• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.263-289
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• 2024

In this paper, we quantify the socio-economic impacts of recycling from a carbon social benefit perspective based on a life cycle assessment and economic evaluation of the printed circuit board (PCB) recycling process for waste mobile phones. In particular, we compare the metal recovery process through PCB recycling of waste mobile phones with the traditional metal mining and smelting process, and analyze the change in carbon dioxide emissions under two electricity generation mixes in 2018 and 2030. The analysis shows that for both gold and copper, PCB recycling generates 6.86 times and 3.69 times more carbon dioxide than traditional mining and smelting, respectively. However, when the 2030 electricity generation mix is applied, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the recycling process decreases by 44.72% and 44.65% for copper and gold recovery, respectively. This is due to the nature of the recycling process, which uses electricity as the main energy source. A cost-benefit analysis that includes the social cost of carbon dioxide shows a B/C of 1.95, indicating that recycling is economically feasible. However, this result does not take into account both the problem of securing a sufficient amount of waste PCBs and the social cost of the pollutants emitted by the recycling process. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that cost-benefit analyses reflecting the social cost of carbon and carbon dioxide emissions through life cycle assessment of the recycling process will continue to be actively conducted not only for PCB waste recycling, but also for the circular economy and recycling processes that have recently attracted attention.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.56-64
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• 2012

It is generally well known that PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is an electric component assembled by various metals mixed with plastics and ceramics. Accordingly, it is very important to extract metallic components from used PCBs from the point of view of recycling of used resources as well as an environmental protection. In this paper, patents and paper on the recycling technologies of PCB were analyzed. The range of search was limited in the open patents of USA (US), European Union (EP), Japan (JP), Korea (KR) and SCI journals from 1980 to 2011. Patents and journals were collected using key-words searching and filtered by filtering criteria. The trends of the patents and journals was analyzed by the years, countries, companies, and technologies.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.9-18
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• 2017

Recently, the amount of electronic scrap is rapidly increasing due to the rapid growth of the electronics industry. Among the components of electronic scrap, the printed circuit board(PCB) is an important recycling target which includes common metals, precious metals, and rare metals such as gold, silver, copper, tin, nickel and so on. In Korea, however, PCB recycling technologies are mainly commercialized by some major companies, and other process quantities are not accurately counted. According to present situation, several urban mining companies, research institutes, and universities are conducting research on recovery of valuable metals from PCBs and/or reusing them as raw materials that is different from existing commercialization process developed by major companies. In this study, we analyzed not only current status of collection/disposal process and recycling of waste PCBs in Korea but also the trend of recycling technologies in order to help resource circulation from waste PCBs become more active.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.66-72
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• 2015

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.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Resources Recycling Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.261-265
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 2015

The feasibility of recycling wasted printed circuit board (PCB) is investigated by preparing PCB added flame retardant composites filled with either unsaturated polyester or polyurethane. In order to improve electroconductive properties, copper powder was added into the composites, which results also in improving their antistatic properties. The prepared composite samples showed a binding between the polymer fillers observed by a scanning microscope. The sample group using unsaturated polyester is elastomeric that led to appreciable elongation and elasticity. In case of polyurethane, the tensile strength increased proportionally as increase of the amount of PCB powder. The composite materials can be utilized as antistatic composite materials, since the surface resistivity result showed increase of the electroconductive properties by adding Cu. The flammability of the samples is not satisfactory according to UL-94 vertical test. However, the flame retardant properties were improved by adding PCB power. This study, therefore, showed that it is feasible to fabricate polymer composite materials and improve the material characteristics by adding PCB powder, which can replace existing additives used for the preparation of polymer composite materials and can reduce the environment contamination by recycling the wasted PCB.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.16-33
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• 2011

Waste electrical and electronic equipment(WEEE or E-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste stream in Korea. The proper management of such equipment has become of major concern for solid waste professionals because of the large growth of the waste stream and the presence of a myriad of toxic materials with in it. In this paper in order to review the recycling system and recycling industries of the E-waste in Korea, the main frame concerning recycling of "Act on the Resources Recycling of Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment(WEEE) and End-of-life vehicles", recycling system, current recycling status, estimation of the E-waste generation, material flow of the E-waste, economics of PCB and recycling industries of the E-waste were surveyed.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.46-54
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• 2008

It is well known that PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is a complex mixture of various metals. In this study, pyro-metallurgical process was investigated to extract valuable metallic components from the PCB scrap. PCB scrap was shredded and oxidized to remove plastic materials, and then, quantitative analysis were made. 15 mass %$Al_2O_3-45$ mass %CaO-40 mass %$SiO_2$ and 32 mass %$SiO_2-20$ mass %$Al_2O_3-38$ mass %CaO-10 mass %MgO, were chosen as basic slag compositions which are determined based on the quantitative analysis of PCB scrap. During experiments a super kanthal rotating furnace was used to melt and separate metallic components. Moreover the revolution effect on was the recovery of valuable metals from PCB scrap also investigated.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.15-21
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• 2001

Shape-controlled copper oxides have been recovered from copper-containing waste etchant by neutralization with alkalihydroxide. Large amount of copper-containing waste etchant is generated from Printed Circuit Board industry. In an environmental and economic point of view, retrieve of the valuable natural resource from the waste is important. In recycling process of copper oxide from the waste etchant, reaction temperature controls shapes and sizes of the products. Copper oxide recovered below reaction temperature $40^{\circ}C$ was of a needle shape, while copper oxide comes in a platy shape above $40 ^{\circ}C$ . Physical properties of samples have been characterized using SEM, XRD, TGA and Atomic absorption spectroscopy.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.3-10
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• 2003

Copper oxychloride used as an agricultural fungicide has been recovered from copper-containing waste etchant by the neutralization with alkali hydroxides. Large amount of copper-containing waste etchant is generated from Printed Circuit Board industry. In an environmental and economic point of view, retrieve of the valuable natural resource from the waste is important. Recycling process of copper oxychloride from the waste etchant is discovered through the our study. In the range of reaction temp. 2$0^{\circ}C$-4$0^{\circ}C$, pH 5-7, pure copper oxychloride was able to prepare and the yield of copper oxychloride was higher than 95%. Physical properties of the sample have been characterized using SEM, XRD, TGA, ICP and Atomic absorption spectroscopy.