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BASAVARAJESWARI GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

BALLARI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT CHEMISTRY (2022-23)
Subject: Chemistry for Computer Science Engg. Stream (22CHES22)
MODULE-5
E-Waste Management
E-Waste: Introduction, sources of e-waste, Composition, Characteristics, and Need of ewaste
management. Toxic materials used in manufacturing electronic and electrical products, health
hazards due to exposure to e-waste. Recycling and Recovery: Different approaches of recycling
(separation, thermal treatments, hydrometallurgical extraction, pyro-metallurgical methods, direct
recycling). Extraction of gold from E-waste. Role of
stake holders in environmental management of e-waste (producers, consumers, recyclers, and
statutory bodies).
Self-learning: Impact of heavy metals on environment and human health

Introduction
In the new world of materials, usage of electrical and electronic items has been increasing
rapidly year by year. These materials have lesser life span and also used for lesser duration due to
fast change in features and the capabilities. All electronic and electrical items which are discarded
on completion of their useful life together is called as e-waste. There is rapid growth in e-waste
generation since 1990s and will continue at faster rate in future. As per an estimate, the average
annual global E- waste volume is about 65.4 million tons.
Electronic Waste describes rejected electrical or electronic devices without the purpose of re-use or
re-cycle are called Electronic Waste.

Sources of e-waste
1. Computer peripherals: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, motherboard, laptops, CDs, etc .,
2. Household appliances: TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, radios, ovens, dish washer, etc.,
3. Industrial electronics: Sensors, medical devices, automobile devices, etc .,
4. Telecommunication devices: Telephone, cell phones, routers, pagers, fax machine, etc .,
5. Electrical devices: Switches, wires, tube lights, bulbs, pen drive, etc .,

Composition e-waste
The composition of electronic waste was depending on the type of device and its
components. E-waste has become a diverse and complex nature of waste having both hazardous and
nonhazardous ingredients.
1. It contains about 65-67% of iron and steel and other metallic materials including costly metals
like Pt, Au, Ag, and toxic metals like Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr, etc.,
2. E-waste contains about 20-22% of polymeric non-biodegradable materials including PVCs, PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyls), brominated flame-retardant plastics.
3. E-waste also contains about 11.8-13.2% of CRT and LCD screens and other materials like glass,
wood, plywood and ceramics in traces.
Characteristics of e-waste
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The characteristics of electronic waste can include:

 Complexity: E-waste often contains a complex mixture of materials, making it challenging to
recycle and dispose of properly.
 Hazardousness: The hazardous materials such as heavy metals, flame retardants, and batteries,
which causes effect environmental and health risks.
 Volatility: The volatility of the E wate due to the limited life span of many electronic products.
 Global issue: E-waste is a global issue, as electronic devices are manufactured, used, and
discarded worldwide.
 Resource depletion: The extraction of raw materials for electronic devices contributes to
resource depletion.
 Environmental and health impacts: Improper disposal of e-waste can lead to significant
environmental and health impacts, including soil and water contamination, air pollution, and
harm to human health.
 Radioactive waste management: Radioactive waste also known as nuclear waste is a
byproduct from fuel processing plants, hospitals and research facilities.

Need of E-waste management

E-waste management is necessary because it helps to address several environmental, health, and
resource-related concerns, including:
 Environment Protection: E-waste contains toxic substances, such as lead, mercury, and
cadmium, that can have harmful effects on the environment and human health if not properly
managed.
 Conserving resources: E-waste contains valuable resources, such as metals, that can be
recovered and reused through proper recycling.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions: The production of new electronic products releases
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. Proper recycling and disposal of e- waste can reduce
the environmental impact.
 Reducing landfilling: Landfilling of electronic waste can result in the release of toxic materials
into the environment and contribute to soil and water pollution.
 Protecting public health: Improper handling and disposal of e-waste can expose workers and
the general public to hazardous materials and cause serious health problems.
E-waste can be toxic, is not biodegradable and accumulates in the environment, in the soil,
air, water and living things. Causes air pollution, Soil pollution and water pollution. Electronic
Recycling Promotes Soil Fertility and Maintain Nutrient. E-waste management programs aim to
promote responsible recycling and disposal of electronic waste and minimize the release of
hazardous materials into the environment. This helps to protect the environment, conserve
resources, and promote public health and safety.

