The Entrepreneur's Guide to Computer Recycling - e-Waste. This ...

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Entrepreneur’s Guide to Computer Recyclingthe most appropriate companies to treat and recover the batches of homogeneousmaterials resulting from the dismantling operation. He must findcompanies that offer economical and ecological advantages.CPlasticsOPERATIONAL STAGES | DISMANTLINGTo reduce logistics costs, once plastic has been extracted, it is possibleto reduce volumes by using tools such as a mechanical press or shearsfor iron or balers for plastics and master cartons. This can be secondhandequipment. For larger volumes, it is possible to use comminuting machinessuch as pelletizers. After identification and homogenization, plastic will besent for recovery in the form of plastic batches weighing about 150 kg.This operation requires neither specific skills nor expensive equipment.The operation is interesting for the recycler as it generates homogeneousmaterials that can be negotiated with scrap dealers and industrial traders.Even though there is a plastic recovery market, it is hindered by a numberof obstacles. First, recovery is complicated by the presence of flameretardants (bromine) in plastics which are therefore non-homogeneous.Then, the presence of labels and metal pieces reduces the homogeneityof plastic batches. And finally, plastic recovery requires large quantitiesof homogeneous plastics to be a profitable activity. Therefore, it is in theentrepreneur’s interest to carefully carry out the dismantling operation, toform high quality batches of homogeneous plastics that will be sold at thebest prices to industries.Metals68To maximize profits, it is in the entrepreneur’s interest to sell metal batcheswhich are as homogeneous as possible. The iron in the structure of the CUrepresents the largest quantity of metal used in a computer. It can be soldto iron and steel industries or to scrap dealers. Computer equipment alsocontains non-ferrous metals, such as copper (up to 1.5 kg) and aluminium,or lead and pewter in smaller quantities. However, these metals are oftenmixed to form other components, such as printed circuits. In these cases,the separation of these metals requires advanced technologies.
Volume 1: Basics for starting up a computer recycling businessThe recovery of these materials is very interesting to the entrepreneur, ashe can sell them as they are (mixed) or in homogeneous batches.Circuit boardsIn a used PC, printed circuit boards are among the most valuable components.Firstly, they may contain chips that can be removed and sold forreuse. But above all they contain valuable metals that can be sold to asmelter. Electronic boards that cannot be reused as spare parts still havevalue. To optimize the value of these boards, it is necessary to sort themaccording to their precious metal content. The boards are then sold torefineries. Their price depends on the market price of precious metals, onthe homogeneity of batches and on the quantity. The recovery of circuitboards must be carried out by specialised industries, to avoid any healthor environmental risk.Some circuit boards (such as power supply boards and electronic boardsfound in monitors) contain on average less than 100 g of gold per tonne.They are «low grade» boards. However, some boards (e.g. graphicboards, audio boards and network boards) contain a lot more preciousmetal. «high grade» boards contain between 400 and 500 g/tonne, and arefound in laptops and mobile phones. «Very high grade» boards, containingmore than 500 g/tonne, come from large mainframe computers or phonecentres.COPERATIONAL STAGES | DISMANTLINGOnce at the smelter, the different metals (gold, copper, silver, selenium,tellurium, lead, palladium, etc.) are recovered through complex processes.Due to the complexity of the technologies used and given that recoverypractices can be highly polluting, the entrepreneur must sell the printedcircuits to appropriate industries that can conduct recovery operations inan environmentally sound manner.BatteriesBatteries and accumulators are not necessarily hazardous as they are.However their content can have an impact on the environment. Therefore,the enterprise must be careful to ensure the security of the storage area69
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