Detailed Quantification of Toxic and Precious Metal Content of Scrap Mobile PCB by FE SEM/EDAX and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy Method

Sonawane P.M^1, and Gupta S.G.²

¹Department of Biotechnology, Government Institute of Science, Aurangabad

²Director, Government Institute of Science, Aurangabad

Cite this paper:
Sonawane P.M and Gupta S.G.. Detailed Quantification of Toxic and Precious Metal Content of Scrap Mobile PCB by FE SEM/EDAX and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy Method. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 2020; 8(2):55-63. doi: 10.12691/aees-8-2-3

Abstract

With advances in mobile technology, the obsession for the latest mobile gadgets is increasing which is further acting as a major contributor towards the generation of e-waste. So, the current study was focused to UNLOCK the value of metal content of scrap mobile printed circuit boards (PCB). For this purpose, the investigative study was done using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) to analyze the topology of 0.5 mm particle size of Electronic Scrap Material (ESM) of PCB of scrap mobile phones and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis Spectroscopy (EDAX) was done to assure the presence of base and precious metals in it. Later, the confirmatory study was more focused on the determination of multi-element content by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method. ICP OES method which is a highly sensitive and accurate method was done using 0.5 mm fraction of PCB of mobile phones. The study revealed, the presence of base metals Co < Mg < Pb < Zn < Ni < Al < Cu and precious metals Ag < Pt < Au. The analysis showed among base metals Cu to be present in highest concentration i.e. 244.303 g/ Kg and Au to be present as 1106.6 mg/Kg.

Keywords:
E-waste printed circuit boards FE SEM inductively coupled plasma EDAX

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