Professional Documents
Culture Documents
E-Waste Thesis Final Version - Ganesh Singh
E-Waste Thesis Final Version - Ganesh Singh
of
Master of Technology
in
Ganesh Kumar
Dr. B. K. Dubey
April-2017
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Characterization of Mobile Printed Circuit
Date: (Supervisor)
i
DECLARATION
Date:
GANESH KUMAR
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. Brajesh Kumar Dubey, for his excellent support throughout
my academic career at the Indian Institute of Technology. He helped me get trained in various
facets of solid and hazardous waste management, always giving me opportunities to learn
something new. He has been a great source of inspiration and a role model. I am thankful for the
immense encouragement and financial support that he graciously provided during this study.
It is my privilege to express my gratitude to Dr. Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Director, IIT
Kgp; Dr. K. S. Reddy, HoD, Department of Civil Engineering; Dr. Anjali Pal, Faculty Advisor
for their constant support, encouragement, suggestions and for providing all technical facilities
throughout the project work. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the faculty
members of Environmental Engineering division and Civil Engineering for their encouragement
during the course for the past two years.
I expand my thanks to all non-teaching staff members of Civil Engineering department for their
support and concern through my project. Thanks to my friends and juniors for making my stay at
IIT memorable and without them the study would not have been successful.
Above all, I wish to extend my sincerest regards to my parents, relatives and family friends
whose well wishes and blessings have always played a key role in all the walks of my life.
iii
Contents
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 10
1.1. General Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 10
1.2. Definition and Composition of E-waste........................................................................................... 12
1.3. Global E-Waste generations............................................................................................................. 14
1.4. Harmful Impacts of E-Waste on Human health ............................................................................... 15
1.5. Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 16
LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 18
2.1. Literature review of metal extraction processes................................................................................... 18
2.1.1. Classification of metal extraction processes. ............................................................................ 20
2.1.2. Hydrometallurgical processes ................................................................................................... 22
2.1.3. Thiosulphate leaching ............................................................................................................... 24
2.2. E-waste Management in Switzerland ............................................................................................... 28
2.2.1. Material and financial flows...................................................................................................... 29
2.2.2. Lessons from Switzerland E-waste management experience .................................................. 30
E-WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN INDIA ................................................................................... 33
3.1. Existing E-Waste generation and management scenario in India .................................................... 33
3.1.1. E-waste trade in India ............................................................................................................... 35
3.2. Comparison of the two waste management systems ........................................................................ 35
3.3. Proposed Indian Electronic-waste management system .................................................................. 37
3.3.1. Material and financial flow ....................................................................................................... 38
3.3.2. Responsibility of various actors ................................................................................................ 39
METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 45
4.1. Material and Methods ...................................................................................................................... 46
4.1.1. Collection of mobile phones ..................................................................................................... 46
4.1.2. Shredding of PCBs ..................................................................................................................... 49
4.1.3. Leaching of mobile PCBs ........................................................................................................... 49
4.1.4. Acid digestion of mobile PCBs................................................................................................... 50
1
4.1.5. SEM-EDS Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 53
4.1.6. XRD-Analysis.............................................................................................................................. 53
4.2. Leaching of Mobile PCBs using Aqua Regia and Ammonium Thiosulphate ................................. 53
4.3. TCLP Test for Mobile PCB ............................................................................................................. 58
RESULT AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 60
5.1. Scanning Electron Microscopic Analysis (SEM) ............................................................................ 60
5.2. X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) .................................................................................................. 62
5.3. Characterization of Mobile PCBs for Gold and silver ..................................................................... 62
5.3.1. Characterization of gold and silver elements in mobile PCBs using aqua regia (A mix of nitric
acid and hydrochloric acid in the molar ratio of 1:3).......................................................................... 62
5.3.2. Characterization of gold and silver elements from mobile PCBS using ammonium
thiosulphate, CuSO4 .5H2O andNH4OH ............................................................................................... 63
5.4. Analyzing toxic characteristics of gold leached solution by comparing heavy metal concentrations
in the solution with Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) limits for hazardous material. ......................................................................................... 72
5.4.1. Results of TCLP Test .................................................................................................................. 75
5.5. Analyzing problems associated with implementing Extended Producer Responsibility based e-
waste management system in India. ........................................................................................................ 78
5.5.1. Indian E-Waste Management system waste generation .......................................................... 78
5.5.2. Hurdles in implementing EPR based E-Waste management systems in India. ........................ 84
5.5.3. Recommendations for setting up EPR based E-Waste management system........................... 84
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK ............................................................................. 87
6.1. Summary and conclusion ................................................................................................................. 87
6.2. Directions of Future work ................................................................................................................ 89
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 90
2
LIST OF TABLES
Table2 Quantity of valuable metals and toxic substances (in million tons) present in E-Waste
produced globally in 2014 …………………………...………………………………………….14
Table3 Toxic elements that can be harmful to human health and environment………….……...16
Table13 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.1 M ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH) solution………………………………………………………………….....54
Table14 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.2 M ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH) solution…………………………………………………………………….55
Table15 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.3M ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH) solution…………………………………………………………………….56
Table16 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs varying solid to liquid ratio...57
3
Table18 Elemental composition of mobile PCB from EDS Analysis…………………………...61
Table19 Results for PCB leaching using aqua regia solution for gold and silver elements……..63
Table26 Result for PCB leaching using aqua regia solution for some heavy metals……………73
Table27 Result for PCB leaching using thiosulphate solution for some heavy metals………….74
Table29 Summary of Problem in e-waste management system in India and provision for the
same in E-Waste management rules 2011 and 2016………………………………………….....79
4
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure13 a) Acid digestion using hot plate and b) Filtration of sample using Wattmann 42 filter
paper……………………………………………………………………………………………...51
Figure14 Flowchart for the processes involved in the preparation of sample for ICP-MS
analysis……………………………………………………………………………………..…….52
5
Figure19 Effect of thiosulphate on leaching of gold for different CuSO4 Concentrations a) 10
mM; b) 20 mM; c) 30 mM at 0.1 M NH4OH………………………………………………….…65
Figure22 Effect of solid to liquid ratio on leaching of gold at 200 rpm for 8 hours……………..71
6
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
PCB-Printed Circuit Board
7
ABSTRACT
Electronic Waste (E-Waste) has emerged as one the fastest growing component of solid waste
these days. It contains both hazardous as well as valuable metals such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Hg etc.
Valuable metals in E-Waste, especially Printed Circuit Board of PCs and Mobile phones are
extracted in informal recycling sector using hazardous lixiviants such as nitric acid. The use of
such hazardous leaching substance has very harmful effects on human health and environment.
This work aims at evaluating the effectiveness of less hazardous Ammonium thiosulphate
lixiviant in leaching gold and silver from Mobile PCBs. Aqua Regia leaching was performed to
get reference value for gold and silver. Toxicity of extract solution has also been analyzed for
heavy metals and accordingly extract solution has been classified as hazardous or non hazardous
solution based on Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and TCLP limits. Morphology and
phase identification of Mobile PCB powder was conducted through SEM and XRD Analysis
respectively.
The XRD analysis showed the presence of copper and lead in oxide forms while gold was
present in floride form. The SEM/EDX Analysis was in good agreement with XRD result.
