Recycling of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in electronic waste

Abstract

The management of used electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) or e-waste is a significant problem worldwide due to rapid uptake of the technology and early obsolescence of EEE. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from used televisions and computer monitors represent a major e-waste problem as they consist of glass with different compositions. The front panel is a lead-free barium-strontium glass whereas parts such as the funnel hidden inside are composed of glass with lead oxides. Regulations require the glass from waste CRTs to be recycled or re-utilized. Closed-loop recycling and open-loop recycling are two principal ways of recycling CRT glass. The aim of this paper is to examine the technical characteristics and composition of the CRTs, its generation, environmental impacts and related regulatory requirements and to review the current technologies and their limitations for recycling CRT glass and its end use. © 2008 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.