Recycling critical raw materials from waste electronic equipment

Recycling critical raw materials
from waste electronic equipment
Table 38: Spectrum of demand for the critical metals gallium, indium, cerium and europium for partial or
complete replacement of lights by LED lights of various types in households in Germany.
Proportion of LEDs in household
lights
LED
LED
LED
LED
70% of all
light bulbs
replaced
All light
bulbs
replaced
All light
bulbs + CFL
replaced
All lights
replaced
Weight
Ga [t]
3.63
1.98
0.27
5.18
2.83
0.39
6.58
3.59
0.50
8.96
4.89
0.68
Weight In
[t]
3.24
1.77
0.25
3.24
1.77
0.25
4.62
2.52
0.35
5.87
3.20
0.44
Weight
Ce [t]
0.22
0.12
0.02
0.32
0.17
0.02
0.41
0.22
0.03
0.55
0.30
0.04
Weight
Eu [t]
0.067
0.037
0.005
0.096
0.052
0.007
0.122
0.066
0.009
0.107
0.090
0.013
Weight
Gd [t]
1.67
0.91
0.13
2.39
1.30
0.18
3.04
1.66
0.23
4.14
2.26
0.31
Weight
Y [t]
According to these figures, several t of gallium, gadolinium and yttrium will be required for the
extensive use of LED lights in private households within Germany. Quantities of the rare
earths cerium and europium also occur in the order of a few hundred kilograms. It should be
noted in relation to this that in the course of technological advances, LEDs in future will
probably be fitted with somewhat smaller LED chips for the same luminous efficacy and will
therefore tend towards being more resource-efficient. However, it must be remembered that
LED lighting also lends itself for illumination outside the private sphere (street lighting,
storage halls, office buildings), as the technology required is basically the same as for private
use. Usage in these areas would increase the necessary quantities of critical metals for
producing the WLEDs. In addition, the nominal lifespan of a white LED of 50,000 hours,
although high in comparison to other forms of lighting, refers as a rule to a laboratory value
which is often not achieved in practice. The lifespan of the complete LED module is
determined by such things as the ballast which often has a lifespan shorter than the LED
itself. This is another reason that potentially larger quantities of critical metals will be in
circulation due to the use of WLEDs for lighting.
5.4 Collection rates for LED lights
LEDs are a relatively new product group so that there are currently no available specific
values for the end-of-life collection. Assuming that in future collection rates for LEDs will be
similar to those for other forms of lighting, then a collection rate of only 30% can be
3.57
1.95
0.27
5.10
2.78
0.39
6.48
3.54
0.49
8.83
4.81
0.67
57