Maximum dissolution of gold in thiosulphate solution was found to be 41.51 % and it was found
in a solution having 0.08M thiosulphate, 0.1 M ammonium hydroxide and 20Mm copper
sulphate concentrations. The influence of ammonium hydroxide along with copper sulphate on
leaching gold was also studied. It was found that maximum dissolution of silver in thiosulphate
was very low just 7.65%. Toxicity study of extract solution revealed that lead concentration in
the solution exceeds the maximum limit set by CPCB and TCLP procedure and thus the solution
8
Another objective of this work is to identify the problems in implementing Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) approach in Indian E-Waste Management System and recommend some
measures after studying the successful implementation of EPR in Switzerland. The major
problems associated with India e-waste management were found to be (a) the presence of
lack of coordination & information flow between stakeholders. Taking into consideration Indian
9
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. General Introduction
Developments in recent times have undoubtedly enhanced our living standards. Revolution in IT
field has transformed our lifestyle, making our day today life easy and simple. Over the last few
decades consumption of electrical and electronic goods has increased manifolds and so has the
generation of electronic waste. With advancement in technologies and reduction in the prices of
electrical equipments, electrical items are now fast becoming obsolete. Consequently, E-Waste
(electronic waste) has now become one of the fastest growing components in the solid waste
stream. These hazardous wastes have posed a severe threat to human life and environment.
Proper management of E-waste has, therefore, assumed much importance these days.
Electronic waste contains both toxic as well as valuable materials. According to ( Wedmer et al.,
2005), hazardous material in e-waste is just 2.7% while plastic accounts for 30% and base and
rare earth metals account for 60%. According to ( Hageluken and Meskers, 2008), a ton of e-
waste ( mobile phones) contains 140g of Palladium, 340 g of gold, 3.5 kg silver, and 130 kg
copper. Globally 80% indium and 50% of antimony production is for electronic industry. Seeing
the composition of mobile phones we can say that a significant portion of precious and special
metals mined globally is used in the manufacture of electrical and electronic goods.
Environmental consequences are also associated with the production of these rare earth metals.
For example, in the production of one tone of Au, Pd or Pt, 10,000 tones of CO 2 is generated
(Premlatha et al., 2014). Proper recycling of E-Waste will thus not only help in conserving non-
renewable natural resources but it also in minimizing the harmful environmental impact
10
Cyanide leaching process has long been used for leaching gold from E-waste. Similarly acid
leaching and aqua regia leaching of precious metals from E-waste is very popular in informal E-
waste recycling sector in India. Use of these chemicals has very harmful impacts on human
health and environment. The main motive of recyclers in informal sector is to earn profit and
they are least concerned about the health of workers employed in the informal recycling sector.
With environment awareness gaining ground, alternate leaching chemicals with less harmful
impacts are assuming much attention of researchers these days. Some of the chemicals which
have the potential to replace cyanide and other harsh lixiviants like nitric acid and aqua regia as
leaching substance with less harmful impacts are Ammonium Thiosulphate and Thiourea.
As already mentioned, hazardous material accounts for 2.7 percent in E-Waste. High contents of,
arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, zinc etc. in electronic waste poses risk to
both human health and environment. The condition becomes worse when it comes to developing
countries such as India and China. These countries not just product large quantity of E-Waste
domestically but they are also favorite destination for dumping electronic waste by developed
countries especially the European countries and the US. The lack of proper e-waste management
facilities along with cheap illiterate labor aggravates the situation in developing countries. There
are many review papers which have highlighted the harmful effects of e-waste. (Weidmer et al.,
Two major problems associated with management of electronic waste in developing countries
like India are: First, low E-Waste collection efficiency and absence of sufficient E-Waste
informal sector using crude method. For countries like India and China, the need of the hour is to
learn from the vast experiences of developing countries in management of E-waste. Reduce;
11
Reuse and Recycle (3Rs) of Japan, Deposit Refund Scheme of the US and the EPR policy of
Switzerland are some of the E-Waste management programs which have been successful in
dealing with e-waste problems. The Extended Producer Responsibility scheme has the highest
success rate in its implementation and it has been adopted successfully by various countries in
the world such Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The EPR
Responsibility is an approach which rests the responsibility of take back, recycling and disposal
of waste with the producers. (Lindhqvist et al., 2000). There are several reviews on E-Waste
management system in developed European countries. (Sinha et al., 2005, Williams et al., 2006,
Kahhat et al., 2008, E Stern et al., 2008, R Widmer, 2009,). Learning from the huge experiences
of these developed countries and applying these schemes in modified forms taking into
considerations local cultural, social and economic factors will definitely help India in
Any electrical and electronic equipment or its parts which is no longer useful to its owner comes
under the category of electronic waste. We still do not have universally accepted single
definition for e-waste. The absence of single standard E-Waste definition has resulted in the
disparities in the identification and quantification of waste flows. Thus, this issue needs to be
addressed as early as possible by the global community. However, the most commonly used
12
Table1 Definitions of E-Waste along with their references
Definitions References
“Any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its The Organization for
Development (OECD)
E-waste refers to “The reverse supply chain which collects Solving the E-waste
E-Waste composition
E-Waste consists of both hazardous and non-hazardous materials. It generally consists of plastic,
glass, rubber, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, PCBs and other items. Iron and steel accounts for
more than 50% of e-waste, plastic for 21% and non-ferrous metals for 13%. A mobile phone
generally consists of more than 40 elements (United Nations Environment Program, 2009; Izatt
et al., 2012) which includes rare earth metals like gold and silver, base metals like tin and
copper and other important metals like cobalt antimony etc. On an average, a mobile phone
typically contains 77% plastic and 23 % metals. Mobile phones generally consist of
13
approximately 40% metal, 40% plastic by weight, glass/ceramic and other miscellaneous
material. As per (East Caribbean Telecommunications Authority project, 1997), a mobile phone
contains 49% of Copper, 21.8% of Zinc, 11.6 %, Iron, 6.5% Nickel, 5.5% Aluminum, 1.9%Lead,
Table2 Quantity of valuable metals and toxic substances (in million tons) present in E-
Iron 16500
Copper 1900
Lead 2.2
Batteries 0.3
CFCs 4400
According to the 'Global E-Waste Monitor 2014', published by United Nations University
(UNU), the US and China together produced 32 % of total electronic waste produced globally.
India occupies fifth place globally in production of electronic waste. Asia is the largest producer
of e-waste producing 16Mt of waste. China with 6.0 Mt, Japan with 2.2 Mt and India with 1.7 Mt
are three highest e-waste producing nations in Asia. As per the report E-Waste generation may
14
exceed 50 Mt by 2018. Global E-Waste generation from year 2010 to 2018 is given in the Figure
1.
60
49.8
50 47.8
45.7
43.8
41.8
39.8
40 37.8
35.8
33.8
E-WASTE
(Mt)
30
20
10
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Year
Electronic waste contains toxic and carcinogenic matter such as Arsenic, Lead, Mercury,
Chromium, Brominated Flame Retarders (BFRs), etc. Such toxic substances leach into soil, air,
and water when treated in informal sector or simply dumped in landfills. Thus they have impacts
on human health and environment when managed improperly. For example, mercury is mobile in
nature and bioaccumulative. Mercury permanently impairs central nervous system, lungs and
kidneys. Similarly, Lead exposure can be detrimental to the reproductive and nervous systems.
15
The impact becomes more pronounced in countries like India where a large number of urban
people work in informal e-waste recycling sector without any safety measures.
Table3 Toxic elements that can be harmful to human health and environment
Lead It has harmful effects on the reproductive system. High quantities can be
Cadmium It is a carcinogenic substance and its Long term exposure cause severe pain
Acid Lungs problem, eye and skin problem when comes in contact with them.
