Parallel Session Recycling: Thierry van Kerckhoven, Umicore, International Recycling Cooperation

1

International recycling cooperation based upon EU experience

The viewpoint of a recycler

E-waste

collaboration

Ghana -

Netherlands

The Hague

Thierry

Van Kerckhoven

November 2, 2010

2

Workshop Ghana –

Netherlands

E-waste collaboration

“Modern” electronics

The e-scrap recycling chain

E-scrap end-processing at Umicore Precious Metals Refining

What to do in Ghana?

Conclusions

3

Modern electronics make use of ~ 50% of elements from periodic table => a big consumer of natural resources

•

Precious & special metals → „technology metals“, crucial for functionality•

Key components: circuit boards, batteries, LCD screens

Mobile phone

composition

mobile phone

substance

(Quelle Nokia)

4

with

a huge

impact on

resource demand.

% used

in EEE* Main

application(s) By-product

from

• Indium: 80% LCD glass

Zn, Pb• Ruthenium: > 80% hard disks

PGM• Antimony:

~ 50% flame

retardants

(Cu, Pb, Zn)• Tin:

~ 35%

solder• Copper:

30%

cables, wires, e-motors• Silver:

30%

contacts, solder, MLCC

(Pb, Zn)• Cobalt:

20%

rechargable

batteries

(Ni, Cu)• Selenium:

~ 20%

electro-optics

Cu• Palladium:

~ 15%

MLCC, connectors

PGM’s• Gold

~ 10%

bonding wire, contacts, IC

(Cu)

* rounded

based

on

2006 sales

5

As metals production is coupled

…

supply of many “technology metals” is price-inelastic:

•

Increased demand can only be met by primary production if demand for major metal rises accordingly

•

Short term demand surges lead to price peaks (see Ir, Ru, In)

⇒ Recycling = important for supply security

C. Hagelüken, C.E.M. Meskers: Complex lifecycles

of precious

and special metals

in Linkages

of Sustainability. Strüngmann

Forum Report vol. 4. T. Graedel, E. van der Voet (eds.) Cambridge, MA, MIT Press 2009.

6

and “Substitution”

is not

as easy as you

may

think

Example: Opto-electric

applications

E.g. Substituting scarce Germanium by scarce Indium ?

7

and considering the CO2

impact of primary metal production is huge …

Cu

Co

Au

Pt

In

Sn

Ag

Pd

Ru

t CO2

/ t primary metal

source: ecoinvent 2.0, EMPA/ETH-Zürich, 2007

10 000

200

10

0

≈

≈

CO2 impact of secondary metal production is much lower for majority of metals => incentive to stimulate recycling

Why that high? E.g. Au, South Africa

∅

5 g/t, 3000m underground

Example: 70.000 tons

of metals

produced

by

Umicore Hoboken in 2007 = 1 million

tons

of CO2

savings

vs

primary

metal

production

8

the time is there

for

a fundamental change

in the recycling approach

!

•

Vision

burden opportunitynew business models to increase collection

•

Attitude

waste management resource managementcomprehensive collection plus stop of dubious “waste” exports

•

Objective

focus on mass focus on quality and specific substances

system approach and prioritisation

•

Practice

traditional business high-tech recyclingrecycling is a clean future technology so adapt structures accordingly

9

Workshop Ghana –

Netherlands

E-waste collaboration

“Modern” electronics Directive

The e-scrap recycling chain

E-scrap end-processing at Umicore Precious Metals Refining

What to do in Ghana?

Conclusions

10

recycled metals/ elementscollection pre-

processing

dis-

mantling

materials

recovery

e-scrap

separated components & fractionshandling of final wasteillegal export?

•

Total efficiency

is determined

by the weakest step•

No collection

means no

material into the recycling

chain•

Consider the entire chain and its interdependencies => no or limited precious metals recovery out of aluminium/steel/plastics fractions => watch out for inadequate pre-processing technologies

•

Optimization

of pre-processing processes and interface

with materials recovery is crucial to minimize resource losses

Overall efficiency -Example: 50% x 90% x 80% x 95% = 34%*

*effective recovery rate for e.g. Au, Cu etc.

