Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
GROUP MEMBERS
SUPERVISED BY
DR PHIRI
MISS MALUNGA
2014
FEASIBILITY STUDY OF RECOVERING PRECIOUS METALS FROM E-WASTE
2014
ABSTRACT
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) from electronic gadgets at the end of their useful life period are
currently being dumped in landfills or incinerated, causing a serious environmental harm in the
form of toxic gases or leached hazardous compounds. PCBs contain high amounts of precious
metals; about 20 wt% copper, 0.04 wt% gold, 0.15 wt% silver, and 0.01 wt% palladium. The
extraction of these metals from PCBs is both profitable and environmentally worthwhile. Hence,
this study aims to design a commercial process to extract three of these metals, (copper, gold
and silver) from PCBs of computers and mobile phones. The proposed extraction process has
been divided into two stages: (1) physical separation, (2) metal recovery. Stage 1 involves size
reduction followed by the corona electrostatic separator and the hydro-cyclone which separates
metals from non-metals. Stage 2 separates individual target metals from each other by
hydrometallurgical processing. This stage involves leaching and precipitation of the metals into
their separate components. In a bid to develop an environmentally friendly technique for
recovery of precious metals from electronic scrap, a critical comparison of main leaching
methods is analyzed from both economic and environmental impact perspective. Experimental
results have shown that cyanide leaching is the best leaching method for this research’s target
precious metals from PCBs, on the basis of the economics, process applicability and
recyclability.
Student Signature:
Date / /
Supervisor‟s Signature:
Dr Phiri ……………………………..
Date / /
All rights reserved. No part of this project may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise from scholarly purpose, without the prior written
permission of the authors and of Harare Institute of Technology on behalf of the authors.
DEDICATION
We dedicate this piece of work to our families, we appreciate their love, care, patience
and support.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank our supervisors Dr Phiri and Miss Malunga for their guidance through
which we managed to come up with this project. We would also like to thank Mr A Mukuya for
his encouragement, technical support and time sacrificed helping us. Our sincere gratitude goes
to all lecturers in the CPSE Department, Materials Department, CPSE laboratory staff,
families and friends for without them it would have been impossible for us to acquire the
knowledge and be able to undertake this project. Above all, we would like to thank the almighty
God for his tender mercy and for strengthening us in making this project a success.
ABBREVIATIONS
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2: Methods of metal reclamation, hazards, energy, and environment impact ...............14
Table 12: Gold precipitated recovered by smelting using borax flux ......................................39
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 11: Amount of gold precipitated with different precipitating agents ...........................42
In recent years, a dramatic increase in the production and consumption of electrical and
electronic equipment (EEEs) with a sharp decrease in their lifespan has led to the generation
of large quantities of waste. E-waste as this waste is popularly known, is the waste near or at
the end of their useful life period and are of no further use. These include computers, cell
phones, TVs, radios, printers and calculators. WEEE is the fastest growing waste stream in the
world with a 3-5% increasing rate per year than generation of municipal wastes. E-waste
contains several different substances and chemicals, many of which are toxic and are not
biodegradable and are likely to create adverse impact on environment and health, if not handled
properly. The random disposal and improper dismantling practices produce various toxic and
carcinogenic substances which are harmful to the environment and human health. Heart
failures, cancer, inflammation and oxidative stress and kidney failures are diseases caused by
randomly disposing e-waste. Due to organic and inorganic hazardous materials present in e-
waste, a proper management method is required. Since e-waste contains appreciable amounts
of precious (Au, Ag, Pd etc.) and base (Cu, Pb, etc.) metals, it is potentially an important
secondary sources of these metals (Hagelüken, 2006; Yazici et al., 2011).
1.1: Background
The growing quantity of e-waste from electronic industry is beginning to reach disastrous
proportions. It is estimated that the world generates 20-50 million tonnes annually (Herat
2013). The United States of America is the largest producer of e-waste producing three million
tonnes annually. In South Africa and China for example, it is predicted that by 2020 e-waste
from old computers will have jumped by 200 to 400 percent from 2007 levels, and by 500% in
India(Science News 2010). Internationally, various legal frameworks have been enacted and
enforced to regulate E-waste.