Chromium damages liver and kidneys and also cause bronchial diseases
1.5. Objectives
Objective1
The main objective of this thesis is to characterize Mobile Printed Circuit Board for gold and
silver using ammonium thiosulphate. The study also focuses on the role of copper sulphate as an
includes
16
1. Characterization of mobile PCB sample in terms of XRD and SEM before leaching and
2. Characterization of mobile PCB sample with aqua regia for gold and silver to get an idea
Objective2
To analyze toxicity of gold extract solutions of ammonium thiosulphate and aqua regia by
comparing concentrations of heavy metals in these solutions with maximum permissible limits
set by CPCB and Federal TCLP Procedure for listing a substance as hazardous waste. This
objective also includes the study of leach ability of heavy metals from mobile phones in
Objective3
(EPR) strategy in E-Waste Management System in India and recommend some measures based
System. 2. The objective also includes the study of provisions in E-Waste management Rules
India 2016.
Note: Switzerland was chosen for study because it is the first country in the world to have
successfully managed the nuisance posed by electronic waste. Also, e-waste management system
17
CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review section has been divided into two sub headings. The first sub heading covers
the literature review of various metal extraction technologies and their advantages and
disadvantages. Thiosulphate leaching has been separately discussed. While under the second
sub-heading E-waste management policies and practices in Switzerland has been discussed.
The main options currently available for e-waste treatment are: 1) Reuse, 2) Remanufacturing/
recycling and 3) Incineration & land filling. The first priority should be given to reuse and
remanufacturing as it enhances the life of electronic waste. Electronic equipment should be sent
for recycling only when it is no longer useful. Recycling process consists of three steps: (a)
important part of e-waste recycling; (b) upgrading: It involves upgrading valuable substances
using metallurgical process desirable level. (c) Refining: It is the last step where recovered
materials are purified using chemical processing. (Cui et al., 2003). Another option available for
treatment of e-waste is incineration & land filling. This option should be avoided as far as
possible because 1) there are highly dependent on investment and 2) land filling requires a large
portion of land and it also entails leaching problem and 3) incineration of e waste is dangerous
for environment. For example, copper acts as a catalyst in dioxin formation when brominated
18
Figure2 E-waste treatment priorities
1. End of life of equipment 1. Saving in 1. It may offer a feasible option for energy
In the name of charity, e- waste is resources. 3. Landfill may pollute underground water.
From the above discussion it is now clear that once the equipment becomes unusable, the priority
should be given to recycling. In the last refining stage of recycling, metal is either melted or
19
2.1.1. Classification of metal extraction processes.
The technology to extract precious metal from electronic waste can be broadly classified into
2008). For the last few decades Pyrometallurgical process has been used to treat e-waste. It
involves melting process and reactions in a gas phase at high temperatures. However, this
process has several environmental consequences. In the last two decades, most of the research
works have remained focused on the recovery of rare earth metals with the help of
predictable, and easily controlled. Hydrometallurgical extraction process has been briefly
20
Figure3 Flowchart showing different processes used in treatment of e-waste
Source: Precious metal recovery from waste printed circuit boards using cyanide and non-
cyanide lixiviants – A review, 2015)
21
2.1.2. Hydrometallurgical processes
Hydrometallurgical metal extraction process broadly involves two steps. In the first step metals
are leached out using various chemicals such as cyanide, aqua regia, thiosulphate etc. while in
the second step recovery of metals from leached out solution is carried out various processes
Leaching of metals
Leaching is the technique of extraction of soluble content of a solid with the help of a solvent.
The most commonly used leaching agents are cyanide, halides, thiourea and thiosulfate. The use
cyanide, aqua regia, HNO3 as leaching chemical has detrimental effect to environment and
human health. Non cyanide processes such as thiourea and thiosulphate leaching has potential to
It is most commonly used lixiviant in the mining industries for removing gold from sulphide
O2+2H2O+4e→4OH−
Advantages:
2. This process takes place in alkaline environment and it does not require special container for
22
3. Dissolution of base metals is substantially reduced which are otherwise produced in acidic
medium.
Limitations
1. A number of environmental accidents at several gold mines have raised concerns over the
Halide Leaching
The most commonly used halides are: Fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine. Among these
halides, only chlorine has been applied at an industrial scale. The most traditional medium for
dissolving gold is aqua regia, a mixture of HCl and Nitric acid in the ratio of 3:1. The reactions
2HNO3+6HCl→2NO+4H2O+3Cl2
2Au+11HCl+3HNO3→2HAuCl4+3NOCl+6H2O
Limitations:
1. Stainless steel and rubber-lined equipments are required due to high corrosive and oxidizing
conditions
3. Not ecofriendly.
Advantages:
23
2. less time consuming process.
Thiourea leaching ((NH2)2CS) Thiourea and thiosulphate is one of the most economical
conditions with gold extraction rate up to 90% (Zhang et al, 2008). Ferric sulfate acts as
Limitations:
Effect of ammonia
Alkaline solution is used to retard the breakdown of thiosulphate at low pH. The role of
ammonia is to prevent the formation of sulphur coating on gold surface and thus dissolve gold
into solution as amine complex. This amine complex reacts with thiosulphate as shown below
The most important function of ammonia is to stabilize Cu2+ ions in ammonia solution as
24
Effect of copper
Gold dissolution is effective in effective with copper as oxidizing agent rather oxygen. Copper
The increase in dissolution of gold in thiosulphate solution is due to the formation copper amine
Non cyanide leaching processes such as thiourea leaching, thiosulphate leaching etc. are
increasingly becoming more and more popular because they are environment friendly and they
have potential to replace cyanide and aqua regia as leaching agents. There are several studies on
the characterization of electronic waste using thiosulphate leaching process. The main problem
with thiosulphate leaching is that it has low extraction of gold and it cannot be applied for
commercial purpose economically as of now (Chandra et al., 2015). However, it should be noted
here that it has low rate of consumption as compared to cyanide lixiviant and its consumption
Feng et al., 2009). Also, thiosulphate can be more effectively used in leaching of gold from ores
containing carbonate and copper when compared to cyanide leaching (Chandra et al., 2015).
Gold recovery using thiosulphate leaching can be enhanced by using Copper and NH3 in the
leaching solution (Yang et al., 2009). Role of copper is to oxidize gold from Au to Au+ (that is
from 0 to +1 oxidation state while the role of ammonia is to stabilize the Cu +2 in the thiosulphate
solution. Another role played by ammonia is that it prevents formation of sulphide layer on the
gold layer and enhances the leaching of gold. (Ha et al., 2010). There are several studies on
25
leaching gold from electronic waste using thiosulphate as leaching agent. Some of these works
PCB of cell 0.1 M Na2S2O3 At 25-26 0C, pH9.9-10.9, 15% Petter et al.,
0.015-0.03-0.1 M CuSO4
0.01-0.05-0.1 H2O2
1 M NH3
0
PCB Mobile 72.21mMthiosulphate, At 25-26 C, pH 9.9- >90% Ha et al.,
ammonia concentration
0
PCB Mobile 0.1 M (NH4 )2S2O3 At 25-26 C, pH 9.9- 15% Petter et al.,
0.015-0.03-0.1 M CuSO4
0.01-0.05-0.1 H2O2
0.2 M NH3
26
Table6 Comparison of various leaching processes
1. Does not require special 1. Cheap and simple 1. Most economical substitute of 1. Less hazardous as compared to
container for reaction to take process. cyanide leaching most of the leachate.
place.
