Characterization of industrially pre-treated waste printed circuit boards for the potential recovery of rare earth elements

Rare earth elements (REE) are classified as critical raw materials and the environmental impact of mining them is growing concern. The recovery REE from electronic waste (e-waste) could offer a more sustainable practice. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) an important resource in e-waste stream due to their content valuable materials. However, data regarding concentration distribution WPCBs very limited. aims this research were: (a) analyse chemical composition comminuted prior processing (industrially pre-treated) with emphasis on REE, (b) determine other metals different size fractions pre-treated WPCBs. samples were supplied by commercial recycling companies, which makes representative industry UK. Correlation between elemental concentrations particle was analysed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Most inversely correlated size. Concentrations Y, La Gd found up thousand times higher smaller compared coarser particles. most base including Cu, Sn, Pb Zn did not show trend. present study highlights occurrence WPCBs, fine potential sources these elements, currently recovered during process. A cost-effective sieving step proposed enrich for further recovery, prevent possible loss maximize total material