Zimbabwe is also not exempted from the problem of e-waste as it is also facing a rising tide of
e-waste generated by domestic consumption of new and used electrical and electronic
equipment (Newsday 20-08-12). The rate at which cheap electronic gadgets for retail are
flooding the local market could be viewed by some as development but it is also contributing
to the increase of e-waste as these gadgets have a short life span. However, there is no
environmentally friendly method to dispose e-waste and the government has been urging
1.4: Justification
Economic - e-waste recycling enables recovering of renewable resources which serve
as a secondary source of metals.
H1: If a low-effective, less efficient and high hazardous process is attained, the process is a
total failure.
1.6: Aim
To determine the economic and environmental feasibility of recovering metals from e-waste.
1.7: Objectives
To recover metals through a profitable and highly efficient process
Compared to the other components which make up electrical gadgets, printed circuit popularly
known as PCBs contain relatively high amounts of precious metals. Youssef (2012) projects
that PCBs of computers and mobile phones are rich in precious metal content and are the most
abundant since they are the backbone of most electronics. The values of metal compositions of
PCBs from different sources like televisions, personal computers, DVD players, calculators
and others were obtained and analyzed to conclude that PCBs from personal computers and
mobile phones contain the highest amounts of valuable metals (Youssef 2012). Table 1 below
shows substances contained in various components of electronic waste.
Tanzania has no specific policy on e-waste management but a number of policies which aim at
protecting the environment and human health are in place. Among the existing policies relevant
to e-waste management are the National Environment Policy (1997); Sustainable Industrial
Development Policy (SIDP) 1996 - 2020; National Water Policy (2002); National Energy
Policy (2003); National Trade Policy (2003); Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Development Policy (2003); the National Health Policy (2003); Science and Technology
Policy (1996); and the National Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Policy
2003.
Hischier et al (2011 ), in their publication entitled “Does WEEE recycling make sense from an
environmental perspective?” established that throughout the complete recycling chain the
sorting and dismantling activities of companies are of minor interest; instead the main impact
occurs during the treatment applied further downstream to turn the waste into secondary raw
materials. The conclusion was reached by examining two Swiss take-back and recycling
systems of SWICO (for computers, consumer electronics and telecommunication equipment)
and S.EN.S (household appliances). The two systems, which are based on an advanced
recycling fee, are well established within Switzerland. With a combined approach of material
flow analysis and life cycle assessment, the environmental impacts of these two systems have
been estimated, including all further treatment steps, which transform the fractions either into
secondary materials or into waste for final disposal. As a baseline, they used a scenario
assuming that no e-waste is recycled and hence only primary production for the similar amount
of raw materials. When comparing the environmental impact of e-waste recycling with that
High, waste
Plasma arc transformed into Low, efficient process,
None, unaddressed
gasification useable materials and toxins decomposed
power
The separation of metals from non-metals provide the appropriate further conditions for further
processing which involve the use of chemical reagents and solvents. There are different
possible approaches to separate metals from non-metals in PCBs which mainly involve
incineration, acid washing or physical separation. In order to recover valuable materials and to
minimize the adverse effects of hazardous materials contained in PCB, technologies such as
copper-smelting method (Andrea et al 2012).
Acid washing/bathing- can be also used to react with the non-metallic parts of PCB and recover
the metals either from the rich solvent or as precipitates. However, the process of acid washing
is very difficult to control especially when including the non-metallic parts of PCBs as it causes
release of hazardous vapors and fumes.
Physical separation techniques- can also be used to separate the metals and non-metals from
PCBs. Such techniques are known to have safe and eco-friendly operation. Although they are
energy intensive, physical separation technologies are able to produce separate streams of
metals and non-metals. Such separation paves the way either for more profit from sales of waste
plastics and ceramic, or for more future development in the area of recycling of plastics.
