Used Consumer Electronics: A Comparative Analysis
of Materials Recycling Technologies
Hai-Yong Kang and Julie M. Schoenung
University of California
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Davis, CA, 95616 USA.
hkang@ucdavis.edu, jmschoenung@ucdavis.edu
Abstract— The useful life of consumer electronic devices is
relatively short, and decreasing as a result of rapid changes in
equipment features and capabilities. This creates a large waste
stream of obsolete electronic equipment, e-waste.
In this paper various recycling technologies for the glass,
plastics, and metals found in e-waste are discussed. For glass
recycling, glass-to-glass recycling and glass-to-lead recycling
technologies are presented. For plastics, chemical (feedstock)
recycling, mechanical recycling, and thermal recycling
methods are analyzed by application of plastics found in
obsolete electronic equipment. Recovery processes for copper,
lead, and precious metals such as silver, gold, platinum, and
palladium are reviewed. These processes are described and
compared on the basis of available technologies, resources, and
material input-output system.
Keywords-component; End-of-life (EOL); e-waste; recycling
infrastructure;
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the 1980’s, with the development of consumer-
oriented electrical and electronic technologies, countless units
of electronic equipment have been sold to consumers. The
useful life of these consumer electronic devices (CEDs) is
relatively short, and decreasing as a result of rapid changes in
equipment features and capabilities. This creates a large waste
stream of obsolete electronic equipment.
Conventional disposal methods, landfill disposal and
incineration, are a burden to our environment because of their
adverse effects. New management options are needed to divert
end-of-life (EOL) electronics. These options must be chosen
on the base of economic sustainability, technical feasibility,
and a realistic level of social support for the program. One
aspect of the strategy should include recycling and reuse of
end-of-life electronic products. Electronic waste recycling has
a short history, so that there is not yet a broad and fixed
infrastructure in place. Factors that affect the recycling
infrastructure are the amount of waste in the waste stream, the
recycling technologies available, government regulations, and
the economics of end-of-life products.
Among those several factors, recycling technologies is the
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most critical factor. Electronic products are an integration of
numerous modern technologies and are composed of many
different materials and components. This means that to recycle
EOL electronics effectively, many technologies should be
involved. To provide a better understanding of the current
electronic recycling technologies, CED demanufacturing and
final disposition of recycled electronic wastes are described.
This description will provide a comprehensive view of the
technologies available for the recycling of electronic waste.
II. QUANTITY AND TYPES OF E-WASTE.
Millions of pounds of electronic waste from obsolete
computers and other electronics are being generated in the
U.S. each year. Electronic waste already constitutes from 2 to
5 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream and is
growing rapidly [1]. Figure 1 shows the personal computer
(PC) shipments, actual and estimated in the U.S. [2]. Sales of
PCs have increased more rapidly than for any other electronic
product. In 2003, more than 54 million PCs were sold.
According to a May 1999 study from the National Safety
Council (NSC) in Itasca, Ill. [3], nearly 63 million PCs in the
U.S. will become obsolete in 2003.
70
60
PC units (mil.)
50
40
30
20
10
0
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
Shipped Obsolete Year
Figure 1. Personal computer shipments and obsolescence in
the U.S.
Also the lifespan of PCs is getting shorter as a result of
technology development and higher standards for PCs. For
example in 1992, the average lifespan of PCs was 4.5 years but
it is projected to decrease to 3 years by 1999 and to 2 years by
2005 [3]. Figure 2 shows the change in PC lifespan.
226
 5 B. CRT Recycling
PC lifespan (years) Because CRTs contain lead, proper handling is essential
4 to avoid contamination of air, soil and ground water. There are
3
two technologies currently available for CRT recycling: Glass-
to-Glass and Glass-to-Lead recycling. CRTs consist of two
2 major parts. One is the glass components (funnel glass, panel
glass, solder glass, and neck) and the other is non-glass
1 components (plastics, steel, copper, electron gun, and
0
phosphor coating). CRT glass consists of SiO2, Na2O, CaO,
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 and other components for coloring, oxidizing, and protection
Year from X-rays (K2O, MgO, ZnO, BaO, PbO). In North America,
Figure 2. PC average lifespan in the U.S. [3]. CRT recycling companies are not located on the west coast
and the cost of transportation from the west coast for the CRT
Used electronics contain significant amounts of hazardous recycling is very expensive.
materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium and polychlorinated
biphenyls. On the other hand, used electronics contain high 1) Glass-to-Glass Recycling
value materials such as gold, palladium, copper, and plastics. Glass-to-Glass is a closed loop recycling process. After
Furthermore, several obsolete electronic devices can be reused cleaning collected CRTs are sent to CRT manufacturers to use
if identified and sorted out by experts. in new CRTs. The recycling of the CRTs starts with removal
Major milestones for encouraging electronic recycling are of the case. CRTs housings must be removed and the tubes are
the bans on the disposal of CRTs in landfills and incinerators depressurized. Metals are separated and whole glass is ground
that started in Massachusetts in 2000 and in California in 2001 into cullet without separation of panel and funnel glass. CRT
[4, 5]. According to these bans, all the CRTs must be recycled glass, especially panel glass, compositions are different
in these states. The State of California has also now put
depending on the manufacturer and when it was made. So, this
pressure on manufacturers to recover an amount of hazardous
e-waste equivalent to 90 % of the devices sold by that mixed grinding cullet has the disadvantage of unknown lead
manufacturer by the year 2010 [5]. composition.
One approach to reduce the risk of contamination is to use
a special saw to separate panel glass from funnel glass. The
III. RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR COLLECTED
sawing method allows the panel glass to remain intact, and,
MATERIALS
therefore, identifiable, which is in contrast to the conventional
method of breaking all the glass components simultaneously
A. Materials Recovery
[9]. Figure 4 shows the saw cut CRT.
Residential electronic waste collection programs show
that the majority of the items collected consist of TVs,
computers and monitors, and other appliances. Metals (49%),
plastics (33%), and CRTs (12%) account for over 90% of the
collected materials [6]. Figure 3 shows the materials
distribution from collected residential electronic waste. When
only computers are collected, the distribution is different: the

CRTs
13%
Figure 4. Separated CRT components by saw cut [9].
There are several benefits for this glass-to-glass process.
Plastics • Recycled cullet can replace the virgin materials at an
35% equal or lower cost
Metals
52% • Improve the efficiency of the furnace
• Improve the quality of the output glass and
Figure 3. Major materials from collected residential • Reduce emissions from the glass making process
electronics waste. The barriers for glass-to-glass include:
• The CRT recycling is difficult in identifying glass
monitor (49%), steel (20.1%), and plastics (3.0%) [7]. When composition
only TVs are collected, the distribution is glass (47.6%), • Cost and complexity of collection infrastructure and
plastic (14.7%), and metal (31.9%) [8]. These results show • Insufficient supply of recycled cullet.
that the major materials in electronic equipment are metals, • Labor intensive and expensive process compared to
plastics, and glass (in the monitors and CRTs). lead smelting

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 2) Glass-to-Lead Recycling
In the glass-to-lead recycling process, metallic lead (Pb)
and copper (Cu) are separated and recovered through a
smelting process. Although there are variations, CRTs
generally contain one-to-eleven pounds of lead (in the glass)
[5], which is used in the glass to protect people from exposure
to X-ray emission [14]. Recovered CRT glass can go to the
lead smelter. CRT glasses behave as a fluxing agent in the
smelting process.
This process is automated compared to the glass-to-glass
recycling making it more cost effective. It also provides safe
working conditions because workers are protected from lead
dusts by the automated nature and emission control of system.
It has high overall throughput. However, this process reduces
the value of quality glass.
C. Plastics Recycling
The unique electrical insulating properties of plastics and
their strength, stress resistance, flexibility and durability make
plastics ideal materials for electronics. Plastic waste quantities
from the electrical and electronic industries will increase to
around 1.13 million tons by 2005 in Western Europe [12].
After metals, plastics have the greatest potential salvage value
in electronic products. The plastics used in electronic products
are mainly ‘engineering thermoplastics’, which have a high
intrinsic value. These resins can be re-melted and formed into
new products. As a result, thermoplastics show better
recyclibility than thermosetting plastic resins.
There are three kinds of recycling processes for plastics.
