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Sustainability of metal recovery from E-waste

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Abstract

The issue of E-waste disposal is concerning all the stakeholders, from policymakers to the end users which have accelerated the research and development on environmentally sound disposal of E-waste. The recovery of metals (gold, tantalum, copper, iron etc.) from E-waste has become an important focus. The mechanical recycling, thermo-chemical processes like pyrolysis, pyro-, hydro- and biometallurgical processes can play important roles in the Metal Recovery from E-waste (MREW) technology. For the industrial application of the MREW technology, it is important to analyze the sustainability. In this paper, two case studies have been presented on E-waste recycling industries in India and China. Based on the literature data, an attempt has been made to assess qualitatively the overall sustainability of MREW technology considering the three pillars, i.e., environmental, economic and social. Two conceptual frameworks with (Option-2) and without (Option-1) pyrolysis for integrated MREW units have been developed and the generalized energy and environmental impact analysis has been made using the principles of LCA. The impacts of two options have been compared. Option 2 has been found to be more efficient and sustainable. It has been realized that climate change, fossil fuel depletion, water depletion, eutrophication, acidification, fresh and marine water ecotoxicity are possible impact categories. The recommendations based on the generalized assessment are in good agreement with the findings of previous researchers on individual steps of MREW unit. The findings of this paper are expected to be beneficial to researchers and stakeholders for research directions and decision making on MREW.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Biswajit Debnath & Ranjana Chowdhury

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Sadhan Kumar Ghosh

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  1. Biswajit Debnath
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  2. Ranjana Chowdhury
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  3. Sadhan Kumar Ghosh
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Correspondence to Sadhan Kumar Ghosh.

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Debnath, B., Chowdhury, R. & Ghosh, S.K. Sustainability of metal recovery from E-waste. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 2 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1044-9

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