The metals selected for recovery in this study are gold, silver and copper. Therefore, a process
is needed which can selectively and quantitatively separate each of these metals from the
mixture, taking into consideration all other possibly present metal.
Advantages
Proven technology
Disadvantages
2.6: Bio leaching (use of bacteria and fungi to extract metals from e-waste)
Microbiological processes can be applied to mobilize metals from electronic waste materials.
Bacteria (Thiobacillus thiooxidans, T ferrooxidans) and fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium
simplicissimum) can be grown in the presence of electronic scrap. The formation of inorganic
and organic acids caused the mobilization of metals. Initial experiments showed that microbial
growth was inhibited when the concentration of scrap in the medium exceeded 10 g per L
.However, after a prolonged adaptation time, fungi as well as bacteria grew also at
concentrations of 100 g per L . Both fungal strains can mobilize Cu and Sn by 65%, and Al,
Ni, Pb, and Zn by more than 95%. At scrap concentrations of 5-10 g per L Thiobacilli is able
to leach more than 90% of the available Cu, Zn, Ni, and Al. Pb precipitated as PbSO4 while
Sn4 precipitated probably as SnO. For a more efficient metal mobilization, a two-step leaching
process is proposed where biomass growth is separated from metal leaching. Microbiological
leaching uses a natural ability of microorganisms to transform metals present in the waste in a
solid form (in the solid matrix) to a dissolved form. Apart from the possibility of bioleaching
Advantages
Disadvantages
The speed at which the bacteria can dissolve metal is a significantly slow process
It requires the material being leached to be extremely small i.e. <0,5mm
Advantages
2.8.1: Economics
Capital investment
Extraction economics
Availability
Cost considering detoxify/recycling
2.8.3: Toxicity
Emissions
Handling
Environmental toxicity
This suggests that the leaching of the metals may prove difficult difficult as we go down the
reactive series. However, the presence of complexing agents can considerably modify
potential/pH diagrams for metal-water systems due to the formation of highly stable metal
complex ions. Table 3 shows possible leaching agents for the processing and the active
substrates.
A high pH (usually 10.5-11 range) is necessary to ensure that most of the cyanide is in the ionic
form. A high pH is also necessary for safety and economic reasons as HCN is a volatile and
poisonous gas.
KCN Concentration
This reaction is undesirable since there is production of HCN fumes which are toxic.
Dissolution of base metals such as copper, zinc and nickel is substantially reduced and
resulting in cleaner effluents than those generally produced in acid leach systems.
Zn2+ + 2e Zn
In cyanide solution zinc forms a stable cyanide complex:
2 Au(CN)2- + Zn 2 Au + Zn(CN)42-
2.17: Temperature
Elevated temperatures increase the rate of zinc dissolution and hydrogen evolution, with an
associated decrease in precipitation efficiency. Under these circumstances, the addition of Pb
(II) may reduce Zinc consumption and improve precipitation efficiency.
2.18: Effect of pH
The pH of the pregnant solution also influences the redox potential, which shifts in the negative
direction with increasing alkalinity. The cementation process improves when there is an
increase in pH to a value between 11.5 and 11.9. Precipitation is severely retarded below pH
8, and the, the precipitation rate has been found to drop sharply at pH values above 12 due to
excessive hydrogen evolution. Consequently industrial systems usually operate within the
range applied for cyanide leaching i.e. pH 10.5-11.5 (or approximately 0.10-0.20g/l Ca(OH)2).
100
80
% Extracted
60
40
20
0
-0.4 0.1 0.6 1.1 1.6
Concentration (M)
2.21: Precipitation
Au(S2O3)23- + e = Au + 2S2O32
Aqua regia attacks the metal with formation of [AuCl4] - complex ion.
Gold is first oxidized by nitric acid to Au3+, which is then removed by complexing with the
chloride ions.
