E-waste management in Romania MIHAELA PODARIU, GABRIELA FILIP Resources, Geodesy and Environment Department Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, North University Centre of Baia Mare Dr. V. Babes Street nr. 62/A, Baia Mare 430083 ROMANIA mihaela.podariu@yahoo.com, gabrielamfilip@yahoo.com Abstract: The production of electric and electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing areas. Recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment is an important subject not only from the waste treatment point of view but also from the recovery of valuable materials. For a sustainable development, E-waste needs to be proper recycled and disposed. With the climate change being of concern, mechanical processing will play an essential role in upgrading of E-waste. Although significant steps have been made so far in the field of waste management, Romania has large amounts of waste that are not managed according to EU requirements. This is a weakness of the national waste management sector that can be transformed through coherence policy and sustainable investment, in an opportunity for business and labor market. Keywords: environmental management, recycling, E-waste 1 Introduction Over the last decades the electronics industry has revolutionized the world: electrical and electronic products have become ubiquitous of today's life around the planet. Without these products, modern life would not be possible in (post-) industrialized and industrializing countries. These products serve in such areas as medicine, mobility, education, health, food supply, communication, security, environmental protection and culture. Such appliances include many domestic devices like refrigerators, washing machines, mobile phones, personal computers, printers, toys and TVs. [1] E-waste contains relatively high amounts of valuable materials, such as ferrous metals (the ferrous metal content has always been the largest fraction), aluminum and copper, which can be recycled and reused in new products. E-waste also contains precious metals, which have wide applications as contact materials, as well as scarce materials such as indium, gallium and rare earth metals. These metals are present in very low quantities, making their recovery difficult. The recycling processes also need to be economically sustainable, meaning that the and recovery of the various materials are done only if they can profitably be sold as secondary material for the reuse in new products. Of course, rising market prices and restricted availability, e.g. of rare earth metals, are major driving forces for the recovery of secondary metals and the development of efficient recycling processes. Certain components of some electronic products contain hazardous substances (mercury, cadmium), which can be harmful to the environment if are inadequately treated and disposed. [2] 2 Characteristics and processing of E-waste The chemical composition of E-waste varies depending on the age and type of the discarded item. However, most E-waste is composed of a mixture of metals, particularly Cu, Al, and Fe, attached to, covered with, or mixed with various types of plastics and ceramics. [3] Heavy WEEE items, such as washing machines and refrigerators, which are mostly composed of steel, may contain fewer potential environmental contaminants than lighter E-waste items, such as laptop computers, which may contain high concentrations of flame retardants and heavy metals. Treatment processes of e-waste aim at either removing the hazardous items or at of as much as possible of the main recyclable materials (e.g. metals, glass and plastics), but achieving both objectives would be most desired. Modern electronics can contain up to 60 different elements; many are valuable, some are hazardous and some are both. The most complex mix of substances is ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 240
usually present in the printed wiring boards. In its entity electrical and electronic equipment is a major consumer of many precious and special metals and therefore an important contributor to the world s demand for metals. [1] Metal prices directly or indirectly influence the financial rewards of recovery. These are related to the physics of primary and recycled recovery of a metal, to the relative abundance of the various elements in primary minerals, and to the demand for greater sustainability and other services provided by the metal. Mining plays the most important role in the supply of metals for electrical and electronic equipment applications since secondary metals (recycling) are only available in limited quantities so far. Table 1 shows the economic potential of world (mine) production compared to electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) demand. The (precious) metal content of various devices can do much to boost the economic recycling of WEEE products. [4] Table 1 World mine production, electrical and electronic equipment EEE demand and application relative to mine production for several critical elements [4] Symbol Ag Au Pt Bi Co Cu Pd Sb Sn World mine production (t/a) 22200 2500 188 7600 88000 16200000 229 135000 261000 EEE demand (t/a) 7554 327 7 1216 16470 7174000 44 67500 129708 EEE demand/mine production (%) 34 13 4 16 19 44 19 50 50 Waste electric and electronic equipment is nonhomogeneous and complex in terms of materials and components. In order to develop a cost-effective and environmentally friendly recycling system, it is important to identify and quantify valuable materials and hazardous substances, and further, to understand the physical characteristics of this waste stream. Waste electric and electronic equipment, being a mixture of various materials, can be regarded as a resource of metals, such as copper, aluminum and gold, and plastics. Effective of these materials based on the differences on their physical characteristics is the key for developing a mechanical recycling system. Particle size, shape and liberation degree play crucial roles in mechanical recycling processes. Almost all the mechanical recycling processes have a certain