Dealing with High-Tech Trash, Part II
- Feb 27, 2008 7:09 PM EST
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A recent National Geographic story examined the flow of ewaste from developed nations into Asia and Africa, where many people scrape out a meager existence burning plastic-coated wires and circuit boards to extract the trace elements of valuable metal in them. They make a buck this way...and poison their lungs with smoldering plastics, which release ridiculously toxic chemicals. It's not a very nice way to make a buck.
Burning components is the worst way to salvage metals, of course. Panasonic announced today the development of a much better recycling process, which harnesses a catalytic converter to extract precious, reusable metals from plastic-coated wires and plastics used in electric and electronic equipment. According to the company, it's actually a relatively simple process: "As the catalytic reaction of TiO2 generates heat to promote gasification, an additional heating source is not required in the process. The method uses cooling water to maintain temperature (500°C) for optimal catalytic reaction. The subsequent heated water from the process can be used for other purposes. Hydrogen chloride produced during the gasification process of vinyl chloride is neutralized with lime."