Electrical equipment, such as those collected at municipal WEEE collection points or as input for treatment plants, usually are a mix of a variety of different kinds of devices, types and models. Furthermore, most of the collected types of equipment are of a very complex device structure. In addition to casing, they consist of mechanical parts and electronic components, which in turn have a very diverse composite material composition. Besides iron, nonferrous metals, a variety of non-metallic components of some electronic devices contain precious metals and rare earths, which enjoy against the backdrop of resource efficiency, particularly topical discussion. In addition, most devices contain hazardous components, which must be removed and disposed off in a controlled manner.
These extreme complexities make it difficult to determine the material composition of mixed Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) composite inputs or make it impossible to determine in practice the content of certain materials or substances with reasonable effort. This reported project aims at developing a database-focused approach for estimating the ma-terial composition of complex composite input streams and the systematically data collecting on all relevant WEEE recycling processes. This database makes it is possible to model different variants of the process without exten-sive pilot plant tests, and enables simulations for different input compositions. Furthermore, quality related market factors can be evaluated more easily. Within this project, small electronic appliances (according to the Elektroaltgeräteverordnung EAG-VO, Austrian Ordinance Regulating the Handling of Waste Electrical Equipment and the Waste Management Act) streams have been determined (2009 – 2012). The device classification has been done in accordance with the WEEE Guideline, EAG-VO, etc. Up until now, 600 dismantling analyses of small appliances, 120 product models (material composition) as well as the investigation and definition of 60 assemblies have been done. The results enable the specific material composition (i.e. plastics, metals, Fe, non Fe, motherboard, hazardous, materials, etc.) in electronic devices as well as other defined fractions (i.e. cable, assemblies, etc.) to be determined.
The project offers a variety of other application areas and valuable assistance for the following activities: - Expansion of existing WEEE recycling facilities or designing of new systems for specific catchment areas. - Assessment of the impact of measures like sorting in specific groups of devices prior to the first treatment. - Analysis for determining the allocation of metals and plastics for material balances.
Autor(en)
Dr. Maria Noel Dos Santos, Dipl.-Ing. Michael Weinlich, Ing. Mag. Thomas Leitner, DI Markus Spitzbart