Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Email: Inabachisato03@gmail.com (C.I.); MiyuuArai06@gmail.com (M.A.); masudakei26@gmail.com (K.M.); Shina.Momiyama@gmail.com (S.M.); Naoyuki_Morita@education.metro.tokyo.jp (N.M.)
*Corresponding author
Manuscript received October 20, 2023; revised November 17, 2023; accepted February 27, 2024; published June 27, 2024
Abstract—Approximately 22.18 million units of electrical and electronic equipment have been shipped in Japan, whereas only 11.7 million home appliances were collected under the Home Appliance Recycling Law. Although precious metals can be recovered from such devices, this recovery is rarely practiced in the case of small home appliances. This situation is problematic because the disposal of printed circuit boards in landfills can result in the leaching of heavy metals and bromine-based flame retardant chemicals into groundwater. Unfortunately, the thermoset resins employed in these units are not readily recycled and may require special pre-treatment. The work reported herein added a synthetic hydrotalcite to epoxy resin glass-coated substrates prior to pyrolysis to allow the safe recovery of useful metals and the capture of toxic bromine compounds. This hydrotalcite was found to promote substrate decomposition through a catalytic effect together with hydrolysis. Bromine-based byproducts were also captured by the hydrotalcite.
Keywords—epoxy glass-coated substrate, pyrolysis, hydrotalcite, metal recovery, urban mining, flame retardant, recycling
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Cite: Chisato Inaba, Miyuu Arai, Kei Masuda, Shina Momiyama, and Naoyuki Morita, "Effects of Hydrotalcite on the Recovery of Metals by Pyrolysis of Epoxy Resin Glass-Coated Substrates," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 27-31, 2024.
