Induction heating of metal constituents of waste printed circuit boards for e-waste treatment

Up gradation and replacement of electrical and electronics components is increasing with exponential increase of generation of e-waste. It severely challenges sustainable development. Newer rules focus on organised management with stricter monitoring and mandates to stakeholders viz. manufacturer, user and recycler. Thus, e-waste is a favorite topic among researchers. Since long, unorganized sector has realised the wealth in e-waste. Printed Circuit Boards(PCBs), constituting about 6% of the total e-waste, on average contains 60-70% non-metals and balance valuable metals. Informal treatment of this e-waste poses health risk to labours engaged and also to environment. An economically rewarding, industry deployable treatment process with acceptable environmental impact is still a distant aim. Heating is essential in many of the processes being pursued viz incineration, pyrolysis, roasting, elevated temperature grinding super conducting fluid, pyro metallurgy, hydrometallurgy etc. Heterogeneity of the object and gas releases from organic components are the challenges. Temperature plays a major role in constituents of effluent gas. Microwave and induction are a few of the most optimum modes of heating and are proven technologies. Research publications attempting both in isolation for comparison or individually in sequential stages are available. However, heating due induced current in metal constituents of PCBs are not much available in published literatures. This paper explores induction of eddy current on metallic constituents of PCBs by an external alternating magnetic field and its effects. Result of a promising simplistic experiment to dismount the soldered components like ICs, capacitors, and small transformers as part of preparation of the PCB is presented. The discussed induction heat arrangement is suitable for simultaneous application of microwave which is not feasible in indirect induction heating through a container.