There are many technological objects that have passed through our lives, such as the ball mouse, the first cell phone that looked like a brick, video players, the old Windows 95 computer, which due to changes in fashion or technological advances have obsolete and its components are difficult to recycle, this creates a social and environmental problem for us.
Electronic scrap is a global challenge, not only because of its increase, but also because of its treatment and prevention, which requires the participation of various agents (governments, civil society organizations…) to address it as an international issue. According to data from the institution, 48.1 tons of electronic waste are generated per year and only 6.5 are officially collected.
The components that are recycled are treated with chemicals that harm the environment, burning them is not a solution either. An alternative to this problem must be found that is also economical.
A group of scientists proposes to reduce them to powder, this method consists of separating the elements of the plates inside a kind of container and at a very low temperature, with the gift of obtaining nanoparticles of three components: polymers, metals and oxides. These nanoparticles can be used as material for new products.
Cold materials are easier to break up into powder, so liquid nitrogen circulates through the container, keeping the structure at about -119 degrees Celsius.
Pilot Project
These scientists are looking for people to help them build a pilot plant, one of them Tiwery tells us that the idea is to see in it the germ of an organization dedicated to this particular form of recycling. For this, the idea is that crushers are built from the largest materials.
Next we are going to analyze so that the three components obtained from electronic scrap are reused:
- Metals: These can be used in metallic applications, paints, and any electronics you want to use. The practice of pulverizing metals is already done in other companies, these particles can be sold in powder form for each client to use as they see fit.
- Polymers and oxides can be used to reinforce structural elements.
Landfills or the burning and use of chemicals to recover metals would be a thing of the past, if these researchers managed to develop nanoparticle plants.