45
40
35
30
25
25°C
20 95 °C
15
10
0
H2SO4 1M HCL 2M HNO3 2M
120
100
80
60 25°C
90°C
40
20
0
Cu Fe Ni Zn Pb Al Ag Sn
70
60
50
40
25°C
30
90°C
20
10
0
Cu Fe Ni Zn Sn Pb Al Ag
3.1: Interviews
Interviews were conducted. Areas where interviews were conducted include the HIT Electronic
Engineering department, Environment Management Agency, Zimstat offices and people
(domestic users) around Zimbabwe in relation to the research team residence
3.2: Questionnaires
These were issued out to the offices and department of the school. HIT ICTS department
managed to help with the figures of electronic gadgets which are no longer in use, from some
of their storerooms to be 793+. Figure 7 shows the state of the HIT ICTS department and Figure
8 show dysfunctional phones. Other departments could not manage to give the values since it
is confidential information and required many offices to get it.
3.3.1: E.M.A
According to EMA, the government has not granted them permission to license any probable
means of disposing waste therefore electronic waste is not allowed to be dumped legally in any
places. Because of this reason many organizations which have appealed to EMA on several
occasions to be granted such a license have been denied the license. The result is that
organizations are holding on to the large masses of dysfunctional electronic gadgets including
the Harare Institute of Technology among other universities and industries. According to EMA,
the government plans to start shipping any electronic gadget which would have become
dysfunctional to China and South Africa, which is going to be expensive for the country and
divert funds which could have been used for some other necessary or helpful development in
the country.
3.3.2: Zimstat
Zimstat books were not up to date for e-waste statistics which includes the amount of electronic
gadgets being imported, amount which is locally generated and rate of e-waste being disposed.
However from this research, statistical value was calculated using the sampling method (in
which values from dumpsites, school departments, interviews from domestic users and life
expectances of electronic gadgets were used) and statistical values of the African countries to
get an amount of 30 000 tons per annum of e-waste.
Product usage
3.4: Results
The survey reflected the following:
1.
Awareness of the toxic substances present in the e- waste
2.
Knowledge of the hazards to human health and the environment
Aim:
Objectives:
Apparatus:
PCB containment gadgets, balance, pliers, nitric acid, magnesium nitrate, magnetic stirrers,
cloth bag, graphite rod, voltage source, stop watch, distilled water, meter and voltmeter, aqua
regia,
Method:
A mass of PCB containing gadget was weighed and cut into small pieces.
4 litters of distilled water was mixed with 400ml nitric acid (HNO3).
Apparatus:
250 ml flask, balance, universal indicator, filter paper, stop watch, lime, sodium cyanide(
NaCN), sodium nitrate (NaNO3 ), silver nitrate ( AgNO3 ), oxalic acid, hydrochloric acid
Method: Leaching
A sample of 100 ml of the 99g remaining solution of PCB’s was put in a 250ml flask.
The sample was pulped.0.5g of lime was added to achieve a pulp pH of 10.5, followed
by 1.54g of sodium cyanide.
Mechanical agitation was carried out for 24hours, with regular withdrawal of solution
samples to monitor the dissolution rate and reagent consumption, being replenished to
maintain target levels.
At the end of the leach period, the pulp was filtered and the solution was taken for
precipitation.
The amount of sodium cyanide added = 0.1/100 × 2000 × 0.77
= 1.54g (0.77 is the conversion factor)
100 ml of the pregnant leach solution at pH of 11.9 was placed in a beaker. The
free oxygen in the leach liquor was removed by heating the solution for an hour
without boiling it.
10g zinc powder was added to the leach liquor in order to allow all the gold
to precipitate out of solution.
The mixture was left for 3 hours in order to precipitate the maximum amount of
gold from the pregnant leach solution.
The precipitation efficiency was improved by addition of a few drops of sodium
(II) ions in the form of sodium nitrate.
The precipitate was filtered out of solution (which looks like grey mud).
The precipitate was washed by a weak hydrochloric solution to remove residual
zinc. The ratio of HCl to H2O was 1:10.
