A new approach to designing easily recyclable printed circuit boards

Abstract

Due to the ever-increasing amount of electronic waste (e-waste) worldwide, the problem of the effective disposal of printed circuit board waste (WPCB), which are environmentally hazardous, difficult to recycle and economically valuable products, has become a major environmental challenge. Conventional WPCB recycling techniques have low efficiency and require tough processing, such as heat treatment and high pressure. This paper presents a new composite material for the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCB) that can be easily recycled into their original components and reused. In addition, the most valuable PCB components (electronic components containing precious metals) can be easily separated from the printed circuit board and reused. This study demonstrates the benefit of using biodegradable polymers as binders for PCBs in terms of environmentally friendly and efficient recycling.