Recycling chain

-

system approach is key

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However spot the difference -

Mass materials recycling doesn‘t fit for complex e-scrap

•

mono-substance

materials without hazards•

rather simple composition•

focus

on mass recycling

& high throughput•

trace elements remain part of alloys/glass

Source

DSD

Bottle glass: different colours & some paper, but all is SiO2

Steel scrap: various alloys with some impurities but bulk is Fe

•

poly-substance materials, incl. hazardous elements•

complex

components as part of complex products •

recycling focus

on value recovery

from trace elements•

Key are precious metal yield

& environm. performance•

Bulk materials (plastics, glass, steel, …) of little value.

PC circuit boards & mobile phones: ~ 50 substances in a highly complex inter-connected structure

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Optimise process chain interfaces

Study Reference Process description Input

St 1 Chancerel & Rotter 2008 Manual pre-processing 176 kg of IT & consumer eq.

St 4 Meskers et al. 2009 Low intensity mechanical pre-processing 1.4 tons of PC

St 5 Chancerel et al. 2009 High intensity mechanical pre-processing 27 tons of IT & consumer eq.St 6 Van Schaik & Reuter 2009 High intensity mechanical pre-processing Not indicated

Rotter et al. Elektronik Ecodesign Congress München (Oct.2009)

Choice of e-scrap pre-processing technology => strong impact on e.g. Au recovery rates

0102030405060708090

100

St 1 St 4 St 5 St 6

Gol

d re

cove

ry in

circ

uit b

oard

frac

tion

afte

r pre

-pro

cess

ing

[%] Au-loss 75% !

Remove high grade circuit boards prior to intense shredding

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backyard recycling ► “low tech”

foto: EMPA/CH

Au yield

≈

25%

integrated metals smelting/refining ►“high tech”

Umicore

Au yield

>> 95%

+ high PM yields+ special & base metals recovered+ elimination of hazardous substances+ high environmental standard

−

High losses, few metals recovered only dramatic environment & health impacts

−

Typical for most Asian & African countries

End-processors (“Recyclers”) –

Two approaches

14

How

does the recycling chain

often

look like

in reality in e.g. non-OECD-countries?

Or

a gold recycling efficiency of: 95 % x 50 % x 25 % = 12 %*But

are we doing

much

better

in “the West”?

Gold recycling efficiency of: 50 % x 25 % x 95 % = 12 %** Illustrative

figures

15

How

should/could

the recycling chain

look like

in non-OECD-countries?

NO PLEAD FOR EXPORT OF WESTERN WEEE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES !!!

Or

a gold recycling efficiency of: 95 % x 90 % x 95 % = 81 %*

* Illustrative

figures

What

is needed

to

achieve

this

result?• Maximum & organized

collection, with

adequate presorting

of various

types of WEEE

• Focused

dismantling

(=> training is needed

!)

• Best available

end-processing

technology

(=> best environmental

performance often

goes

hand in hand with

best recycling performance)

16

Workshop Ghana –

Netherlands

E-waste collaboration

“Modern” electronics

The e-scrap recycling chain

E-scrap end-processing at Umicore Precious Metals Refining

What to do in Ghana?

Conclusions

What can modern integrated smelters-refiners offer ? The Umicore-case:

©

Umicore

Maximize recycling of many (critical/scarce) metals*

Whilst using

the interconnected organics

in WEEE-fractions as

reducing agent

/ energy source

And limiting waste streams / emissions

to an absolute

minimum

* Umicore Hoboken: 18 metals

+ Create value

for critical fractions. E.g. PC-boards + EUR 5/kg net paid to suppliers

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E-scrap: Umicore’s focus material E-scrap is a complex mix of:

Ag, Au, Pd… (precious metals)Cu, Al, Ni, Sn, Zn, Fe… (base metals)Hg, Be, Pb, Cd, As, Sb, Bi… (PIA metals)Br, F, Cl... (halogens)plastics (combustibles)

e-scrap contains valuable metals & resources & as such represents a true surface mine, which must not be wastedsustainable processing in environmentally sound and robust operations

PS: via Umicore Battery Recycling, we also offer recycling solutions for rechargeable batteries (NiMH-, Li-ion, Li-polymer)

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Precious Metals Refinery

Leaching & Electro Winning

Smelter

Sampling

Raw Materials

Cu-bullion

PM-residue

Precious Metals Operations

Sulphuric Acid

Nickel Refinery

Blast Furnace

Base Metals Operations

Lead Refinery

Special Metals Refinery

Pb-bullion

In-Te-residue

Ag, Au, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, Ru In, Se, TeNi

SO2

Cu Pb, Bi, Sb, Sn, As

Slags

Se-

residue

Pb-slags

Cu-matte

Ni-speiss

PM-

residue

H2

SO4

Ag-

residue

Flow-sheet Umicore Precious Metals Refining

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Workshop Ghana –

Netherlands

E-waste collaboration

“Modern” electronics

The e-scrap recycling chain

E-scrap end-processing at Umicore Precious Metals Refining

What to do in Ghana?

Conclusions

21

What to do in Ghana? Recommendations Umicore

• Create legislative framework

that promotes/facilitatescollection & recycling

• Focus

on e-waste streams

for which recycling yields the highest environmental/financial benefits

+ adapt

the recycling chainaccording to the product category => do not adopt the samemass focused approach as in the EU-industry !

• Assure organized collection first

before thinking of next steps => If no collection =>

no recycling

• Include informal sector

instead of excluding them + make use of their strengths

(collection, pre-processing, …)

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What to do in Ghana? Recommendations Umicore

• Maximize

the use of manual dismantling

and minimize mechanical pre-processing

:

=> The more complex/interlinked the material, the less selective mechanical separation processes + the higher the losses of precious metals

by co-segregation

=> Establish intermediate collection hubs

before shipping critical / precious metal bearing fractions to e.g. Umicore

Umicore and its partners can assist you in optimizing manual dismantling

=> Do not underestimate the job creation

potential of (WEEE)-recycling (especially in collection and pre-

processing) => Recycling

as a means to fight against poverty

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What to do in Ghana? Is there a need for a precious metals smelter/refiner in Ghana?

• End-processing

is crucial

for final value generation & toxic control

• Recycling trace elements from complex products needs “high-tech”, large scale processes

which cannot be duplicated in any country

(=> need for economies of scale).

•

End-processing technology/capacity available in Europe

(Umicore):

•

Is more than sufficient

to serve the entire African e-scrap market•

Can return more metals / more money

than local refining solutions can•

Guarantees best environmental performance

24

Workshop Ghana –

Netherlands

E-waste collaboration

“Modern” electronics

The e-scrap recycling chain

E-scrap end-processing at Umicore Precious Metals Refining

What to do in Ghana?

Conclusions

25

Conclusions

Consider recycling chain as a complex, interlinked-chainwithout collection, no recyclingcollection / pre-processing should be adapted to type of material

Use strengths of Ghanaian recycling society:incorporate informal sector where appropriateuse manual labour to do focused disassemblylimit mechanical pre-processing (“shredding”) to an absolute minimum

WEEE has to be seen as an opportunity – also in respect to

job creation -

not as a burden

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Conclusions

Aim at maximizing quality of output streams => keep precious metals together in their original fraction (circuit board, mobile phone, …)

For smelting/refining of complex (precious) metal bearing fractions, make use of best available technology

+ do not trust the “we can do all at the cheapest price”-companies

Umicore can be a reliable, globally-active long-term partner to process your precious metal bearing fractions

27

Thank

you

for your attention

contact: [email protected]@umicore.comchristian.hagelueken@eu.umicore.comwww.electronicscrap.umicore.com