2. Less time consuming 2. More than 99% leaching of 2. It has potential to be used
27
2.2. E-waste Management in Switzerland
Switzerland is a highly developed country with a mature market for electrical and electronic
equipments. It has successfully managed electrical and electronic equipment waste. E-waste
waste collection and management system in Switzerland came into existence even before a legal
backing was provided by Swiss government. Thus Swiss e-waste management system represents
a case where government involvement is minimal and producers play very significant role. This
1990 a group of manufacturers voluntarily came forward to deal with the nuisance of e-waste.
They created an organization which was o look into matter of electronic waste issue, from its
generation and collection to its proper treatment. Thus, a PRO is a cooperative effort by industry
which makes its members responsible for waste generation. The PROs manages finance,
collection, transportation and control systems to ensure proper e-waste management. Two
important PROs in Switzerland are SENS (Swiss Foundation for Waste Management), SWICO
Recycling Guarantee which handle the largest volume of e-waste. The other two PROs are SLRS
and INOBAT. Another important feature of Switzerland e-waste management system is that it is
EPR based.
Extended Producer Responsibility is a concept which assigns the responsibility of take back, and
EPR first relieves government of financial liability e-waste treatment, and second it provides and
second encourages manufacturers for better product design. The four principal goals of EPR, ,
are Source reduction, Waste prevention, better product Design and to promote sustainable
28
development. Various EPR approaches and the countries which have adopted them are tabulated
below:
Source: Producer responsibility for e-waste management: key issues for consideration–learning
from the Swiss experience, 2009.
Material flow
The material flow is circular in nature as shown in figure below. The raw material is first of all
used in the production of new goods, which then passes through consumption stage and finally
after the end of life period, it is recycled back into the production of new product. Consumers
dump their waste at retail outlets, railway stations, or recycling centers designated by the
29
authority concerned. From there, the waste is transported to dismantling centers for segregation
of precious and toxic substances. Finally recyclate is sent to smelter for final material recovery.
Financial flow
Processing of electronic waste in ecofriendly way involves a huge sum of money and sale of
precious metals present in electronic waste does not generate sufficient revenue to finance the
overall processing cost of e-waste management system. Therefore this is filled by a special
provision known as advanced recycling fee (ARF). The producers pay the advanced recycling
fee to SWICO or SENS. ARF is ultimately charged on customers while buying product. The
Understanding of these issues will help policy makers from other countries learn from Swiss
experience and develop EPR based E-Waste management system, while taking into
30
consideration social, political cultural and economic background of the concerned country
(Khetriwal et al., 2009)
There is always dilemma between Policy makers and producers, over who should take the first
step?
From the Swiss system we get to learn that rather than waiting for the government to take
initiative, producer can initiate their own system. The system so developed will be flexible and
economical. ERP based E-Waste management policy can be applied to different geographies
with modifications. Apart from Switzerland, other countries to follow Voluntary PROs are
Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Netherland.
The recycling fee can be charged at two points one at the time of buying the product or after the
end of life of the product. Switzerland has the provision of advanced recycling fee .Collection of
fee during sale of new product rather than during returning of waste is better because a customer
is comfortable to pay fee in the beginning. Also, advance collection of fee makes financing more
reliable.
Disadvantage of advanced fee is that it hinders environmental friendly design. Another argument
against its favor is that wrong estimation of future generation of electronic waste may destabilize
the system.
31
There are two options one collective take back and second individual take back. In collective
take back system products of different brands can be deposited at the same collection point and
in individual take back system specific brand product are deposited at a particular center. The
advantages of collective take back are, first, it is consumer oriented and second, it has better
collection efficiency. Switzerland follows collective take back systems. While, in individual take
back system, consumers have to segregate products according to brands and dispose them off in
brand specific collection points, which is not convenient to consumers and thus system has low
collection efficiency.
However, the proponents of the individual system say that it helps companies to improve their
product designs. In the case of Switzerland, the demerits of individual take back system far
outweigh its merits and therefore Switzerland adopts collective take back system.
d. Ensuring compliance
For smooth functioning of the e-waste management system, compliance of all the stakeholders
such as retailers, consumers, and producers is very important. Let us see how Swiss system
overcome non-compliance problem.
First, there is custom control for the imports of new electrical and electronic equipments.
Second, Provision of access to market only after being PRO members. Third, there is
deployment of external auditors to exercise control on recyclers.
e. Restricting monopoly.
There is always the threat of monopoly in the case of collective PRO system. A powerful
recycler may suppress the smaller ones, thus creating monopoly.. Let us see how Switzerland has
overcome this problem.
Recycler monopoly
In Switzerland the recycling permission is given to the lowest bidder. This prevents large firms
from exercising control over the entire recycling sector
32
Chapter-3
The hazardous nature of electronic waste has compelled many nations to adopt environmentally
sound management practices to deal with E-Waste, with an aim to control the ever growing
effect of e-waste on human health and environment. For the last three decades electronic waste
management has been the top priority for developed countries while for countries like India
simply replicating the waste management practices of developed countries will not work because
social, cultural and economic conditions in India is different from those in developed countries.
However, a modified version may work in Indian scenario. Before moving into the proposed e-
waste management system, let’s see how e-waste is produced in India. According to (Sushant et
At the first level, new electrical and electronic equipments enter into India. There is no
generation of e-waste in this stage. In the second stage, EEE passes through consumption stage.
This stage is marked by generation of e-waste. The final stage consists of pre-reprocessing and
reprocessing stage. In the re-processing stage, collection of e-waste is carried out by unorganized
sector with the help of kawadiwala. In the reprocessing stage, e-waste is dismantled and recycled
As per central pollution control board (CPCB) report 2014-2015, India produced 51.4 million
tons of solid waste of which 91% was collected and 27% was treated and remaining 73% was
disposed off at dumping sites. 72 lakh tons of industrial waste, 5.5 lakh tons of plastic, 4.8 lakh
33
tons of medical waste, 18.5 lakh tons of electronic waste are produced annually in India. The e-
waste generation by individual households is relatively low (15) and the rest contributed by
Kerala 6171.8
34
Source: Rajya Sabha E-Waste report 2012
India’s E-waste management system is ill defined and unorganized. The Fig presents overview of
material and money flows of EEE in India.
E-Waste recycling industry is India is relatively new one. India already had well established
scrap metal industry which used to extract iron, copper, aluminum etc. When new kind of waste
that is electronic waste became prominent in 1990s, this industry absorbed then because of
35
availability of rare earth metals in them. Given low level of initial investment, several
entrepreneurs have joined the industry. The entire industry is based on the symbiotic relationship
Unlike Switzerland, the collection and recycling facilities in India is underdeveloped. Another
important thing that should be noted is that in Switzerland consumers have to pay recycling fee
while in India consumer get money when they sell e-waste to kawadiwala. Kawadiwala in turn
sell these items to trader, recyclers and dismantlers in the informal sectors who finally extract
precious metals just for financial gains without paying much attention to human health and
environment. The two systems can be broadly compared on four parameters (Phillip-et al.,
2005). First comparison is on the basis of electronic waste generation per capita. Switzerland has
higher e-waste per capita as compared to India but when it comes to total generation of e-waste
India far exceeds Switzerland. Second comparison is based on the employment potential. Indian
system has potential to generate more jobs than the Swiss system. In India sorting, dismantling
and recycling operations are carried out manually where the Swiss system is mechanized one.