Toxic materials used in manufacturing Electronic and Electrical products

Electronic and electrical products can contain a variety of toxic materials, including:
 Lead: Lead is a toxic heavy metal commonly used in the manufacture of batteries, computer
monitors, and other electronic components.
 Mercury: Mercury is used in some fluorescent lights, batteries, and other electronic devices.
 Cadmium: Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal used in rechargeable batteries, pigments, and plastic
stabilizers.
 Copper: Copper is used in conducting wires, transisters, pigments, PCBs, etc.,
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 Nickel: Nickel is used in Alloys, batteries, relays, switches, semiconductor, pigments.

 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): PVC is a common plastic used in electronic cables and other
components. It can release toxic chemicals, such as dioxins, when burned or during disposal.
 Brominated flame retardants (BFRs): BFRs are used in the manufacture of electronic
products to prevent fires. However, they are toxic and can harm the environment and human
health.
 Rechargeable Batteries contains Lithium is used in batteries, but it can be toxic if not handled
properly. Cadmium, Lead, Sodium, Lithium, Nickel etc.,
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) : Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are toxic chemicals that were widely
used ascoolants and solvents in electronic products, such as refrigerators, air conditioners. They
cause ozone depletion.

Health hazardous due to exposure of e waste

Exposure to electronic waste can have serious health consequences are:
 Poisoning: E-waste can contain toxic substances, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, that can
cause poisoning if they enter the body.
 Respiratory problems: Exposure to dust and fumes generated during the dismantling and
disposal of e-waste can cause respiratory problems, such as asthma and bronchitis.
 Neurological effects: Exposure to toxic substances in e-waste, such as lead and mercury, can
cause neurological effects, including memory loss, tremors, and coordination problems.
 Reproductive problems: Exposure to toxic substances in e-waste, such as cadmium, can cause
reproductive problems, including infertility and birth defects.
 Cancer: Exposure to carcinogenic substances, such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), found in e-waste, can increase the risk of cancer.
 Common health Issues: Fever, cough, hypertension, heart diseases, skin diseases, corrosive to
the eyes.

Different approaches of recycling

Recycling e-waste (electronic waste) is essential to minimize environmental impact and recover
valuable resources. There are several approaches to recycling e-waste, each with its own
advantages and challenges. Some of them are 1) separation, 2) thermal treatments, 3)
hydrometallurgical extraction, 4) pyro-metallurgical methods and 5) direct recycling.
1) Recycling and Recovery of e-waste by Separation methods:
Recycling e-waste through separation methods involves breaking down electronic devices into their
constituent materials, such as metals, plastics, and other valuable components. Some of the common
separation methods used in e-waste recycling are:
a) Mechanical Shredding and Sorting: E-waste is mechanically shredded into smaller pieces,
and the resulting fragments are then sorted based on size and density.
b) Magnetic Separation: Magnets are used to separate ferrous metals (containing iron) from
non-ferrous materials.
c) Eddy Current Separation: This method uses a magnetic field to induce electrical currents in
conductive materials like aluminum. The currents generate a repelling force that separates
the conductive materials from non-conductive ones.
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d) Air Classification: Air classifiers use differences in particle size and density to separate
materials. This method is particularly effective for separating light materials like plastics
from heavier ones like metals.
e) Density Separation: Materials are separated based on their densities using techniques like
heavy media separation, where a dense liquid is used to float or sink different materials.
f) Electrostatic Separation: This method uses differences in the electrical conductivity of
materials to separate them.

2) Recycling and Recovery of e-waste by Thermal treatments:

Recycling e-waste through thermal treatments involves subjecting electronic waste materials
to high temperatures in controlled environments. Thermal treatments can help recover valuable
materials and reduce the volume of hazardous waste.
a) Incineration: Incineration involves burning e-waste at high temperatures, typically in the
range of 800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius. This process can help reduce the volume of waste and
recover energy in the form of heat.
b) Pyrolysis: Pyrolysis is a thermal decomposition process that occurs in the absence of
oxygen. E-waste is heated in a controlled environment, leading to the breakdown of organic
materials into gases, liquids (oils), and char.
c) Gasification: Gasification is a process that converts carbonaceous materials into gases
through high-temperature reactions in the presence of a controlled amount of oxygen.
d) Smelting: Smelting involves melting e-waste at high temperatures to separate metals from
non-metallic components. This process is commonly used to recover valuable metals like
copper, gold, and silver from circuit boards and connectors.

