Material flow and economic analysis as a suitable tool for system analysis under the constraints of poor data availability and quality in emerging economies

Waste from electrical and electronic equipment or e-waste is increasingly processed in transitional or developing countries. The waste originates from both national consumption and waste imports. In these countries the e-waste processing and recycling is managed almost entirely by informal recycling businesses. Due to the application of inappropriate techniques, this sector bares high risks of environmental and occupational hazards and also looses valuable materials. Formal recycling industries have to compete with the informal businesses and simultaneously comply with environmental and occupational regulations. The presented model applies a dynamic stock-driven material flow model and an economic evaluation of gold and copper flows to the Indian personal computer (PC) recycling sector. The metal concentration per PC and value of these metals mainly determine the profits for recyclers. The study introduced threshold values for formal and informal gold and copper recycling according to their recycling cost per PC. At present level of metal concentration per PC and metal prices the formal sector will not become active. Two scenarios, one with double metal prices and a second with reduced threshold values for formal recycling, have been calculated. Also under theses scenarios the formal recycling sector will not overtake a majority of the recycling. The model proves that a stock-driven dynamic material flow model can be combined with an economic evaluation of material flows. The analysis included a calculation of error propagation and a sensitivity analysi

Raising awareness on solid waste management through formal education for sustainability: a developing countries evidence review

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a multifaceted problem comprising political, socioeconomic, institutional, and environmental aspects. Due to exponential urban growth, it has become one of the most significant issues faced by urban spaces in developing countries. The gap in environmental knowledge among the youth and the old within developing countries contribute to ecological issues or waste management problems, resulting in unsustainable development, with important consequences in low-income countries. For that matter, a systematic review was conducted aiming to identify and analyse environmental knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and practice studies on SWM from 2010 to 2019 in developing countries. The evidence suggests that students at both secondary and tertiary levels have positive environmental attitudes, and high awareness of environmental issues, but there is a lack of practical education of teachers to guide students to put SWM into practice. Student’s low environmental knowledge is related to a deficiency in teachers’ practical experience in SWM for environmental sustainability. A relationship between teachers’ and students’ knowledge and attitudes towards SWM, as well as differences in awareness, attitude, and practices of SWM linked with education and age, were also found. This review also revealed that the lack of environmental education in most developing countries is caused by fragilities in practical environmental curricula of teachers to respond to modern-day environmental issues for sustainable development and cleaner production (CP). To bridge the knowledge gap between the youth and older people in SWM, environmental sustainability education should be integrated into schools at all levels within developing countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): Flows, Quantities, and Management—A Global Scenario

International audienc

WEEE recycling in China. Present situation and main obstacles for improvement

Abstract tional hazards and losses of valuable materials by applying Presently the wae p g ainappropriate techniques. These unwanted impacts will bePresently the waste processlng and recycling ofeectrongcs multiplied if the entire waste volume in the future will be in China iS managed mostly by informal recycling busi- absorbed by the informal recycling sector. nesses. This sector runs a considerable risk of causing en-vironmental and occupational hazard. It also loses valu- Many prominent publications have investigated on the able materials by applying inappropriate recycling tech- negative effects of inappropriate recycling of waste from niques. Formal recycling industries have to compete with electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. informal businesses, whilst still complying with environ- In some emerging economies like India, China and South mental and occupational regulations. Several obstacles Africa, formal recycling industries are slowly growing prevent formal recycling businesses from becoming com- [8,9]. Recycling system in emerging economies evolve petitive, such as the fact that theformal sector finds it diffi- rapidly and one can observe that formal recycling will ei-cult to collect sufficient waste volumes due to international ther appear as a side activity of other business or be a result bans on waste imports, and high costs for collecting domes- of upgrading informal activities [program: knowledge part-tic obsolete equipment. In this paper, the costs ofcollection nerships in e-waste]. These formal industries are complying and transport for five products were analyzed within both with national environmental standards. They already exis

Electrodynamic Fragmentation of High Value Compound & bulk materials with potentially recoverable substances EDF-HVC ECO-INNOVERA call 2

Electrodynamic Fragmentation of High Value Compound & bulk materials with potentiall recoverable substances (EDF-HVC

Material flow and economic analysis as a suitable tool for system analysis under the constraints of poor data availability and quality in emerging economies

ISSN:1618-954XISSN:1435-2974ISSN:1618-9558ISSN:1436-722

Electrodynamic Fragmentation of E-waste

Untersuchungen dazu werden in diesem Bericht am Beispiel von WEEE und speziell an Leiter-platten aufgezeigt. Die Versuche zeigen, dass EDF für verschiedenste Arten von Elektroschrott eingesetzt werden kann. Verschweisste Kompaktgeräte können zum Beispiel so weit geöffnet werden, dass die ge-wünschte Komponente freigelegt und entfernt werden kann. Leiterplatten haben die Eigenschaft, dass bei kontinuierlich steigendem Energieeintrag zuerst die aufgebrachten Komponenten abgetrennt werden, bevor die Cu-Bahnen freigelegt werden. Bei noch höherem Energieeintrag wird die Leiterplatte schlussendlich zerkleinert und vollständig zer-stört. Durch diese Entfrachtung der Leiterplatte kann ein metallreiches Konzentrat hergestellt werden

Characteristics of EoL Printed Wiring Boards processed by ElectroDynamic Fragmentation

peer reviewedThe ElectroDynamic Fragmentation (EDF) is an innovative technique which enables selective fragmentation of material. Its inherent selective breakage principles enable liberation while avoiding fine grinding. In this study, the specific effects of the EDF on End-of-Life Printed Wiring Boards have been assessed. A novel methodology for their EDF processing has been developed and compared with hammer mill shredding. Various energy inputs and treatment stages have resulted in fragmentation degrees ranging from removal of components to structure delamination and subsequent size reduction