effective size range. [5] The recycling chain for e-waste consists of three main subsequent steps: 1) collection, 2) sorting/dismantling and pre-processing (incl. sorting, dismantling, mechanical treatment) and 3) end-processing (including refining and disposal) (Figure 1). The efficiency of the entire recycling chain depends on the efficiency of each step and on how well the interfaces between these interdependent steps are managed. [1] Figure 1 Recycling chain for e-waste [1] Collection of e-waste is of crucial importance as this determines the amount of material that is actually available for recovery. Improvement of collection rates depends more on social and societal factors than on collection methods. The aim of dismantling and pre-processing is to liberate the materials and direct them to adequate subsequent final treatment processes. Hazardous substances have to be removed and stored or treated safely while valuable components/materials need to be taken out for reuse or to be directed to efficient recovery processes. This includes removal of batteries, capacitors etc. prior to further (mechanical) pre-treatment. The batteries from the devices can be sent to dedicated facilities for the recovery of cobalt, nickel and copper. The final metals recovery from output fractions after pretreatment takes place at three main destinations. Ferrous fractions are directed to steel plants for recovery of iron, aluminium fractions are going to ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 241
aluminium smelters, while copper/lead fractions, circuit boards and other precious metals containing fractions are going to integrated metal smelters, which recover precious metals, copper and other non-ferrous metals, while isolating the hazardous substances. [1] Generally, the methods applied for the treatment of electrical and electronic scrap are: mechanical, thermal treatment, hydrometallurgical treatment and electrochemical treatment. The different components and devices can be separated in a first mechanical step into various fractions such as metals (iron, copper, aluminum etc.), plastics, ceramics, paper, wood and devices such as capacitors, batteries, picture tubes, LCDs, printed circuit boards etc. These fractions can be further treated. Material may be based on magnetic, electrostatic, density, visual, or other characteristics. Using the mechanical there is an important advantage, that uncomplicated devices can be used to obtain different fractions, e.g. iron, nonferrous metals, light fractions (plastics etc.). The disadvantages are noise and dust formation. [6] Electric conductivity-based separates materials of different electric conductivity. As shown in Table 2 [5], there are three typical electric conductivity-based techniques: Eddy current, corona electrostatic and triboelectric. Table 2 Mechanical processes based on electric characteristics of materials [5] Processes Separation criteria Principles of Sorting task Workable particle size ranges Eddy current Corona electrostatic Triboelectric Electric conductivity density Electric conductivity and Dielectric constant Repulsive forces exerted in the electric conductive particles due to the interaction between the alternative magnetic field and the Eddy currents induces by the magnetic field (Lorentz force) Corona charge and differentiated discharge of particles and this to action of different forces (particularly, image forces) Tribo-charge with different charges (+ or -) of the components cause different force directions Non-ferrous metal/nonmetal Metal/nonmetal Separation of plastics (nonconductors) >5 mm 0.1-5 mm (10mm for laminar particles) <5 (10) mm In the past decade, one of the most significant developments in the recycling industry was the introduction of Eddy current separators whose operability is based on the use of rare earth permanent magnets. The rotor-type electrostatic separator, using corona charging, is utilized to separate raw materials into conductive and nonconductive fractions. The extreme difference in the electric conductivity or specific electric resistance between metals and non-metals supplies an excellent condition for the successful implementation of a corona electrostatic in recycling of waste. Triboelectric makes it is possible to sort plastics depending on the difference in their electric properties. Characterization of E-waste provides the basis for effective techniques, E-waste being heterogeneous and complex in terms of the type, size, and shape of components and materials. In order to be separated, E-waste must be shredded to small even fine-sized particles. [5] Certain components of some electronic products contain hazardous substances, which can be harmful to the environment and human health. On a more local level, uncontrolled discarding or inappropriate waste management/recycling generates significant hazardous emissions, with severe impacts on health and environment. In this context, three levels of toxic emissions have to be distinguished: - primary emissions: hazardous substances that are contained in e-waste (lead, mercury, arsenic, ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 242
polychlorinated biphenyls, fluorinated cooling fluids etc.) - secondary emissions: hazardous reaction products of e-waste substances as a result of improper treatment (dioxins or furans formed by incineration/inappropriate smelting of plastics with halogenated flame retardants) - tertiary emissions: hazardous substances or reagents that are used during recycling (cyanide or other leaching agents, mercury for gold amalgamation) and that are released because of inappropriate handling and treatment. [1] However, recycling always has a lower ecological impact than landfilling of incinerated E-waste. [7] Contamination associated with E-waste has already caused considerable environmental degradation in poor countries and negatively affected the health of the people who live there. Cleansing of such large contaminated sites is probably unfeasible, since they have been heavily contaminated with numerous contaminants, many of which are poorly