Mechanical recycling is a conventional method, which uses
shredders and an identification step, combined with fabrication
of new products. In thermal recycling, plastics are used for
alternative fuels. Chemical recycling processes use waste
plastics as raw materials for petrochemical processes or
reductant in metal smelters.
The major concern in plastics recycling is the need to
identify and separate the plastics found in end-of-life (EOL)
electronics. The need to identify additives and contaminants is
also problematic. Even though the exact composition of each
plastic resin is different, the major resins in TV sets are high–
impact polystyrene (HIPS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
(ABS). ABS and HIPS are used also in computers [13, 14] and
generally 8 to 12 different basic types of plastics are found in
end-of-life consumer electronics [12, 13]. The most widely
used plastics in the electronic industry are HIPS (56 wt%),
ABS (20 wt%), and polyphenylene ether (PPE) (11 wt%) [13].
OTHER
PPE 13%
11%
ABS
HIPS
20%
56%
Figure 5. Three major resins found in consumer electronics.
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Figure 5 shows that these three major resins represent
almost 90 percent of the plastics used, and HIPS represents
more than half. To recycle plastics from discarded electronics,
the first step must be the sorting process. Contaminated
plastics such as laminated and/or painted plastics must be
removed.
1) Mechanical Recycling
To remove paint and coatings the grinding method,
abrasive paint removal technique, solvent dipping method, and
high-temperature aqueous-based paint removal method can be
used. But any single technique is generally not sufficient, and
because of the degradation of the plastic substrate during the
process, the processing conditions must be carefully controlled.
Shredder and hammer mills are generally used to perform
coarse size reduction and liberation. Major materials removed
in this step are metals. Because metals can damage traditional
particle size reduction equipment, such as granulator and mills,
granulation and milling is used for further size reduction after
the metal is removed. Granulators use fixed screen or grate to
control particle size. Alternatively, or additionally, wet and
cryogenic techniques can be used to enhance liberation.
To remove ferrous metals from the plastics waste stream,
a magnetic separation technique is used. The strong magnets
can even remove many grades of stainless steel. Among the
nonferrous metals, aluminum can be separated by the eddy
current process. An air classification process is used to
separate light fractions by controlling the air velocity. Density
sorting methods are applied for sorting plastics, and
hydrocyclones are used to enhance the effectiveness of density
separations. Triboelectronic method can distinguish between
two resins by surface charge transfer phenomenon [15].
By using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy,
different types of flame retardants can be identified [16].
Figure 6. XRF spectra of toner cartridges. Condition A: tube
voltage 10kV, 50µA. Condition B: tube voltage 25kV, 40µA
[16].
Depending upon the XRF technique, regulated heavy
metals (Pb, Hg and Cd) as well as flame retardants (Br, Sb and
P) can be identified from two different toner cartridges. Also
an infrared reflection technique can identify the polymers and
compounds [19]. Figure 6 shows the one example of XRF
technique. Phosphorous is detected in the PC/ABS toner
228
cartridge, suggesting the presence of a phosphorous-based D. Metals Recovery
flame retardant. Over 63.3 million pounds recovered from recycled
electronic equipment in 1998 [3].
2) Chemical Recycling
a. Depolymerization and conversion process 1) Separation of Metals
For chemical recycling of plastics several processes are Magnetic and eddy current separators are most the
developed. One of those processes was developed by the popular methods for metallic component separation. A
Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) [17]. magnetic separator can separate ferrous components with a
Mixed plastics waste (MPW) is depolymerizaed at about permanent or electric magnet. An eddy current separator can
350~400˚C and dehalogenated. The open carbon bonds are remove nonferrous metals such as aluminum and copper from
saturated by hydrogen because of high hydrogen pressure, non-metallic materials. Table 1 shows the materials that can be
more than 100 bar. The liquid product goes through a separated by eddy current separator. The main separation
distillation process. The remaining inert and the unconverted criteria is σ/ρ.
plastic are removed as a residue, hydrogenation bitumen. The
final high quality products, off-gas and syncrude, are obtained
Metal σ ρ σ/ρ Metal σ ρ σ/ρ
by the hydrotreatment process. These final products are used
in petrochemical processes. Al 0.35 2.7 13.1 Cu 0.59 8.9 6.6

b. Coke oven process
Nippon steel company developed one process for plastic
chemical recycling [18]. Waste plastics are crushed, reduced
in size and charged into a coke oven. General waste plastics
were added to coal by 1wt% and plastics decomposed easily.