Third, People employed in e-waste recycling system are semi-skilled and unaware of the harmful
impact associated with e-waste when compared to workers employed in the Swiss system and
finally the Swiss system follows high safety and emission standards while in India though there
are guidelines but there is lack of enforcement. Thus the release of toxics in the environment
36
Table9 Comparison of E-waste management systems in India and Switzerland on
Important Indicators
Party involvement
material
Several studies on the e-waste management system have found that majority of nations have
favored extended producer responsibility (EPR) for the take back of EEE waste because it is
economically self sustaining. EPR also aims at i) less e-waste generation ii) reduction in
hazardous components of the waste iii) reduction in the use of virgin material; iv) pollution
37
reduction in production stage and v) encouragement of environment friendly design. The
Recycling industries receive material from both consumers as well as manufactures. However,
material flow from consumer ids relatively low. Individual collectors collect waste from
households as well business places by making payment. The price is charged arbitrarily,
depending on collector’s profit margin. Collectors in turn sell their waste to recyclers in informal
sector. Thus material flow is both uncontrolled and unorganized. At no point there is control over
Financial flow
out mainly with the motive of economic benefit. Thus recycling is an attractive business in India.
Thus recycling and collection is self reliant in India. Low labor cost along with small initial
investment cost makes it possible for the E-Waste Management system to be self financing. In
case the need for external financing arises. ARF facility akin to the Indian Government Provident
Fund Scheme may be put in place for financial reliability of the system (Sushant et al., 2010). To
discourage the use of hazardous material in electronic goods, tax benefit option may be explored
for the manufactures that are coming up with ecofriendly products or decreasing the use of
38
Figure6 Materials and Financial Flow
Source: Producer responsibility for e-waste management: key issues for consideration–learning
For any waste management system to work efficiently, there must be high level of interaction
between various players such as government, producers, consumers, collectors and recyclers.
They have to fulfill their financial, informational, physical and legal responsibilities to ensure
proper working of the management system. One of the main reasons why Switzerland has been
successful in managing e-waste is that it has high degree of interactions between concerned
parties whereas India lacks the same. According to Lindhqvist, 2000, there should be strong
feedback mechanism between producers, users and authority. Thus stakeholder consultation
39
Role of the government
Government has to play a very proactive role for the successful implementation of e-waste
management system. It has to not only legal policy framework for EPR but also create awareness
about this. Though government does not take part in day to day activity in e-waste management
(as in Switzerland), it has to coordinate and monitor the functioning of the system. Apart from
these, the following should be initiated for setting the E-waste management system for India:
1. A detailed and effective rules and regulations on collection handling, dismantling and
2. A uniform National E-waste policy for E-waste management should be devised out.
3. A set of guidelines and standard for the certification for the recycling and disposal companies
4. Come with proper infrastructure facilities and support system to reduce compliance cost.
5. Bring as many SMEs as possible within formal e-waste management system by supporting
them with training, testing, designing facilities. This can also be done through training
40
Technical & certification group
Preparing certification guidelines for e-waste recycling
Evaluating EIA for e-waste recycling
Controlling, monitoring and evaluating recycling facilities
Calculating ARF for various stakeholders
Coordinating various groups for better implementation of e waste management system
41
For any waste management practice to work properly in a country, there must be legal backing in
the form of rules and regulation. These rules and regulations ensure compliance by clearly
defining responsibilities various players involved in e-waste management system. From time to
time, India also has come up with several waste management rules. Let’s have a brief look on
2011
1.Applicability
2.Exception
industries industries.
manufacture responsibility.
To obtain EPR Single EPR Authorization for Separate EPR authorization leads to
42
both SPCB and PCCs India implementation
recyclers
No such provision Target based approach for e- Target based approach has been
mechanism.
No such provision Deposit Refund Scheme has been This option may facilitate effective
6.Responsibility of manufacturer
No such provision Manufacturers are responsible for To divert flow of waste from
43
7.Responsibility of Bulk consumer
Bulk consumer means Addition of health care facility To put obligations on bulk
government
departments, banks,
educational
institutions etc.
facility.
sector.
annually.
44
CHAPTER 4
METHODOLOGY
As it has been already mentioned, mobile phones contain just 2.7 % of toxic substances whereas
precious metals such as copper, gold, silver, palladium, zinc, etc. account for more than 40% of
mobile PCBs. Chemicals such as cyanide, aqua regia, nitric acid, etc. have long been used to
extract precious metals from e-waste. These chemicals are, however, hazardous and thus pose
risk to risk to both human health and environment. Less toxic chemicals such as thiosulphate and
thiourea have potential to replace them as leaching chemicals without causing much damage to
In this study the effectiveness of ammonium thiosulphate in leaching gold from mobile PCBs has
been studied by varying its concentration from 0.04M to 0.16M in NH4OH solution. The effect
of copper sulphate (as oxidizing agent) in gold extraction has also been analyzed. Copper
sulphate concentrations of 10mM, 20mM and 30mM have been in thiosulphate solution to
analyze the role of copper sulphate as oxidizing agent. Study of Toxicity characteristics of spent
liquor of aqua regia and thiosulphate solutions have also been carried out to determine their
hazardous characteristics. TCLP test has been performed on mobile PCBs to determine the
release of toxic metals lead, mercury, arsenic etc. into the environment simulating landfill
conditions.
45
4.1. Material and Methods
Obsolete Mobile phones were collected from different sources and then they were manually
disassembled to separate plastic cover, PCBs, batteries and monitor. The weight of each of the
component of mobile phone was noted down and tabulated in table11. It should be noted here
Mobile set Mobile weight with Mobile weight without Plastic PCBs
(g) (g)
46
Fannaod - 61.47 24.39 19.15
47
Figure8 Mobile phones and their PCBs
48
4.1.2. Shredding of PCBs
For leaching, either complete printed circuit board or shredded PCBs can be used. For this study
mobile PCBs have been shredded manually into 3mm*3mm (approximate) size particles. It
should be noted here that the size of the particle may not uniform as the shredding was done
Characterization of two mobile PCB samples were carried out using aqua regia lixiviant to get
some idea about leaching potential of some harsh leaching chemicals. Rest of the mobile
samples were characterized using alternate leaching chemical ammonium thiosulphate in shaker
machine at 200 rpm, room temperature, for contact time period of 8 hours. Leaching Process
and preparation of samples for leaching using aqua regia and thiosulphate lixiviants have been
49
Figure11 Leaching of mobile PCBs at 200rpm for 8 hours
A 100 mL well mixed sample was taken in griffin beaker and 3 mL of concentrated nitric acid
was added to it. The beaker was then covered with a ribbed glass and placed on hot plate. The
solution was heated till its volume reduced to 5 mL The solution was then cooled and another 3
mL of concentrated HNO3 was added to it. The beaker was now covered with non-ribbed watch
glass and placed on hot plate. The solution was heated with additional acid was necessary till the
50
digestion was complete. The beaker was now uncovered and the solution was evaporated to 3
mL volume. The beaker was cooled and 10 ml of HCl (1:1) was to 100 mL of the final solution.
The beaker was now covered and the solution was refluxed for another 15 minutes. The solution
was finally filtered using Wattmann 42 filter paper and adjusted to final volume of 100 mL. The
Figure13 a) Acid digestion using hot plate and b) Filtration of sample using Wattmann 42
filter paper
All the steps involved in the study have been shown in the flowchart given below. The PCBs
were first characterized using aqua regia solution and then with thiosulphate solution. Finally the
51
Figure14 Flowchart for the processes involved in the preparation of sample for ICP-MS
analysis.