To recover the metals from solution through leaching and precipitation with aqua regia:
Apparatus:
Nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, beaker, fume hood, plate stove, clock, filter paper, measuring
cylinder,
Method: Leaching
100ml volume of 1M nitric acid was mixed with 300ml of HCl in a beaker under a
fume hood.
The mixture was boiled until the colorless liquid had changed color to lime.
The hot liquid was then added to 100ml and mixture was then boiled until it turned to
a thick paste.
100ml HCl diluted 1:1 with water was added to the paste and boiled again for
30minutes.
Method: Precipitation
Sodium metabisulphite:
100ml of Sodium metabisulphite solution was diluted with 20ml of distilled water in
order to remove the excess HNO3, and boiled for 20minutes.
An excess amount of 15g sodium metabisulphite was added to the solution while
stirring until dissolution of the precipitant had stopped.
More sodium metabisulphite was added and a white cloud produced; which was an
indication of more gold precipitating.
The mixture was left to cool and mixed in order to precipitate all the gold out of
solution.
The solution was decanted and the residue which looks like black mud was smelted
with borax flux at 1200°C in a furnace.
Ferrous sulphate:
10g of ferrous sulphate powder was added to 100 ml of the leach pregnant solution.
2ml oxalic acid was added to the solution to enhance the precipitation process.
A precipitate was formed and more ferrous sulphate was added until sulphur dioxide
(SO2) odour was produced which was an indication that precipitation was complete.
The solution was allowed to stand overnight so all the gold can be settled at the bottom.
The upper precipitant was then filtered and melted with flux.
A social survey was conducted with regards to waste dumping. Various approaches in
collection were proposed by the communities and were put into regard. Three feasible
alternatives were listed for the people to dump their waste:
Door-to-door type of collection system, where a mobile vehicle would collect the e-
waste right from the doorstep;
Stationary collection points and the people bring their wastes to the points. The
stationary system was of three types: Temporary collection center, Permanent
collection center, non- profit collection center;
Mobile collection system, where in a vehicle would come to the central part of an area
on certain days and people have to take their e-waste to that point to dispose. These
vehicles would operate either in milk runs or in specific location coverage;
0 9.92 7.01 25
15 9.02 9.03 -
35 7.67 8.90 -
50 9.68 9.23 -
65 7.73 9.00 50
80 7.41 8.98 50
95 7.02 7.97 50
pH = 1
0 9.60 9.98 -
55 8.97 9.86 50
75 8.55 9.85 50
pH = 3
For Copper:
4.4: Calculations
For experiment 1
Vt = (9.92+9.02+7.67+9.68+7.73+7.41+7.02+6.78+6.51+6.33+6.07+5.80+5.38+5.34) V
=100.66 volts
Number of times = 14
= 115.72
Power calculations
POWER = VT ×AT
For experiment 1
For experiment 2
Av Current = (9.98+9.9+9.86+9.86+9.85+9.83+9.82+9.82+9.80+9.80+9.79+9.8+9.8)/13
= 9.839 A
1.5
Mass of NaCN (g)
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 22 23 24
Time (Hrs)
= 98.99%
= 51.51%
= 82.61%
= 39.75%
= 91.88%
Amount of gold precipitated with NaBH4 on Al = (0.100/0.160)×100%
= 62.50%
Metals occupy 37.75% of the e-scrape and the power consumed to separate them is
0.2995 Kwhr.
Using cyanide as the lixiviant dissolved very high amounts of gold into solution. The
leaching process was allowed a longer residence time of 24 hours; zinc powder proved
to be a better precipitating agent than aluminium. Zinc powder precipitated 98.99% of
the gold whereas aluminium powder precipitated 51.51% of the gold at pH 11.8.
The pH was adjusted to 12.4 by adding sodium carbonate. There was a remarkable
increase in the amount of gold precipitated by aluminium by a factor of 0.628 to
83.86%. The gold precipitated by zinc was unaffected by increasing the pH. A
hydroxide layer is formed on the surface of the aluminium which passivates the
precipitation process on lower pH.
