinery for
copper and precious metals recovery.
The ”ase Metals Operations process by-products from the PMO. The main processing steps
are lead blast furnace, lead refinery, and special metals plant. The lead blast furnace reduces
the oxidized lead slag from the IsaSmelt together with high lead-containing lead bullion, nickel
speiss, copper matte and depleted slag. The impure lead bullion, collecting most of the non-
precious metals, is further treated in the lead refinery Harris process . Special metals indium,
selenium, and tellurium residues were reported [ ] to be generated in the lead refining
process. Consequently, pure metals are recovered in a special metals refinery. In the Umicore's
plant, following complex flowsheet with several steps including pyrometallurgical techniques,
hydrometallurgical process, and electrochemical technology are employed in the recovery of
base metals, precious metals, as well as platinum group metals and special metals are shown
in Figure [ ].
Figure . Flowsheet for Umicore's integrated metals smelter and refinery [ ].

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
. . Composition and recovery of metal value from scrap mobile phones
The content or substances in cellular phone are variable to some extent, based on the model
and its manufacturer, with no fixed formula or list of contents applicable as such, thus, the list
of substances in an average mobile phone may also be misleading since varied substances
might be used as additives in very minimal quantities or traces by different manufacturers in
the production of microelectronic components. However, the general composition of cellular
phones and other small electronic goods as well, is identical in nature. Table presents the
fractional composition of a modern cell phone [ ]. Recovering metals of higher percentage
concentration like copper and metals of precious value or worth like gold, palladium and silver
is factually the underlying objective for metal recovery from EOL or obsolete cellular phones
and aluminum or magnesium cases of cellular phones wherever applicable, contribute further
to value addition or generation through its recycling.
Cell phones Plastics Pb Al Fe Sn Cu Ni Zn Ag Si Hg
Fraction wt% . . . . . . . . . . .
Table . Fractional compositions of mobile phones.
The flowchart Figure shows two methods of recycling scrap mobile phones developed in
Korea [ ]. The first method process I involves shredding of waste PC”s and shipment to a
copper smelter. The second method process II comprises of shredding, conflagration, melting
or converting to copper alloy containing precious metals, and subsequent refining adopting
the hydrometallurgical route. However, the systemic operation of recycling for e-waste
processing operations in Korea does not in true sense function effectively since the majority
of waste mobile phones collected are exported or conflagrated and landfilled, while only . %
of the waste mobile phones collected are actually processed for recycling. “ pilot plant to
recover cobalt from spent lithium-ion batteries of waste mobile phones is under operation,
taking into account the high-valuation of cobalt.
Figure . Flow sheet for the recycling of metal values from waste mobile phones in Korea [ ].
. Summary and conclusions
The phenomenal transformation in the lifestyle pattern of consumers of electronic goods, in

the emerging scenario, is triggered by their contribution to the convenience and ease in
everyday life. This is attributable to the concerted efforts of the global scientific genre,
especially focused upon scientific developments in sync with modern era living comforts of
the target consumers. Incremental rate of obsolescence and subsequent upgrades of product
quality are key psychological impacting factors factually influencing the consumers' mindset
in contributing to the faster turnaround of the product life cycle. This aspect is proving to be
a potential trigger in accelerating the pace of accumulation of huge EOL-EEEs e-waste such
as computers, mobile phones, televisions, etc., contributing to the solid waste stream. The said
devices contain various non-ferrous and ferrous metals such as lead Pb , copper Cu , gold
“u , aluminum “l , silver “g , palladium pd , which as such gets disposed off as waste,
even though it has immense potential of being converted to wealth from waste, including but
not limited to serving the purpose of catering to as vital inputs in new product cycle. These
valuable and precious metals comprising e-waste, when subjected to processing by the
unorganized sector with limited perspective of profit motive, by adopting, more often than
not, scientifically unsustainable methodology such as manual sorting, grinding, and inciner‐
ation, leads to catastrophic environmental implications and health hazard to the workforce as
well, especially emanating from its consequent and collective toxic impact of both gas and
metal components.
Safe and scientific disposal management with respect to EOL-EEEs continues to remain an
uphill task, in both developing and developed countries, and in the process, the former, more
often than not, gets cannibalized by the developed countries on account of their illegal and
irresponsible approach of shipping the same to developing countries, as an easy escape.
“dvancement in technology for the sustainable recovery of valuable materials from e-waste
needs to be an evolving process to resolve this escalating problem with respect to environment
and life. However, usage of the technology comprises many processing techniques of thermal
processing, bioleaching, hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, etc., deployment of which is
interdependent upon the intended processing and recovery objective, commercial feasibility
of the process involved, mandatory and regulatory issues in place, etc. The developing
countries as well are gradually tightening the enforcement of regulatory norms in facing the
challenges ahead, apart from the developing countries in the European Union, for sustainable,
eco-friendly handling, collection, and disposal of e-waste. “s is known, the developed
countries have technology and infrastructure superiority, the developing countries, on the
other hand, have the advantage of economy with respect to labor cost, considerably impacting
both handling and processing cost and the prospect of accomplishing a win-win situation
based on one's inherent strength or advantages has the potential for being commercially
exploited with scientific temperament, complement each other in making this world a safer
habitat.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/61569
The conventional methods of e-waste management by disposing in landfills or incineration or