3) Recycling and Recovery of e-waste by Hydrometallurgical Extraction

There are three stages in metal recovery by this method:
1. Pre-treatment stage (Separation)
2. Chemical treatment stage (Leaching)
3. Metal recovery stage (Recovery)
1. Pre-treatment Stage: This stage involves physical separation of metal components from e-
waste
2. Chemical treatment stage: Metals are made to leach into the solutions using different leaching
reagents.
i) CyanideLeaching:Alkalicyanide like KCN is used as leaching agent. The precious metals like
Au and Cu readily dissolves in cyanide solutions. Further, the same solution can be subjected
for electroplating to obtain pure metal.
ii) Acid and alkali leaching: HNO3, H2SO4 and HCI are prominent mineral acids, a few organic
acids such as ascorbicacid, citric acid and aceticacidarealsousedtoleachlightmetalsfromspent
batteries and mobile devices.
iii) Thiosulphate leaching: Ammonium thiosulphate solution is used to solubilize Au, Ag, Pt and
other precious metals in the form of anionic stable complexes for a wide range of pH.
iv) Thiourea Leaching: Thiourea forms a cationic soluble complex with the Au and Ag present
in printed circuit board recycling.
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v) Halide Leaching: Cl, Br and I ions containing salt solutions can be replaced for cyanide
leaching agents. They exhibit high solubility, improved redox potentials and high rate of
leaching.
3. Metal Recovery Stage: In this stage pure metal is recovered from leached solution. There are
variety of methods involved to recover metal. Choice of method depends upon the nature of
leached solution.
i) Solvent extraction: Leached solution is treated with an organic solvent. It results in two
phase system. Here metal is extracted from leached solution phase to organic phase. For
example, methyl isobutyl ketone is used as an extractant for gold.
ii) Electrodeposition: In this techniques, pure metal is obtained from leached solution by
constructing an electrolytic cell. Pure metal same as metal to be extracted is taken as
cathode and inert metal is used as anode. They are dipped in leached solution. When a
current is applied, pure metal is electrodeposited on cathode.
iii) Ion Exchange: This is an improved method of solvent extraction. Here solvent extractants
are impregnated on polymer beads (ion exchange resins). The functional group in the
reagent act as chelating group and selectively bind to metal ions. Thus, they can be used for
selective recovery of the metal ion.
iv) Adsorption: Metals can be recovered from leached solutions by adsorption on appropriate
adsorbents. For example, adsorption of gold-thiourea complex solution on activated carbon
is effective method.

4) Recycling and Recovery of e-waste by PYROMETALLURGICAL PROCESS:

Pyrometallurgical technology is used to extract pure non-ferrous and precious metals from e-
waste. The Pyrometallurgical involves following steps:

a) Smelting:
 The processed scrap after preliminary stage contains mainly Cu, Pb, Sn, Sb, Zn, As, Hg. Cd and
precious metals as metallic constituents. This mixture is fed into the copper smelters.
 During smelting, Pb, Sn, Sb, and precious metals are collected in the copper parent phave.
This is casted into anode slabs and refined by electrometallurgy
 The anode is dissolved and 99.99% pure Cu is deposited over cathode leaving a slur residue,
called anodic slime.
 Anodic slime is rich in valuable metals like Au, Ag. Pt, Pb, Sn & Sb. These metals are recovered
from slurry using hydrometallurgical techniques.

b) Combustion of e-waste: Here e-waste is subjected to open burning in uncontrolled manner

which releases all sorts of pollutants in to atmosphere. Hence, this method is highly dangerous for
the environment and also increases the health risk of the workers.

c) Incineration of e-waste: Here e-waste is burnt at temperature above 800?C obtained gaseous
products of the first incineration are further oxidized above 1100?C. Heavy metals are collected in
the bottom of furnace.

d) Pyrolyses of e-waste: Pyrolyses is a thermal decomposition of e-waste at higher temperature in

an oxygen free environment. In the temperature range of 450&1100?Clowmolecular products are
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formed and these can be used as fuel and chemical feedstock. This process releases toxic halogens
into atmosphere with flue gases.

e) Molten salt process: In this process, the e-waste is fed in with the salt, and salt is melted at
desired temperature under an inert atmosphere. Organic parts decompose in the molten salt
forming carbonates and silicates and are trapped in molten salt. Halogens are converted into alkali
metal halides, which remain in the molten salt. After removing molten salt, mixture containing
valuable metal is further treated to obtain pure metal.

Extraction of gold from the e-waste

The gold extraction from the e-waste involving following steps:

Step-1: Grinding of CPU: The dust and other particles are removed from the CPU and grinding to
get size of grind piece.