20
18
16
Amount leached
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Thiosulphate Aqua regia cyanide
Lixiviant
The order of dissolution of gold from the highest to the lowest was cyanide, aqua regia, and
thiosulphate.
cyanide(pH 11.8)
0 Al
Cyanide(pH 12.4)
0 Al
39.75 0 Thiosulphate
0 NaBH4 on Zn
82.61 Thiosulphate
62.5 98.99 NaBH4 on Al
Aqua regia
91.88 51.51 Na2S2O5
86.36
5.0: Introduction
This chapter is aimed at highlighting the process designed with the aid of a process flow
diagram, material balance and energy balance, giving a full description of the process being
undertaken.
Used
PCB feed
water
PCB sampling PCB dismantling Grinding Magnetic separator Washing and drying
cyanide Na2S2O5
Unrecovered Sulphiric
metals acid
Gold leaching Silver leaching Copper leaching
NaCl
zinc
Copper
Gold precipitation Silver precipitation
precipitation
Un chloride
recovered
metals
Gold to Silver to Copper to
smelter smelter smelter
Fig 13 below shows the block flow diagram for the process with the mass balances of the
processes
Feromagnetic
water
materials
40
130 g
g
60 g
Elecrostatic Eddy curent
separator separator
60 g
70 g 20 g
10 g
5g cyanide
83 g Na2S2O5
To waste Sulphiric
45 g
t reatment 55 g acid
sln
Gold leaching Silver leaching Copper leaching
20g
H2SO4
25 g
2 g sln 20 g
35g 40 gsln sln
sln sln 10g
NaCl
1 g zinc
Copper
Gold precipitation
precipitation
Silver precipitation
2g
chloride
2.982 g
waste Copper to
0.0108 g Gold to 15 g
smelter 7 g Silver to smelter
smelter
BASIS = 160 g
PROCESS
INPUT OUTPUT
2. Separation unit:
3. Washing and drying: solution output =61g +0.8(61g) - 49.8 = 60g washed metals
In order to match an annual feed of 20 000 tones, the laboratory experiment have a scaling
factor of 125exp6.
The results for the mass balances are shown in Table 14 below for an annual production.
Chloride 250
The recovering of metals from e-waste has its own energy balance and so is the leaching,
precipitation and the generation process. Following the conservation of energy the following
equation applies
ΔH + ΔK + ΔP = Q + W
ASSUMPTIONS
=1219.45 kcal/kg
PCB feed
Shredder
5X5 cm
E lectrostatic Feromagnetic
separator metals
Dust Magnetic separator
Crusher
<0.075mm
1-2mm
Mixer
Middling
Magnetic separator
Crusher
Hydro
Cyclone
Non metals
Non metals
2M H2SO4
Filter Filter
Copper to smelter
Silver to s smelter
Cyanide Filter
Gold to smelter
This section aims to highlight the process taking place, as designed in the process flow diagram.
(www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ht-Roll-Electrostatic_12224081/shoimage.html )
( www.compost.css.cornel.edu/MSWFactsheets/msw.fs1.html )
(www.antohendarto.blogspot.com/2012/02/magnetic-seperator.html)
CN- + O3 → CNO- + O2
Then cyanate is hydrolyzed, in the presence of excess ozone, to bicarbonate and nitrogen and
oxidized per the following reaction:
2 CNO- + 3O3 + H2O → 2 HCO3- + N2 + 3O2
The reaction time for complete cyanide oxidation is rapid in a reactor system with 10 to 30
minute retention times being typical. The second-stage reaction is much slower than the first-
stage reaction. The reaction is typically carried out in the pH range of 10-12 where the reaction
rate is relatively constant. Temperature does not influence the reaction rate significantly. To
complete the first reaction requires 1.8 -2.0 lbs of ozone per lb of CN-.