52
4.1.5. SEM-EDS Analysis
The SEM-EDS analysis was done to mobile pcbs sample to know the surface texture and
imaging of particles present in it, it gives the surface texture information in form of elemental
composition. A prior sample preparation is required in form of attaching the sample to the carbon
4.1.6. XRD-Analysis
It is a technique to identify crystalline mineral compounds present in the sample. The humps or
broad patterns nevertheless shown in XRD infer the presence of crystalline minerals and peaks in
the graphs indicates the crystalline minerals (Ward & French, 2005). It is a very important
characterization technique.
4.2. Leaching of Mobile PCBs using Aqua Regia and Ammonium Thiosulphate
Leaching of mobile PCBs using aqua regia (A mix of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid in
the molar ratio of 1:3) to get reference values for gold and silver along with other heavy
Sample Preparation
a. 4 g mobile PCB granules was taken for 100 ml of aqua regia solution.
b. First of all, chemical coating from PCB granules was removed using10 M NaOH by dipping
c. The granules were then cleaned with distilled water to eliminate the presence of NaOH and
d. The leached out solution was then digested using acid and finally analyzed with the help of
53
Leaching of mobile PCBs for gold and silver using ammonium thiosulphate, CuSo4.5H2O,
and NH4OH.
Sample preparation
Copper Sulphate 10 mM 20 mM 30 mM
Step 1
Table13 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.1 M ammonium
Sample [S2O3]-2 (M) [NH4OH] (M) [Cu+2] (mM) Time (hrs) pH Ratio (S/L)
54
1. 0.04 0.1 10 8 10.1 1/25
Step 2
Table14 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.2 M ammonium
Sample [S2O3]-2 (M) [NH4OH] (M) [Cu+2] (mM) Time (hrs) pH Ratio (S/L)
55
7. 0.12 0.2 10 8 10.2 1/25
Step 3
Table15 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using 0.3M ammonium
Sample [S2O3]-2 (M) [NH4OH] (M) [Cu+2] (mM) Time (hrs) pH Ratio (S/L)
56
11. 0.16 0.3 20 8 10.1 1/25
Preparing and analyzing mobile leached solutions having solid to liquid ratio as 10 g/l,
20g/l, 30g/l, 40g/l and 50g/l to determine the solid liquid ratio for maximum leaching of
gold.
Sample preparation
Preparing solutions of (S/L) ratio of 1/100, 1/50, 3/100, 1/25 and 1/20.
RPM-200
pH10-10.5
Table16 Parameters used for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs varying solid to liquid
ratio.
Sample [S2O3]-2 (M) [NH4OH] (M) [Cu+2] (mM) Time (hrs) pH Ratio (S/L)
57
4.3. TCLP Test for Mobile PCB
To conduct TCLP (Batch Extraction test) to access the leaching potential of different heavy
metals present in Printed Circuit Board to evaluate risk associated with disposal of
This test is basic and most widely used batch test defined by RCRA to characterize the waste as
hazardous or not. It involves particle size reduced mass is kept contact with the specific fluid for
a fixed time and then leachate is extracted by filtering the sample, the following parameters are
Parameters TCLP
maintained
58
Applicability Simulate material sitting in a landfill for a number of years, to determine
For the sample of mobile PCBs, Acetic Acid +NaOH is used as extracting fluid with 128.6 mL
of 1N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 11.4 ml of acetic acid is diluted to 2 liters to make a pH of
4.93±0.05. A 10 gm of the sample is taken and 200 ml of prepared fluid is added to maintain L/S
ratio of 20:1, similarly duplicate and triplicate was prepared. This was kept in TCLP shaker,
rotated for 18 hours @ 30+2 rpm and then filtered through the 0.8 μ and few drops of nitric acid
is added to get pH below 2 for preservation of sample and sample is analyzed further
59
CHAPTER 5
To study the morphology of powdered printed circuit board of mobile phones SEM analysis was
carried out. PCB SEM image shows fibrous structure as shown in fig. (a). This fiber structures
are fiberglass which acts as reinforce material in PCB.(Liu et al, 2009). These fiber structures are
long and combined through bonding action of resins. (Guo et al, 2010). Epoxy resin coating on
fibrous structures has been shown in fig. (b).Certain amount of base and precious material get
pulverized during crushing and in the SEM image I could not identify base and precious metals.
However, Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis of the same image revealed the presence
(a) (b)
60
Figure17 EDS result of mobile PCB
Cu K 11.89 28.26
Ag L 8.42 11.78
Pt M 13.98 10.82
Au M 10.62 8.14
Hg M 35.64 26.83
Pb M 19.45 14.17
Totals 100.00
61
5.2. X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD)
Phase identification of Mobile Printed Circuit Board was carried out by XRD Analysis. The
analysis revealed the presence of Lead and copper in the oxide form while the gold was found in
floride form. The presence of silver was also indicated in the analysis. The result of XRD
5.3.1. Characterization of gold and silver elements in mobile PCBs using aqua regia (A mix
62
Table19 Results for PCB leaching using aqua regia solution for gold and silver elements.
(ppm)
On converting concentrations (ppm) of gold and silver in gram/ ton of PCB, we get to know that
152.5 g of gold and 155.75 g of silver can be extracted from 1 ton of PCBs using aqua regia. We
can notice from the table that gold dissolution was 72.68% in aqua regia solution while silver
dissolution was just 7.63%. Thus we can say that aqua regia was not effective in leaching silver
from mobile PCBs. The result of silver dissolution is higher than the result of Petter et al. (2014)
which is 8% for silver. The reason for low dissolution of silver in aqua regia is the formation of
5.3.2. Characterization of gold and silver elements from mobile PCBS using ammonium
All the results are expressed as % of the total amount of gold present in the PCBs. There are
several reviews on the total amount of gold present (expressed as weight % of PCB) in the
printed circuit board as give in the table below. For this study 0.021% of the weight of PCB has
been taken as the total amount of gold present in PCB.(Tripathi et al., 2012).
63
Table20 Gold content (w/w %) in mobile PCBs
Researchers Park and Tripathi et al., Tuncuk et al., Sum et al., Guo et al.,
Expressing result in %
Leaching mobile PCBs using 0.1 molar ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) solution
(ppm) solution
64
5 0.04 0.1 20 1.26 15.01
0.1 M NH4OH
45
40
35
Copper
30
sulphate
Gold %
25
10 mM
20
20 mM
15 30 mM
10
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
-5
Thiosulphate (M)
65
For 0.1 M NH4OH solution, maximum dissolution of gold is 41.51% at 0.08 M thiosulphate and
20 mM copper sulphate concentrations. The figure shows that dissolution of gold increases with
increase in ammonium thiosulphate concentration until 0.08 M, thereafter gold dissolution rate
higher for 20mM copper sulphate solution as compared to 10 mM and 20 mM copper sulphate
solutions. At low thiosulphate concentration dissolution of copper instead of gold takes place
are generated (Hung Ha et al., 2009). The decrease in dissolution of gold at high copper
Leaching mobile PCBs using 0.2 molar ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) solution
(ppm) solution
66
6. 0.08 0.2 20 1.23 14.60
0.2 M NH4OH
25
20
15
Gold %
10 mM
10 20 mM
30 mM
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
Thiosulphate (M)
From the above figure, it is clear that dissolution of gold in 0.2 M NH4OH solutions is lower than
that in 0.1 M NH4OH solutions. Also we can notice from the figure that maximum dissolution of
67
gold is at higher thiosulphate concentration (0.12M) for 0.2 M NH4OH solution, while it is at
0.08 M thiosulphate concentration for 0.1 M NH4OH solution. Just in the case of 0.1 M NH4OH
solution, for 0.2 M NH4OH solution also the maximum dissolution of gold is for 20 mM copper
reasons for such behavior could be: a) At high ammonia concentrations, solid copper entities
such as oxides of copper (CuO, Cu2O), (NH4)5Cu (S2O3)3 are formed and they hinder the
stabilizes Cu2+ ions in thiosulphate system thus its presence is important for effective dissolution
of gold (Aylmore et al., 2000). Gold leaching is found to be maximum at 20 mM copper sulphate
copper concentration, limited copper-amine complexes are formed while at higher copper
al., 2000).
