Improvement of the crushing effect of waste printed circuit boards by co-heating swelling with organic solvent

The crushing is a crucial unit operation for recycling waste printed circuit boards. In this study, dimethylacetamide was used to improve the crushing efficiency of waste printed circuit boards. The sectional morphology of the printed circuit boards was observed by scanning electron microscopy after a swelling treatment, the result showed the metal-nonmetal interface appeared noticeable cracks. The mechanical properties of material was measured by dynamometer, the results indicated that the destructive load of treated printed circuit boards was reduced by 115.32 N. The yield and metal grade of the crushed products were determined for each fraction. For the -0.074 mm fraction, the swelling treatment reduced the yield by 8.19% versus the regular treatment. For the -0.5 + 0.25 mm fraction, the grade of copper was increased by 7.35% after the swelling treatment. In addition, the main trace elements of the electrical components can be enriched in the coarse fraCtion. An analysis of the infrared spectra of the organic solvent before and after the swelling treatment revealed that the compositions of the organic solvent and the resins remained unchanged with this treatment. The swelling process of printed circuit boards was illustrated by the non-uniform effects of thermal expansion of materials and the interaction of organic solvent with nonmetal. Further, the hydrogen bonds between the dimethylacetamide and the resin molecules were expressed by a molecular structure diagram. Overall, this method can achieve metal liberation and enrichment in the coarse fraction, reducing the generation of fine particles and organic solvent can also be recycled. Thus, this study provides an alternative approach to improve the crushing efficiency of waste printed circuit boards. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.