studied. However, the negative effects of the contaminants at these sites may be reduced using standard remediation technologies. There is limited knowledge on the ecological effects, human health risks and remediation options for some E-waste contaminants, such as Li and Sb, since they are not normally environmental pollutants. Rich countries have self-interest in mitigating the negative environmental effects of E- waste because it will negatively affect the quality and quantity of food and manufactured goods that are imported from poor countries. [8] 3 E-waste management in Romania The main objectives of the Romania WEEE Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment are: - Prevention of waste electrical and electronic equipment, recycling and recovery of these wastes, in order to reduce the amount of waste disposed - Improving the environmental performance of the operators involved in the life cycle of EEE, especially those directly involved in the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment. Since 2008, the target for WEEE collection in Romania is at least 4 kg of waste/capita/year. Despite the efforts of authorities and responsible operators, so far was not reached the target of collection because old EEE have a longer usage in households and WEEE often are wrongly recorded and reported as scrap metal. In the period 2006-2010 was collected a total quantity of 91540.87 t WEEE. The distribution on years and categories is shown in Table 3. Table 3 Distribution by categories of WEEE collected in Romania [9] Category Quantity of WEEE (t) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1- Large household appliances 517.68 1625.54 8923.68 21385.59 14119.93 2- Small household appliances 51.85 107.19 735.82 1489.54 913.64 3- IT and telecommunications 274.24 1164.32 6252.69 9103.73 6459.84 equipment 4- Consumer equipment 47.04 599.57 5175.38 5061.14 3567.23 5- Lighting equipment 7.88 8.30 206.20 177.41 182.660 6- Electrical and electronic tools 166.27 113.19 321.83 674.57 625.81 7- Toys, leisure and sports 1.30 2.68 32.80 111.78 62.73 equipment 8- Medical devices with the 0.01 22.22 16.49 41.78 19.86 exception of all implanted and infected products 9- Monitoring and control 65.31 39.58 39.66 594.99 215.41 instruments 10- Automatic disperses 0.00 2.20 13.85 118.97 79.50 Total quantity 1131.58 3684.78 21718.40 38759.50 26246.61 In Romania, the difference between the amount of equipment placed on the market and the amount of equipment collected from consumers is the highest in the European Union, in Romania being collected the least in EU both as absolute and as a percentage of the amount consumed. ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 243
Recent Researches in Applied Economics and Management - Volume II The rate of WEEE recovery in Romania was 36.43% in 2008, 94.39% in 2009 and 100% in 2010 when were treated WEEE collected and some of stock WEEE. Collected WEEE is treated both in Romania and in other EU states. The amount of WEEE collected (Figure 2) from the Maramures population by operators in 20062011 is shown in Figure 3. Figure 2 WEEE collection in Maramures 200 175 150 tons 125 100 75 50 25 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Figure 3 The quantities of WEEE collected in Maramures County during 2006-2011 [9] Specific conditions in Romania on the implementation of the WEEE management are: Insufficient infrastructure to ensure efficient collection (number and distribution of collection points throughout the country, logistics, containers for separate collection); Lack of population education in the area of selective waste collection; Procedure "new for old" is not a common procedure and is not agreed either consumers or distributors; ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 Average life of products (especially those in categories 1 and 4 Table 3, which constitute the majority of collected WEEE) is about 2.5 times higher than in EU countries. 4 Conclusions E-waste is rapidly increasing on global scale and contains both materials which can be recovered as secondary raw material as well as hazardous materials and substances. Thus, for a sustainable 244
development, e-waste needs to be proper recycled and disposed. With the climate change being of concern, mechanical processing will play an essential role in upgrading of E-waste. Characterization of E-waste provides the basis for effective techniques, E-waste being heterogeneous and complex in terms of the type, size, and shape of components and materials. Environmental restrictions on processing and disposal of E-waste are to be considered. Although significant steps have been made so far in the field of waste management, Romania has large amounts of waste that are not managed according to EU requirements. This is a weakness of the national waste management sector that can be transformed through coherence policy and sustainable investment, in an opportunity for business and labor market. References: [1] UNEP 2009, Recycling from E-waste to resources [2] Pia Tanskanen, Management and recycling of electronic waste, Acta Materialia 61, 2013 [3] Hoffmann JE, Recovering precious metals from electronic scrap, J-J Mines Met Mater Soc, 1992 [4] UNEP 2013, Metal recycling, opportunities, limits, infrastructure [5] Jirang Cui, Eric Forssberg, Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment: a review, Journal of Hazardous Materials B99, 2003 [6] P. Gramatyka, R. Nowosielski, P. Sakiewicz, Recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment, Journal of achievements in materials and manufacturing engineering, vol.20, Issues 1-2, 2007 [7] Hischier R, Wager P, Gauglhofer J., Does WEEE recycling makes sense from an environmental perspective? The environmental impacts of the Swiss take-back and recycling systems for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Environ Impact Assess Rev 2005 [8] Brett H. Robinson, E-waste: An assessment of global production and environmental impacts, Science of the Total Environment 408, 2009 [9] National Environmental Protection Agency, Romania ISBN: 978-960-474-324-7 245