In the coking chamber, the waste plastics are heated about
1200˚C in an oxygen free environment. The charged plastics
are pyrolyzed at 200˚C to 450˚C, generate gas and are
completely carbonized at 500˚C. The yields from
carbonization of general waste plastics were 20% of coke,
40% tar and light oil, and 40% of gases, approximately.
Primary components of gas are methane and hydrogen [18].
c. Reducing agent for Fe2O3 in blast furnace
The other example of feedstock recycling of plastics is
using plastics as a reducing agent in metal recovery processes.
One recent studey in Sweden showed that using plastics from
end-of-life electronics as an energy and carbon source in
metals processing is environmentally sound [19].
For the production of pig iron for steel production, iron
ore (Fe2O3) has to be reduced to Fe. Recent development
efforts have replaced conventional reducing agents with
plastic waste. Generally coke and coal were used as the
reducing agent and the plastic waste was used as a substitute
for fuel oil [19].
3) Thermal Recycling
Thermal recycling indicates the use of plastics as fuel.
Plastic materials can be incinerated and produce energy in the
form of heat. Plastics have a high heat value and serve as a
valuable fuel supplement in the feedstock. According to
studies undertaken by the Association of Plastics
Manufacturers in Europe (APME), the energy needed to
reclaim copper from end-of-life electronic scraps such as PCs,
TVs, is only one-sixth of the energy required to produce Cu
from ore [19]. One ton of plastics can replace 1.4 tons of coal
in cement kilns [3].
Zn 0.17 7.1 2.4 Brass 0.14 8.5 1.7
Ag 0.63 10.5 6.0 Pb 0.05 11.3 0.4
Τable 1. σ/ρ values for some metals [20].
ρ: density of material (103kg/m),
σ: electrical conductivity of material (10-8/Ωm).
2) Lead (Pb) Recovery
For recovery of lead, the reverberatory furnace is charged
with lead containing materials. Lead compounds are reduced
to metallic lead bullion, and the purity of the lead bullion, soft
(pure) lead, is more than 99.9 wt% Pb. This furnace is tapped
for slag, which typically contains 60~70wt% Pb. The blast
furnace is charged with the slag generated from the
reverberatory furnace, as well as other lead containing
materials. Iron and limestone are added as fluxing agents to
enhance furnace production. Hard Pb, the product of the blast
furnace, contains about 75~85wt% Pb.
3) Copper Recovery
Electronic scraps (5~40wt% Cu) are fed into the blast
furnace. Copper compounds have to be reduced by reducing
agents such as scrap iron (because Fe is less noble than Cu).
Plastics and impurities, such as Sn, Pb, Zn, are also reduced as
gas fume. The product of blast furnace is called black copper
and includes 70~85wt% of copper. Black copper is oxidized in
a converter. Blister copper purity is 95wt%. In an anode
furnace, the blister copper and scrap Cu are melted. Less noble
metals than copper are selectively oxidized. By adding
reducing agents (plastics), molten Cu is reduced [21]. Coke
and wood can also be used as reducing agents but waste
plastics, which are already present in the waste stream can
replace these reductants. Pure copper, 99.99wt%, is deposited
on the cathodes
4) Precious Metals Recovery
In the precious metal refinery, gold, silver, palladium, and
platinum are recovered. The anode slime from the copper
electrolysis process is leached using pressure. The leach

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residue is then dried, and after the addition of fluxes, smelted [3] National Safety Council, “Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling
Baseline Report”, May 1999.
in a precious furnace. During smelting, selenium is recovered.
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[9] Jeff Lowery, Greg Voorhees, “CRT Glass Processing,” Electronic
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Silver Anode slime
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[12] American Plastics Council, “An industry full of potential: Ten facts to
Figure 7. Precious metals recovery process sequence. know about plastics from consumer electronics-2003 update”.
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IV. CONCLUSIONS http://www.moea.state.mn.us
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