Efficient Recycling of Printed Circuit Boards from Disassembly/Separation Process of waste LCD TVs: Composition Analysis and Value-wise Classification

What is it about?

Various waste PCBs arose during disassembly of LCD TVs and monitors in which they originally functioned for transmission of imaging signal, power supply, and imaging control. In those functional PCBs, gold and copper are contained at far more acceptable level, exceeding mining grade ores. Those valuable metals and their contents widely vary with functionality and end use of PCBs. Therefore, compositional analysis of individual waste PCBs from disassembled LCD TVs and monitors were performed in the present study to classify them into three categories: high gold yield and low gold yield PCBs and those without gold contents. Besides, additional chemical analysis was made to reveal gold and copper contents in the waste PCBs arising from actual disassembly/separation of end-of-life LCD TVs and monitors.

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Why is it important?

Various waste PCBs arose during disassembly of LCD TVs and monitors in which they originally functioned for transmission of imaging signal, power supply, and imaging control. In those functional PCBs, gold and copper are contained at far more acceptable level, exceeding mining grade ores. Those valuable metals and their contents widely vary with functionality and end use of PCBs. Therefore, compositional analysis of individual waste PCBs from disassembled LCD TVs and monitors were performed in the present study to classify them into three categories: high gold yield and low gold yield PCBs and those without gold contents. Besides, additional chemical analysis was made to reveal gold and copper contents in the waste PCBs arising from actual disassembly/separation of end-of-life LCD TVs and monitors.