How is electronics recycled? How to properly dispose of electronics and household appliances

Technology development does not stand still. Every year the electronics market is replenished with new products that are much more advanced than the previous ones. Old electronic devices are becoming obsolete, and the question of recycling such equipment arises. The process of recycling electrical appliances is widespread throughout the world, as it directly affects the ecological component of the environment.

Environmentalists have long begun to sound the alarm about the proper disposal electronic equipment. And this is not without reason, because literally every electrical appliance contains a whole range of toxic substances that will affect the ecology of the planet.

Electronics contain such toxic substances such as: lead, cadmium, silver, lithium. And this list can be continued. If a person does not approach the disposal of electronic equipment correctly, then all these toxic substances will eventually end up in the ground, and then in groundwater. And this will lead to the fact that these substances end up in water bodies.

Recycling of electronics is required and directly controlled by law. The flow of waste of this type is growing every day, which causes stimulation and wariness of officials in its disposal.

The process can take place in two ways: manual and automated. Manual processing is required to remove hazardous substances and electronics components. Automated has the same focus, but this method does not guarantee complete removal of toxic substances and components.

Electronics recycling jobs include:

• Delivery of equipment to the disposal site
• Disassembly
• Sorting of environmentally friendly parts
• Smelting of precious metals
• Disinfection of toxic parts

The need for recycling electronics is controlled directly by the legislation of the Russian Federation. In case of improper disposal of electronics, the legislation of the Russian Federation provides for criminal or administrative punishment with considerable fines. It is for this reason that it is worth approaching recycling responsibly. Do no harm environment and human health by disposing of equipment in poor quality.

The company "Plataru" is engaged in high-quality and safe recycling of electronics in Moscow. A team of specialists will save you from having to dispose of office equipment yourself. Low price and high quality service. The company recycles all types of electronics of all brands and sizes. Treat the nature around us with respect, do not pollute it with all kinds of waste. Dispose of office equipment correctly or use a recycling service.

Recycling electronic equipment is a standard procedure for getting rid of devices that have lost their performance characteristics. Used electronics are disassembled into their components, after which all useful components are removed. Residual raw materials are destroyed in a safe way. Electronics cannot simply be sent to a landfill where garbage is burned or stored for years, since waste of this kind contains many hazardous substances, including heavy metals and toxins. The only option to deal with electronic waste is recycling.

Currently, only a small number of enterprises are engaged in recycling electronic equipment, since organizing the recycling process is quite difficult. For each type of equipment, it is necessary to use a certain type of processing technology in order to be able to extract maximum amount useful materials from the device. Modern electronics use precious metals - palladium, silver, platinum, gold, which are now very difficult to obtain, but they can be extracted from non-working electronic equipment. Recycling helps support the production of new devices, solves some ecological problems, so it’s worth resorting to it whenever possible.

What is included in the list of electronic equipment for recycling

According to current legislation, recycling of electronic equipment is a mandatory procedure for all devices that can no longer be used for their intended purpose. That is, any electronics - a board, a telephone, a power supply that no longer works - must be recycled. Once discarded, electronic equipment must be recycled properly or you may be subject to fines for storing such waste.
Also now relevant is the law “On Precious Metals and precious stones”, which obliges everyone legal entities hand over electronic devices containing precious metals for recycling.

For rate technical condition device and checking the presence of precious metal in the design, it is enough to invite a specialist who will conduct an examination of the electronics.

Modern methods of recycling electronic equipment

Several methods are currently used for recycling electronic waste in Russia, here are the most common ones:

1. Mechanical processing - grinding and separation. The sorted parts are crushed to a fine fraction using special devices, after which the raw materials are sent further.
2. Magnetic separation is used to separate ferromagnetic metals.
3. Pyrolysis is a thermal treatment method that is used to process polymers and glass into recycled materials. In the process of recycling some types of electronics, you can get a charred conglomerate, from which you can recover a small amount of metal - zinc, copper, iron, etc.
4. Leaching - using an acid or alkali solution, metals are removed from the part, which can then be quite easily recovered for reuse.

Ordering recycling of electronic equipment in Moscow

You can order recycling of electronic equipment in Moscow and other cities of Russia from the Prompererabotka group of companies. Experienced specialists will help you quickly prepare all the accompanying documentation and help organize the removal and transportation of waste from anywhere in the country. Cooperation without advance payment for favorable conditions. More information about the cost and features of the provision of services can be obtained by calling the phone number indicated on the website.

Removal, processing and disposal of waste from hazard classes 1 to 5

We work with all regions of Russia. Valid license. A complete set of closing documents. Individual approach to the client and flexible pricing policy.

Using this form you can leave a request for services, request Commercial offer or get free consultation our specialists.

