Pyrometallurgical Processing Of Electronic Waste

The complex chemical make-up of electronic waste as well as the variability of feed material from post-consumer sources requires resilient processing systems that are able to handle a range of material without adversely effecting production. Several of the successful processes that are being operated by a number of large-scale metal producers are reviewed in this paper. This review outlines the processing path and final disposition of many of the important individual elemental components. Determining the chemical characteristics of processes is required to understand both metal recovery possibilities and controlling the fate of minor elements. The behavior of both the organic and metallic fractions of electronic waste during processing is evaluated thermodynamically and general conclusions are given. I