Wang Xun,Jiao Fen,Qin Wenqing,Li Zihan,Wang Na,Liu Wei,Yang Congren
Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are an essential component in electronic waste (e-waste), and contain a number of valuable metals (e.g., Cu, Sn) as well as non-metal resources (e.g., brominated epoxy resin). Currently, most of the non-metals are disposed of in landfills, causing environmental problems. In this study, a combination of pyrolysis and physical separation is proposed to recover valuable resources, including both metals and non-metals, from WPCBs. The WPCBs were pyrolyzed at 700°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. Pyrolysis oil and gas can be reused as fuel for the pyrolysis of WPCBs. Metals like copper, tin, and iron in the pyrolysis residues were separated by selective crushing, sieving, gravity separation, and magnetic separation. Finally, rich copper (Cu 82.21%, Sn 1.47%), rich tin (Cu 53.20%, Sn 13.43%), rich iron (Fe > 63%), and non-metal products were obtained, and the total recoveries of copper, tin, and iron were 95%, 86%, and 76%, respectively.
In this study, a process of magnetizing roasting followed by magnetic separation, which is used to separate or recover tin and iron from the high calcium type tin- and iron-bearing tailings (containing 35.53 wt.% Fe and 0.56 wt.% Sn), was investigated . A magnetic concentrate containing 66.3 wt.% Fe and 0.07 wt.% Sn with an iron recovery rate of 92.9 wt.% was obtained under optimal conditions: anthracite ratio of 2.5:100, roasting temperature of 850°C, roasting time of 30 min, grinding time of 10 min, and magnetic field intensity of 0.1 T. In addition, the effect of roasting parameters on the separation of iron and tin and phase transformation of SnO2 was investigated by using X-ray powder diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, etc.