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Electronic waste is a by-product rapid development technologies. Every year, the world accumulates hundreds of tons of obsolete devices whose operation was related to power supply or exposure to electromagnetic field. Recycling of televisions, mobile phones, radio components, microwave ovens, printers, gadgets and other devices is relevant all over the world.

Issues

IN Lately Environmentalists are sounding the alarm that electronic waste ends up in landfills and is not properly disposed of. Each of the used devices is fraught with a threat, as it contains a composition of toxic substances:

• lead from cathode ray tubes
• cadmium from batteries and accumulators
• lithium
• beryllium
• by-products of plastic degradation

All electronic waste seeps into the ground and poisons the soil, surface water bodies and groundwater. When toxic substances enter the human body, they have Negative influence for respiratory and nervous system, reduce immunity and cause cancer.

According to Russian environmental organizations, more than 25 million television sets, about 30 - 40 million computers, waste radio components, not counting other types of equipment, have accumulated in the country's landfills and landfills. The problem threatens with catastrophic consequences.

Toxic waste removal

Toxic e-waste is all materials and substances that contain harmful contaminants. They are part of devices or are formed during the processing of radio components.

These include:

• brominated flame retardants
• phenyl ethers
• chlorinated phenyls
• dioxins
• aromatic and cyclic hydrocarbons
• furans
• composition of heavy metals – lead, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, chromium, nickel

Removal of toxic waste and radio components consists of dismantling fixed assets, separating and crushing elements containing harmful substances. At the last stage, waste radio components are processed using a chemical process.

Electronic waste recycling

All electronic waste is sorted according to the quantity of valuable elements it contains into:

1. The category with a low content of precious metals includes television boards, power supplies, transformers (thus, recycling for televisions, computers, microwave electronics can become a profitable business).
2. The middle category, containing a small number of valuable components - capacitors, radio electronics.
3. High category, which includes electronic waste of integrated circuits, optoelectronics containing gold, palladium contacts and other precious metals.

The main difficulty in recycling circuit boards when disposing of old TVs is great variety alloys, in that they have different compositions, they differ in their physical - chemical properties and density.

Types of processing of radio components and circuit boards

After write-off of fixed assets (and all electrical appliances must be written off according to current rules), initial sorting and dismantling, the electronic waste is transported to a recycling plant. There, depending on the condition of the boards and the category of valuable metal content, they are subjected to mechanical or chemical processing.

Mechanical recycling is the most widely used method. The disassembled parts are crushed and ground to a powder state. After this, separation is carried out, as a result of which metal fractions are separated from the raw material. This is achieved by:

• Air separation based on different speeds particle settling.
• Electrostatic separation, where, due to the creation of an electric field, particles of copper, aluminum, lead, selenium, iron and some noble metals are attracted and collected.
• Magnetic separation, an ideal method for separating ferromagnetic metals from non-ferrous ones, has the disadvantage of attracting non-metallic inclusions along with metal particles.

Chemical recycling of electronics today is a less common method that combines several types of production cycles:

• Pyrolysis is widely used for processing polymer components and fiberglass; the boards are heated to a melting state and a conglomerate is collected containing the following composition: ferrous metals, copper, zinc, aluminum, which are then reduced.
• Hydrometallurgy is effective where it is necessary to extract the composition of metal fractions as much as possible; it is based on leaching of metals followed by electrorefining and electrochemical reduction; the disadvantage of the method is the use of caustic and toxic substances– “aqua regia”, nitric and sulfuric acids, cyanide solutions. Allows you to completely process a part, extracting a maximum of precious metals.
• Biometallurgy is used to isolate the composition of copper, silver and gold fractions; it is based on the methods of bio-leaching and biosorption; it is little used due to the high cost of the methods. A device disposed of in this way loses almost all precious metals.
• Gasification implies complete recycling of waste to produce thermal and electrical energy, as well as with the release of synthesized gas, which is the raw material for the production of methanol.

It is difficult to choose the best among the basic equipment; it all depends on the type of electronics and its volume. A plant that recycles electronics usually offers customers a choice of recycling type. The spread of physical methods for processing fixed assets is due to the use of simple devices and controls technological lines, they pollute the surrounding space less and require little energy consumption. Chemical methods allow the isolation and safe disposal of bromine, cadmium, beryllium, flame retardants, heavy metals - the main ones toxic substances contained in electronic waste.

Disposal of other equipment

Household and office equipment make up a significant portion of electronic waste. It is difficult to imagine a modern family without microwave ovens, and an accounting department without a printer.

Household and office equipment are either burned or thrown into recycling. It is common practice to use basic recycling products that are also used for other electrical appliances. The second method is more economical. Removed from microwave ovens and printers:

• metal case
• plastic parts
• glass doors
• rubber
• electronic boards
• microcircuits

This means that recycling microwave ovens and recycling printers can be a profitable business. Fillers for building materials and recyclable materials are obtained from waste; ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals are extracted.