exporting to developing or underdeveloped countries are becoming redundant since this is
already in the process of being banned in absolute terms with consciousness about its haz‐
ardous and life-threatening implications dawning upon the stakeholders, with passage of time,
which to some extent is also influenced by print and media. This can be furthered by active
interaction between the scientific community and the stakeholders, including the industry and
public at large, since it is ethically incumbent upon the scientists to play their role in arresting
the highly detrimental consequences to nature and life. Stringent and mandatory norms are
being put into place, even by the underdeveloped countries, for protecting its citizens and the
environment, contrary to the slackness that earlier existed, thereby exposing to exploitation
by the developed countries. The presence of precious metals in e-waste recycling makes it an
immensely attractive business potential, both in terms of environment and economics. There
is need for evolving fool-proof solution, which addresses the limitations of current technolo‐
gies, provides accessible and comparatively cost-effective techniques, efficient and eco-
friendly methodologies in addressing the menacingly escalating threat to environment and
life, including but not limited to the carcinogenic impact of the toxins released in crude
processing of e-waste. CSIR-NML has developed a processing technology with certain
advantages vis-à-vis conventional techniques with respect to metal recovery from EOL-EEEs
and the laboratory is looking for interested parties for further investigation, development, and
commercialization of this technology-based solution.
Increased public awareness and active participation among stakeholders across the board,
including government and regulatory authorities about the damaging implications of crude
recycling processes borne out of unscrupulous profit motive and incentivise the tremendous
business potential of environmentally safe recycling through sustainable methodology, based
on scientific techniques, is essentially imperative. Focused participation and change in mindset
among all stakeholders including the industry and inhabitants at large for tangible accom‐
plishment of the two-pronged intended goal and objective is unequivocally essential from
larger perspective, i.e., safe and sustainable recycling while converting waste to wealth in
adding to the country's economy.
Keeping in mind the rapidly escalating scenario and change in lifestyle pattern, future safety
with respect to environment and life, evolving sustainable and scientific e-waste management
in a focused manner with sufficient infrastructure and financial resources is imperative. On
the other hand, evolving effective legislations and monitoring mechanisms for enforcement of
the same by countries is equally vital, in accomplishing the herculean task that lies ahead.
Author details
Vidyadhar “ri*
“ddress all correspondence to [email protected]
Mineral Processing Division, CSIR - National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, India

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A Review of Technology of Metal Recovery from

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Electronic waste, or e-waste, is an emerging problem with developed nations as with

“n excellent review by Williams [ ] presented the current scope of technology, recycling

. E-waste and its composition

. . The key benefits for recycling EOL e-waste

. . Health and environmental impact of e-waste

E-waste sources Constitutents Health effects

Chip resistors and semiconductors Cadmium Causes neural damage.

Motherboard ”eryllium Carcinogenic in nature causing skin diseases

Table . E-waste sources and their health effects.

Table . Toxic elements present in an average computer.

Figure . Material fractions in e-waste [ ].

Figure . Material composition of a typical computer.

Figure . Material composition of a typical TV.

Figure . Material composition of a typical mobile phone.

Figure . State-wise e-waste generation in India.

. E-waste sources and growth pattern

has jumped from , in to , , in having registered an astonishing

rate of % per year [ ]. The rapid growth in industrialization is immensely contributing to

. E-waste disposal methods and recycling practices

. . E-waste disposal methods

. . . Conventional disposal in landfills

. . . Incineration or open-air burning

. Recycling practices of e-waste

Recovered Module /Component /

• Cathode ray tube

• Metals steel, aluminum

• “fter preheating plate, removed with the

Cables and wires Copper, aluminum • Incineration or stripping

Computer hard disk, floppy

Capacitor and condensers “luminum Incineration to extract metallic part

Table . Techniques and tools used for e-waste recovery.

. . Authorized e-waste recyclers/reprocessors registered with central pollution control

. . Existence of e-waste recycling plants in India

. . . E-Parisara Pvt. Ltd

involves non-incineration technology, consisting of manual dismantling, segregation, shred‐

Recovered metal Weight “pproximate cost in US$

Precious metals Pt, Pd, In . g @ . per g

Lead and Tin Pb/Sn . Kg . @ . per . g

Table . Market value of the metal recovered from kg of PC”s.

“sh Recyclers is a ”engaluru-based environmentally compliant electronic waste recycling

up a new plant for e-waste management including hydro metallurgical operations in

. . . K.G. Nandini Enterprises

. Existing e-waste recycling technologies

The recycling methodology broadly comprises of shredding, sorting, grading, compacting,

It is an economical process as compared to smelting, which prevents hazardous waste landfills

Metal σ ρ σ/ρ Metal σ ρ σ/ρ

ρ density kg/m , σ electrical conductivity of material /Ωm .

Table . σ/ρ values for some metals.

The natural hydrophobicity of non-metallic constituents is effectively exploited by a flotation

. . Precious metals recovery

Figure . Precious metals recovery process [ ].

. . Recovery of metals by pyro- and hydrometallurgical processing