Step-2: Leaching with the Nitric Acid (HNO 3): The concentrated HNO3 was added and kept for 1
hr to remove the other meals or materials. The amount of acid utilized is based on the types or
quantity of CPUs are used.

Step-3: Leaching with aqua regia: The aua regia 3:1 by the volume of HCl and HNO3 was added
due to the dissolution of gold and the reaction is absorbed by the evalution of nitrogen dioxide
brown gases. The solution was transferred into the beaker and wash with HCl for collecting of
remaining gold.

Step-4: Removal of excess of HNO3: The excess of HNO3 was removed by treating with sulfuric
acid for 45 min to get yellow colored solution at the pH of 0.5 that indicates the gold in the liquid
form.

Step-5: Precipitation of Gold: A certain amount of iron sulphate was dissolved in warm water
(4.2 g of iron sulphate per each gram of gold) and added to the gold containing solution. The
solid is gold is formed.

Step-6: Purification and Drying: The solid gold product waswashed with HCl and water two to
three times and filtered and dried at 100 0C to get gold.

Role of Stake Holders In environmental Management Of E-waste

Basically, there are four stake holders in environmental management of the e-waste. They are;
1. Statutory government regulatory bodies.
2. Producer (Manufacturing units).
3. Recycler (Recycling units & Collections units).
4. Consumers.
1) Statutory Government Regulatory Bodies:
State Pollution Control Board/ Pollution Control Board play the vital role in management of E-
waste. The main role of these statutory bodies is:
a. To collect the green tax from producer.
b. Responsible to levy taxes on producer (manufacturing units) in the form of penalty, when no
proper recycling of e-waste is assured.
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c. Provide the incentives in the form of subsidy to recycler and collectors, when recycling of e-
waste is monitored properly.
d. To conduct the programs of awareness and trainings in the society about importance of
recycling the e-waste.
e. Prevention of e-waste, granting authorization, registration, monitoring of compliance,
maintaining information on the restrictions, terms and conditions imposed on authorization,
etc .,
f. Preparation of guidelines for Environmental sound e-waste management.
g. Recommendation of standards and specifications for processing and recycling of e-waste.
h. Set a target for compliance to the reduction in use of hazardous substance in manufacture of
electrical and electronic equipment.

2) Producers (Manufacturing units):

The main role of producers in management of e-waste are:
a. Purchase the recycled material at fixed value and using of recycled ones during
manufacturing.
b. Setting up collection centers or offer exchange on old products individually or collectively.
c. Financing and organizing a system to meet the costs involved in environmentally sound
management of e-waste generated and accomplish this in transparent manner.
d. Forming the group of manufactures and encourage the recycling of e-waste.
e. Bearing the transportation cost and collection fees to ease the collection process.
f. Obtaining an authorization from the concerned State Pollution Control Board or Centre
Pollution control committee (SPCB/CPCB) in accordance with rules.
g. Maintaining the records and produce the same during inspection.
3) Recycler (Collection units and Recycling Units):
The main role of recycler in management of E-waste are:
a. The accountability of recycling units is dismantling, recycling processing of e-waste
materials, management of scrap materials (like incineration) and reselling of recycled
materials.
b. Establish the collections units and a group of people who can ensure return of e-product
from a consumer in exchange offer or directly approach them for door-to-door collection.
c. Collect the e-waste from the collection units, dealer or retailer.
d. Providing incentives when proper collection of e-waste is assured by collections units.
e. To obtain the authorization and registration from the Statutory body.
f. To ensure that no damage is caused to the environment during storage (for not more than
80-100 days), health of the workers and during transportation of e-waste.
g. To ensure that recycling and facilities for processing are in accordance with the standards or
guidelines published by CPCB from time to time.
h. To ensure that residue generated after recycling process is disposed of in a Hazardous Waste
Treatment Storage Disposal Facility.
i. To avail all the records to the Statutory bodies during inspection.

4) Consumer:
The main role of consumer in management of e-waste are.
a. To ensure that e-waste generated is channelized to authorized pick-up or return service
provided by the producers (exchange offers).
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b. Develop self-awareness on e-waste management and involve in awareness programs.

c. Monitoring the society on management of e-waste and file a compliance against the
producers/ recyclers when e-waste is not handled with care.
d. Setting up an NGOs with an objective of monitoring and programming the waste
management.
e. Identifying the recyclers and providing them the proper guidelines, safety-kit and subsidy.
Also setting up free medical check-up occasionally.