The metal cyanide complexes of cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc and silver are readily destroyed
with ozone. The presence of copper and nickel provide a significant catalytic effect in the stage
one reaction but can reduce the rate of the stage two reaction (oxidation of cyanate). Iron, gold
and cobalt complexes are very stable and are only partially oxidized, unless a suitable catalyst
is added. Ultraviolet light (UV oxidation), in combination with ozone, can provide complete
oxidation of these complexes.
UV oxidation, in combination with ozone, can completely oxidize all metal cyanide complexes.
UV oxidation is limited to relatively clear solutions, since waste streams are passed through a
light-transmitting chamber and exposed to intense UV light. UV in combination with ozone
results in the formation of OH• radicals, which are strong oxidizing agents capable of oxidizing
iron cyanide complexes. Suitable light sources emit in the range of 200 to 280 nanometers
(nm). Ozone will absorb in this band. A major advantage UV/ozone oxidation is that no
undesirable byproducts (e.g., ammonia) are generated.
Extremely effective against all free and complex cyanides either alone or in
combination with UV light
Does not form any undesirable by products such a chlorinated organics or ammonia
Does not require the purchase, storage or handling of dangerous chemicals on site
Ozone is produced on site from air using an ozone generator
The reaction with ozone does not require high temperatures or pressures
PID control
Cascade control
For the control to be effective a hold-up time of 5 minutes or more is required and also adequate
mixing and agitation, otherwise, the sensing pH electrodes will detect an incorrect pH
and continue To call for additional reagent after the correct amount has been added. The
result of insufficient mixing is excessive cycling and poor pH control. As a rule of thumb,
turnover (mixing) time should be less than 20% of holdup time. If, for example, holdup
time is 10 minutes, turnover should be less than 2 minutes.
6.1 Introduction
For the commercial success of the project, financing estimation of project cost (fixed cost and
working capital), estimation of manufacturing unit cost, and calculation of annual net cash
flows were done to determine the economic feasibility of the project using profitability
estimators such as payback period (PP), breakeven point (BEP), return on investment.
Capital investments consisting of fixed capital and working capital required for the process is $
15 000 000.
The fixed capital cost (money needed to supply the necessary manufacturing and plant
facilities) comprises of direct and indirect cost. The direct costs and indirect costs for the
processes are given in table 16 and 17 as shown below respectively, with table 18 showing the
equipment costs.
= $ 14 000 000.00
Working capital is needed for the operation of the plant. The working capital for the recycling
process is $ 1 000 000.
= $ 10 500 000.00
D = (V - Vs) / tᵤ
Where D is the depreciation, V is the initial value of the assets, Vs is salvage value and tᵤ is the
useful life.
= $ 1 006 200
= $ 10 400 000
= 0.96
= 1.04 years
7.2: Recommendations
In order to align with international practice in e-waste management, it is recommended that the
Zimbabwean government should:
Develop specific e-waste legislation which facilitates an enabling environment to make
e-waste a “resource” rather than “waste”;
Develop a legal frame which identifies all the stakeholders and their responsibilities in
the e-waste life cycle;
Create a legal framework which encourages wide spectrum of participants in economic
activities drawn from responsible exploitation of e-waste;
Create a technical committee made up of industrial, commercial and domestic
stakeholder representatives to draft an e-waste policy for economic development;
Create a legal framework which recognizes shared responsibilities by manufacturers,
distributors, collectors, processors, recyclers and consumers in e-waste management;
Accept that e-waste is a form of a resource which can be imported or exported into or
out of Zimbabwe;
Another recommendation is that further studies on the recovery of palladium and lead have to
be carried out to make their recovery processes more economically feasible.
3. Brandon, N.P., Kelsall, G.H., Schmidt, M.J. and Yin, Q.:(2002) Metal recovery from
electronic scrap by leaching and electrowinning. In: Lagostra, M.C., Veskato, S.,
Guches, K.G. (Eds.), Proc. IIIrd Int. Symp. “Recycling and waste treatment in mineral
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