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Refining precious metals from Printed Circuit Boards

Recycling printed circuit boards help to keep the precious metals within them out of landfills.

Precious metals are a finite natural resource from the Earth. The mining and extraction of these metals alone are responsible for about 40% of the world’s carbon emissions and 10% of the planet’s biodiversity loss. Unfortunately, these metals are needed for the continuous advancement of technology as more complex computers and smartphones are designed and manufactured. 

Precious metals are an essential part of many everyday items. This includes products and devices such as computers, kitchen appliances and smartphones – among many others as well. These devices all have circuit boards that require precious metals to work. However, when these devices go unused, so do the circuit boards and the precious metals. These unused devices are called e-scrap and recycling e-scrap is becoming increasingly important to meet the high demand for precious metals. This process of recycling e-scrap keeps precious metals out of landfills and allows them to be made into new devices.

 

What are printed circuit boards? 

Printed circuit boards are a key component of most of today’s electronic devices. These circuit boards serve as the foundation for many of the world’s modern electronic advancements from a smartwatch to a garage door opener. Printed circuit boards offer many advantages needed for continued technological advancements, such as a lightweight design, low production costs and easy maintenance. 

Because of their incredible usefulness, printed circuit boards are used for most of today’s electronics across many different industries, including medicine, aerospace, commercial and the military.

 

What are printed circuit boards made of? 

Printed circuit boards are primarily made up of layers of insulating and conductive materials. Oftentimes this is a fiberglass, plastic or otherwise non-conductive “board” and a conductive material like copper. There can also be a second insulating layer over top of the conductive layer - this depends on the purpose of the printed circuit board. These printed circuit boards will often have a very thin layer on the top that is referred to as a silk coat. They may also have nomenclature which is a layer of non-conductive printed labels to identify the boards. 

A printed circuit board's base is made of a non-metal material, like fiberglass, as well as various precious metals. These metals can be separated from the other layers and re-used for creating new circuit boards as long as they are recycled and kept out of landfills.

 

What precious metals are in printed circuit boards? 

Alongside the non-metal base layer of a printed circuit board, there is a variety of precious metals that can be used in printed circuit boards. While copper is one of the most commonly used metals in printed circuit boards, precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum are also commonly used in the making of printed circuit boards. 

These precious metals, among others, are commonly found in e-waste and are unfortunately often lost to landfills where they cannot be recovered and re-used. This means that all of the non-renewable metals that are needed for future electronic devices are getting thrown out and not reused.

 

What are the benefits of recycling printed circuit boards? 

Once a printed circuit board has been dumped in a landfill it can no longer be recycled and the precious metals within it have been lost forever. Unfortunately, in 2019, only 17.4% of E-waste was recycled, meaning that the majority of the US$57 billion worth of gold, silver, copper and other high valued metals were dumped in a landfill rather than treated for reuse. Recycling printed circuit boards help to keep the precious metals within them out of landfills.

Recycling printed circuit boards also help meet the increasing demand for precious metals in technology. Without the precious metals needed to continue making new and advanced technology, many of the conveniences and technological advancements society has become accustomed to would no longer be possible. This process of recycling old and unused electronic devices and appliances is referred to as “urban mining” and it is a much more environmentally friendly way to source precious metals. Urban mining requires 17% less energy to obtain these precious metals than it takes to extract them from the Earth. 

Additionally, many refineries will purchase electronic products or printed circuit boards so that they can properly recycle them. Selling these products to a refinery will not only make sure that the printed circuit boards get properly broken down and reused but refineries will also provide those who give them these products with compensation. 

 

What is printed circuit boards’ recycling process? 

Because a printed circuit board is a combination of both metal and non-metal materials, it first must be rid of plastics for the precious metals to be recovered. Many different processes are used for e-waste recycling but they all begin by ensuring that the precious metals are free of plastics. Oftentimes this means that the piece of e-waste, like a printed circuit board, will be incinerated to remove the plastic and just leave the precious metal components. 

Once the plastics are removed, the precious metals recycling process can begin. The metal is analyzed and separated so that like metals are together. This process is usually done by a magnet. The metal is then shredded – which helps to save energy – and processed. The metal is melted by being placed into a furnace that is set to the specific temperature required to melt the particular type of metal. 

The metals are then purified, often through a process called electrolysis where impurities are separated from the metal with an electric current. Once the metal has been purified it is solidified and it can be used once again for another product.

 

How & where to sell printed circuit boards

Since precious metals are such an important part of today’s technological advancements, they are continuing to become increasingly more valuable. Because of this, many different precious metal refineries will take and purify the precious metals from within e-waste and scrap metals. However, finding the best precious metals recycling company can be difficult because there are so many different options.

One of the most useful things to check is what types of materials a company will take. Just because many companies will take and refine precious metals does not necessarily mean that all of them will take materials such as printed circuit boards. 

Finding a company that advertises printed circuit boards repair or recycling or looking for a donation or pick-up service that will compensate you for the circuit boards is crucial to making sure that the precious metals in the circuit board are getting properly recycled.

 

Majestic Corporation has been a leading precious metals recyclers, non-ferrous metals and Catalytic converter provider for around three decades. With a presence in the United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Italy, Mexico, Australia, Hong Kong and more, as well as a network of precious metals refineries around the world, we work with major customers and partners in a transparent and discrete manner and only offer the highest quality services at competitive prices. 

 

Contact us here for more information. 

 



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