Characterizing plastics originating from WEEE: A case study in France
Introduction
The quantity of plastics in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) has increased significantly over the past few years. In order to specifically manage this waste, the European Commission has implemented the Directive 2002/96/EC (Huisman et al., 2008), setting targets for WEEE recovery between 70% and 80%. This quota range cannot be fulfilled by the state-of-the-art metal and glass recycling methods. Hence, for environmental and financial reasons it is becoming imperative to recover most of the plastics from WEEE. Apart from the regulatory aspect, recycling plastics from WEEE preserves raw material resources and reduces energy consumption (80–90% of the energy can be saved by using recycled materials versus raw materials – BIR, 2009).
Although WEEE is collected in five different streams (cooling appliances, TVs or computer monitors, large household electrical equipment and small waste electric and electronic equipment), this study focuses on the Small Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (sWEEE) category represented for instance by IT (computers, phones, printers, etc.), culinary equipment, audio/video, vacuum cleaners, hand electric tools, personal care products and toys.
For sWEEE, the performance of the plastics recycling processes highly depends on its composition (Chancerel and Rotter, 2009). Recycling-oriented characterization is therefore a systematic approach to support the design and operation of recycling processes. Plastics must be separated before being remolded due to the immiscibility between certain polymers (Froelich et al., 2007) or due to prohibition of hazardous substances (European Directive RoHS 2002/95/CE).
Two studies, TRIPLE1 and VALEEE,2 supported by the French State, the Greater Lyon area (Grand-Lyon), the Rhône-Alpes Region and the French eco-organization “Eco-systèmes”, and involving laboratories, recycled material users and recycler partners, were conducted concerning the characterization, sorting and recovery of French sWEEE. One objective of these two studies was to provide a method of characterization to be used routinely by recycling plants to determine the plastic composition of this waste. Indeed, to our knowledge, there is currently no such a method for a simple and rapid characterization that allows operators to check the composition of the crushed plastics from sWEEE.
In order to determine the heterogeneity of the sWEEE, 10t of it were sorted into families before grinding. Specimens were manually sorted and dismantled and the plastic particles were analyzed to estimate their composition. The batch was then crushed and the metals extracted.
The residue containing plastics was sampled at the plant outlet and analyzed. The detailed characterization of the plastics sample was used to calculate the estimated sampling error and the overall measurement error. The sample size was determined so as to achieve satisfactory accuracy for the most represented polymers likely to be recovered after recycling. The procedure was validated on a second 10-ton batch of sWEEE collected from another location and treated by a different recycling facility.
This article presents the sampling protocol design methodology, then the characterization protocol and its usage limitations.
Section snippets
Characterization of the batch
The current study focuses on the composition of a batch of plastic residue that is a by-product of a metal recycling facility after crushing, grinding and metal recovery (Fig. 1).
Two batches (representing a total of about 10t) of sWEEE were identified before being treated by the metal recycling facility. Their characterization was conducted at the feed and by-product ends of the process, in order to be able to link the characterization of the plastic by-products to a composition in terms of
Polymer characterization methodology
It is essential to learn more about plastic waste composition and contaminants in order to perform a cost-effective recovery of the materials in compliance with the regulations.
The plastics in the reference sample were analyzed according to the following criteria: type of polymer, nature and quantity of flame retardant and fillers and additives (Bromine, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Chlorine, Antimony, Silicon, Phosphorus, Aluminum, Titanium, and Magnesium), density, color, grinding and sorting
Conclusion
One objective of this study was to define a simple characterization methodology to determine the composition of plastics originating from small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (sWEEE), for use routinely by recycling plants. With this aim, a batch of 10 tons of sWEEE was sorted, sample items were dismantled and characterized, and the plastics were analyzed. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to estimate the overall polymer composition of the sWEEE. After the 10-ton batch of sWEEE
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the partners of the TRIPLE (TRI des Polymères) project. Approved by the Axelera cluster, TRIPLE brings together industrial and academic partners: Suez (Environnement) – Sita Group as the leader, EFS technologies, Armines, ARTS (Association de Recherche Technologie et Sciences), Pellenc ST, MTB Recycling and the BRGM (Bureau de Recherche Géologique et Minière). It was selected by the Unique Inter-ministerial Fund. It is supported by the French State, the Greater
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