Electronic waste generation, regulation and metal recovery: a review
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REVIEW
Electronic waste generation, regulation and metal recovery: a review Rajarathinam Nithya1 · Chandrasekaran Sivasankari2 · Arunachalam Thirunavukkarasu1 Received: 30 May 2020 / Accepted: 5 October 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Waste will become the major resource in the future circular economy. In particular, E-waste is a major sector growing at an annual rate of about 2 million tonnes (Mt) with rising users of electrical and electronic items worldwide. This is a consequence of versatility and affordability of technological innovation, thus resulting in massive sales and e-waste increases. Most end-users lack knowledge on proper recycling or reuse, often disposing of e-waste as domestic waste. Such improper disposals are threatening life and ecosystems because e-waste is rich in toxic metals and other pollutants. Here we review e-waste generation, policies and recycling methods. In 2019, the world e-waste production reached 53.6 Mt, including 24.9 Mt in Asia, 13.1 Mt in USA, 12 Mt in Europe. In Asia, China (10.1 Mt), India (3.23 Mt), Japan (2.57 Mt) and Indonesia (1.62 Mt) are the largest producers contributing to about 70% of the total world e-waste generated. Only 17.4% (9.3 Mt) of the world e-waste was recycled by formal means, and the remaining 82.6% (44.3 Mt) was left untreated or processed informally. As a consequence, most countries have framed policies to provide regulatory guidelines to producers, end-users and recyclers. Yet the efficiency of these local policies are limited by the transfer of products across borders in a globalized world. Among formal recycling techniques, biohydrometallurgy appears most promising compared to pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, because biohydrometallurgy overcomes limitations such as poor yield, high capital cost, toxic chemicals, release of toxic gases and secondary waste generation. Challenges include consumer’s contempt on e-waste disposal, the deficit of recycling firms and technology barriers. Keywords e-waste · Generation · Regulations · Informal and formal recycling · Metal recovery process · Pyro-metallurgy · Hydro-metallurgy · Bio-hydrometallurgy · Practical challenges · e-waste management Abbreviations 3R Reduce, reuse and recycle Ag Silver Al Aluminium As Arsenic Au Gold CAGR Compound annual growth rate Cd Cadmium Co Cobalt * Rajarathinam Nithya [email protected] Chandrasekaran Sivasankari [email protected] Arunachalam Thirunavukkarasu [email protected] 1
Department of Industrial Biotechnology, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore 641013, India
Department of Chemistry, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore 641013, India
2
CPCB Central pollution control board Cr Chromium Cu Copper E-waste Electronic waste H2SO4 Sulphuric acid HARL Home appliance recycling law HCl Hydrochloric acid Hg Mercury HNO3 Nitric acid Mn Manganese MOEF & CC Ministry of environment forest and climate change MPPI Mobile phone partnership initiative Mt Million tonnes NEPSI National electronics product stewar
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