Leaching mobile PCBs using 0.3 molar ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) solution
(ppm) solution
68
5. 0.04 0.3 20 0.73 8.72
0.3 M NH4OH
40
35
30
25
Gold %
20 10 mM
20 mM
15
30 mM
10
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
Thiosulphate (M)
69
From the figure we can again see that gold dissolution has increased with increase in
For 0.3 M NH4OH solution, leaching rate is higher for 30mM copper sulphate solution instead of
20mM copper sulphate solution. The most probable reason for such a behavior could be the
solution
70
40
35
30
25
Gold (%)
20
15
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Figure22. Effect of solid to liquid ratio on leaching of gold at 200 rpm for 8 hours.
From the graph we can infer that dissolution of gold has increased with increase in solid to liquid
ratio up to 30g/l and thereafter there is decrease in gold dissolution with further increase in solid
to liquid ratio. Maximum dissolution of gold is found to be at 30g/l. The reason for such a
behavior may be due to the fact that at low solid to liquid ratio sufficient PCB material is not in
contact with the thiosulphate solution and therefore leaching of gold is not sufficient while at
71
From the result shown in table above we can say that leaching of silver from mobile PCBs using
thiosulphate lixiviant is not very effective as only 7.65 % of silver can only be extracted. The
possible reason for low dissolution of silver may be the addition of copper ions into the solution
5.4. Analyzing toxic characteristics of gold leached solution by comparing heavy metal
and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) limits for hazardous material.
Printed Circuit Boards of mobile phones contain precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum
etc. along with other toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium, zinc etc. Leaching of gold and
silver from mobile phones not only leaches out gold and silver but also toxic metals. Thus gold
leached aqua regia and thiosulphate solutions contain also toxic heavy metals along with gold
and silver. After extraction of precious metals from the solution, these spent liquors contain
several toxic metals. Classification of these spent liquors into “hazardous” or “non-hazardous”
Presence of some of the heavy metals along with their concentrations are tabulated below and the
element concentrations are compared with TCLP limits for Hazardous waste as well as CPCB
limits for listing hazardous waste for determining whether spent liquors fall in “hazardous” or
“non-hazardous” categories.
72
Table26 Result for PCB leaching using aqua regia solution for some heavy metals.
Cr 38.133 5 5
As 0.0494 5 5
Pb 4025.50 5 5
2-Published in the gazette of India, extraordinary, part ii, section 3, sub-section (i), government
From the above table we can see that concentrations of Chromium, Zinc, and Lead in Aqua
Regia spent liquor is higher than Maximum concentration limits determined by CPCB for listing
hazardous waste. Chromium and lead concentrations also exceed the maximum Federal TCLP
Limits for hazardous waste. Thus we can say that aqua regia spent liquor falls in the category of
“hazardous waste” and this solution has to be properly treated for Chromium, Zinc and Lead
73
Table27 Result for PCB leaching using thiosulphate solution for some heavy metals.
hazardous waste.
Cr 147.80 1.34 5 5
As 1.27 < DL 5 5
Pb 142.04 142.04 5 5
2-Published in the gazette of India, extraordinary, part ii, section 3, sub-section (i), government
From the above table we can see that the concentrations of Chromium, Zn and lead are greater
than the Maximum concentration limits determined by CPCB for listing hazardous waste. Also
we can notice that in thiosulphate solution having maximum gold dissolution, only Lead is found
to be crossing the Maximum concentration limits determined by Federal TCLP and CPCB for
listing hazardous waste. Therefore thiosulphate spent liquor has to be treated for Lead before
74
5.4.1. Results of TCLP Test
The concentrations of elements leached through the method TCLP are indicated in below table, it
is clear evident that zinc leached most followed by lead and copper. On the contrast,
concentrations of arsenic, chromium and molybdenum are found to be well within the limits.
Overall, when comparing the leached concentrations with regulatory authorities like USEPA
which has listed allowable concentrations to not classify waste as hazardous under D-list and
CPCB standards for waste as hazardous waste, lead and copper have leached more than the
acceptable limits. So, the mobile PCBs sample can be classified as hazardous waste.
75
TCLP Results
Sl. No Elements Concentrations in ppm Average Standard Confidence UCL95 Federal Maximum
Limits ( mg/l)
(mg/l)
76
100
90
80
Concentration in ppm
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pb Zn Cu
Elements
0.7
0.6
0.5
Concentration in ppm
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
As Cr Mo
Elements
77
5.5. Analyzing problems associated with implementing Extended Producer Responsibility
78
Table 29 Summary of Problem in e-waste management system in India and provision for the same in E-Waste management
1. Presence of powerful 1.Informal E-Waste 1. The role of various Implementation stage 1. Compulsory registration
informal E-Waste Recycling sector has stakeholders such as for recyclers as it will help
79
3. It has diverted the aimed at weakening monitoring and registration
recycling
2. Low E-Waste 1. Many of the formal E-waste management For the first two years a 1. Retail Outlets can be used
Collection efficiency in Recycling Units are Rule 2016 has collection target of 30% for collecting e-waste.
formal sector underutilized because of provision for of the quantity of waste Switzerland E-Waste
input for the unit. separately from other Extended Producer effectively utilized this
2. Resulted in the solid wastes seeing its Responsibility has been option.
80
of life period (EoL). Switzerland
3. Targeted approach
collection of e-waste
producers and producers and initial stage and it is too manufactures should
manufacturers in manufactures have early to specify its status voluntarily come forward
81
not be the case if they
by the government
levels
functioning of formal e-
in India
82
5. Lack of awareness 1. Reduces e-waste 1. Role and Though awareness about 1. Awareness about toxicity
about hazardous nature collection efficiency as responsibilities of environment cleanliness of e-waste should be
of e-waste among many WEEE remain individual and bulk is being generated generated by government.
consumers. there in homes and don’t consumers have been through advertisements
reach to reach to clearly mentioned in under “Swachh Bharat 2. Academic institutions can
recycling sectors the E-waste Mission”, no awareness play very important role in
-waste
83
5.5.2. Hurdles in implementing EPR based E-Waste management systems in India.
7. Consumer behavior.
Reasons
Reasons
84
i. Associations such as EWAIN, ELCINA etc should take the responsibility of setting
PROs.
recyclers/Dismantlers, transporters but not for collectors, tax credit benefits and Regular
supervision
manufacturers.
85
iii. Fixing ARF with the help of external auditors.
86
CHAPTER 6
In this work, laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effectiveness of ammonium
thiosulphate in leaching gold and silver from mobile printed circuit board. The effect of copper
sulphate as an oxidizing agent was also analyzed. Mobile PCBs were first characterized with
aqua regia solution to get an idea about maximum leaching of precious metals and then with
thiosulphate.
