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Energy Technology 2017 pp 103–116Cite as

Valuable Metals and Energy Recovery from Electronic Waste Streams

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Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Abstract

E-waste management through traditional methods such as disposing in landfills, burning in incinerators or exporting abroad for disposal are no longer options due to the strict environmental regulations. Fortunately, the presence of valuable metals in the e-waste and increasing demand for the metals as well as complexities of the currently available primary raw materials make recycling an attractive and viable option both environmentally and economically. Moreover, it is efficient in terms of resource management by closing the loop of metals. Consequently, urban mining such as the recovery of precious metals from e-waste streams through sustainable recycling processes have emerged. The sustainable recycling practices address the scarcity of primary resources and reduce consumption of energy for metals production while managing environmental issues related to hazardous materials from the e-waste streams. In this paper, valuable metals recoveries from e-waste streams through pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes are critically reviewed. And, innovative ideas for different steps of the thermochemical processes in the valuable metals and energy recovery from the e-waste streams are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Academy of Finland for financial support. This work was made under the project “Chemistry of biomass impurities at reducing conditions in future thermal conversion concepts” as part of the activities of the Johan Gadolin Process Chemistry Center at Åbo Akademi University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johan Gadolin Process Chemistry Centre, Åbo Akademi University, Piispankatu 8, 20500, Turku, Finland

    Fiseha Tesfaye & Daniel Lindberg

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Aalto University School of Chemical Technology, Vuorimiehentie 2K, PO Box 16200, 00076, Aalto, Finland

    Joseph Hamuyuni

Authors
  1. Fiseha Tesfaye
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  2. Daniel Lindberg
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  3. Joseph Hamuyuni
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fiseha Tesfaye .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alaska System , Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

    Lei Zhang

  2. 512 Minerals & Matls Engg Bldg, Michigan Technological Univ 512 Minerals & Matls Engg Bldg, Houghton, Michigan, USA

    Jaroslaw W. Drelich

  3. IND LLC , South Jordan, Utah, USA

    Neale R. Neelameggham

  4. Idaho National Laboratory , Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA

    Donna Post Guillen

  5. CSIRO , Canberra, Australia

    Nawshad Haque

  6. Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, USA

    Jingxi Zhu

  7. Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, Australia

    Ziqi Sun

  8. Nucor Steel , Manila, Arkansas, USA

    Tao Wang

  9. Purdue University , West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    John A Howarter

  10. Turku, Finland

    Fiseha Tesfaye

  11. Department of Basic Sciences/Physic, Al Isra University Department of Basic Sciences/Physic, Amman, Jordan

    Shadia Ikhmayies

  12. Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Elsa Olivetti

  13. Proval Partners SA , Lausanne, Switzerland

    Mark William Kennedy

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Tesfaye, F., Lindberg, D., Hamuyuni, J. (2017). Valuable Metals and Energy Recovery from Electronic Waste Streams. In: Zhang, L., et al. Energy Technology 2017. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52192-3_11

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