Value-added products from thermochemical treatments of contaminated e-waste plastics

The rise of electronic waste (e-waste) generation around the globe has become a major concern in recent times and its recycling is mostly focused on the recovery of valuable metals, such as gold, silver, and copper, etc. However, e-waste consists of a significant weight fraction of plastics (25–30%) which are either discarded or incinerated. There is a growing need for recycling of these e-waste plastics. The majority of them are made from high-quality polymers (composites), such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP) and epoxies. These plastics are often contaminated with hazardous materials, such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and heavy metals (such as Pb and Hg). Under any thermal stress (thermal degradation), the Br present in the e-waste plastics produces environmentally hazardous pollutants, such as hydrogen bromide or polybrominated diphenyl ethers/furans (PBDE/Fs). The discarded plastics can lead to the leaching of toxins into the environment. It is important to remove the toxins from the e-waste plastics before recycling. This review article gives a detailed account of e-waste plastics recycling and recovery using thermochemical processes, such as extraction (at elevated temperature), incineration (combustion), hydrolysis, and pyrolysis (catalytic/non catalytic). A basic framework of the existing processes has been established by reviewing the most interesting findings in recent times and the prospects that they open in the field recycling of e-waste plastics.