The use of aqua regia as lixiviant showed good result for gold leaching with gold dissolution at
72.68% while silver dissolution was found to be not satisfactory as it was mere 31.15%.
The best result for leaching of gold from mobile PCBs using ammonium thiosulphate was found
with a solution having 0.08 M thiosulphate, 0.1 M ammonium hydroxide and 20 mM copper
sulphate. Gold dissolution was found to be good at low thiosulphate concentration and gold
leaching decreased with increase in thiosulphate concentration. The effect of solid to liquid ratio
on leaching process was also analyzed and the maximum leaching of gold was found at liquid to
solid ratio of 30g/l. Silver dissolution with ammonium thiosulphate was found be very low. The
Mobile PCBs were also characterized for some heavy metals to analyze the toxicity of extract
solution. It was found that aqua regia extract solution has higher concentrations for Chromium,
Lead and Zinc than the maximum limits set by CPCB for listing hazardous waste. When
compared with Federal TCLP limits concentrations of Lead and Chromium was found to be
higher. Thus aqua regia falls under the category of “hazardous waste”. Thiosulphate extract
87
solution was also found to be hazardous as it had higher concentrations of Lead and Copper than
This paragraph deals with the result conclusion of the third objective of the study. The study of
electronic waste management system in Switzerland cannot be replicated blindly, yet learning
from this system can be applied universally. The findings from the study which can help policy
makers in India devise a fully functional and self reliant e-waste management system are as
follows:
First, the way producers/manufacturers of EEE items took initiative to develop formal e-waste
management system in Switzerland; likewise in India also producers should come forward and
take responsibility of developing a system to ensure proper recycling of e-waste. For example
Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) can be assigned the responsibility to bring
Second, even though India does not a formal waste collection system, waste collection
efficiency is high in India. This is because informal waste collection system is well developed
and its rural as well as urban penetration is high. Therefore, instead of developing a separate e-
waste collection system, the focus of policy makers should be on integrating informal sector with
the new waste management system. However, care should be taken that the collection system is a
Third, to ensure compliance of stakeholders and transparency of the system, a proper control
mechanism should be devised out. This will require legislative support defining penalties for
88
Fourth, Registration should be made compulsory for dismantlers and recyclers but not for waste
collectors. This is because collection stage does not generate any toxics to the environment
whereas recycling stage is associated with generation of pollutants. Registration of recyclers will
thus not only help in monitoring pollutant release into the environment but also communicating
guidelines and policy initiatives of the government. On the other hand, registration of waste
From the study we found that the result of thiosulphate leaching of gold was not satisfactory and
therefore more studies should be carried out to make thiosulphate a viable option for gold
leaching. To increase dissolution of gold using thiosulphate following studies may be carried.
ii. Oxidative leaching of copper from mobile PCBs prior to the leaching of gold.
Future work regarding E-Waste management in India has been summarized as follows:
First, gathering data on e-waste generation and developing e-waste management database.
Second, to develop System dynamic model for material and financial flows. This will help in
designing and evaluating new policy measures for improving existing e-waste management
system (Sterman, 2001). Third, further research on the effectiveness on policy instruments
89
REFERENCES
1. Widmer, R., Oswald-Krapf, H., Sinha-Khetriwal, D., Schnellmann, M., & Böni, H. (2005).
2. Aylmore, M.G. & Muir, D. M. (2001). Thiosulphate leaching of gold- A review. Minerals
3. Abbruzzese, C., Fornari, P., Massidda, R., Veglio, F., F Veglio, & Ubaldini, S.
4. Hicks, C., Dietmar, R., & Eugster M. (2005). The recycling and disposal of electrical and
6. Nnorom, I. C., & Osibanjo, O. (2008). Electronic waste (e-waste): Material flows and
7. Ha, V. H., Lee, J. C., Jeong, J., Hai, H. T., & Jha, M. K. (2010). Thiosulfate leaching of gold
8. Cui, J., & Zhang, L. (2008). Metallurgical recovery of metals from electronic waste: A
9. Cui, J., & Forssberg, E. (2003). Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic
90
10. Robinson, B. H. (2009). E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental
11. Tuncuk, A., Stazi, V., Akcil, A., Yazici, E. Y., & Deveci, H. (2012). Aqueous metal recovery
3), 127-162.
13. Chi, T. D., Lee, J. C., Pandey, B. D., Yoo, K., & Jeong, J. (2011). Bioleaching of gold and
copper from waste mobile phone PCBs by using a cyanogenic bacterium. Minerals
principle to promote environmental improvements of product systems (Vol. 2000, No. 2). IIIEE,
Lund University.
15. Kahhat, R., Kim, J., Xu, M., Allenby, B., Williams, E., & Zhang, P. (2008). Exploring e-
waste management systems in the United States. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52(7),
955-964.
16. Hilson, G., & Monhemius, A. J. (2006). Alternatives to cyanide in the gold mining industry:
what prospects for the future?. Journal of Cleaner production, 14(12), 1158-1167.
17. Nnorom, I. C., & Osibanjo, O. (2008). Overview of electronic waste (e-waste) management
practices and legislations, and their poor applications in the developing countries. Resources,
91
18. Khetriwal, D. S., Kraeuchi, P., & Widmer, R. (2009). Producer responsibility for e-waste
management: key issues for consideration–learning from the Swiss experience. Journal of
19. Sinha-Khetriwal, D., Kraeuchi, P., & Schwaninger, M. (2005). A comparison of electronic
waste recycling in Switzerland and in India. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 25(5),
492-504.
20. Premalatha, M., Tabassum-Abbasi, Abbasi, T., & Abbasi, S. A. (2014). The generation,
impact, and management of e-waste: State of the art. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science
21. Laha, S. (2011). Transboundary Toxic E-Waste Flow: Environmental Injustice through Neo-
22. Chancerel, P., Meskers, C., Hagelüken, C., & Rotter, S. (2008). E-scrap metals too precious
23. Tripathi, A., Kumar, M., Sau, D. C., Agrawal, A., Chakravarty, S., & Mankhand, T. R.
(2012). Leaching of gold from the waste mobile phone printed circuit boards (PCBs) with
24. Kiddee, P., Naidu, R., & Wong, M. H. (2013). Electronic waste management approaches: An
25. Molleman, E., & Dreisinger, D. (2002). The treatment of copper–gold ores by ammonium
92
26. Akcil, A., Erust, C., Gahan, C. S., Ozgun, M., Sahin, M., & Tuncuk, A. (2015). Precious
metal recovery from waste printed circuit boards using cyanide and non-cyanide lixiviants–a
27. Petter, P. M. H., Veit, H. M., & Bernardes, A. M. (2014). Evaluation of gold and silver
leaching from printed circuit board of cell phones. Waste management, 34(2), 475-482.
28. Feng, D., & Van Deventer, J. S. J. (2010). Thiosulphate leaching of gold in the presence of
93
WEB SOURCES
http://www.moef.gov.in/sites/default/files/EWM%20Rules%202016%20english%2023.03.2016.
2. E-waste in India, Rajya Sabha Secretariat - New Delhi, India Research Unit (LARRDIS),
2011, http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/E-Waste_in_india.pdf
3. International Labour Office Report – The global impact of e-waste, addressing the challenge,
2014, http://ilo.org/sector/Resources/publications/WCMS_196105/lang--en/index.htm.
https://i.unu.edu/media/unu.edu/news/52624/UNU-1stGlobal-E-Waste-Monitor-2014-small.pdf
94
95