Sustainable Electronic Waste Treatment and Recovery of Valuable Metals
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Waste and Recycling".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 April 2025 | Viewed by 1954
Special Issue Editors
Interests: sampling procedure for e-waste; recovery of critical metals from raw materials, with a focus on rare earths, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper; processing of unconventional earth resource metals; potential of environmental loads; the application of microwave energy in hydrometallurgy
Interests: research methods: quality logistics systems, strategic logistics, and reverse logistics; research on QMS, EMS, and logistics; sustainable development; municipal waste; circular economy; research and teaching in the area of statistics
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
At present, the circular economy is receiving considerable attention, not only from companies but also from government institutions. It is a sustainable concept that aims to help eliminate global warming while also making a profit in the long run.
Discarded electronic and electrical equipment (widely known as WEEE or e-waste), from washing machines and vacuum cleaners to smartphones and computers, contains potentially harmful materials that pollute the environment and increase the risks for people involved in recycling e-waste. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams, not only in the EU but globally.
It is important to support innovative activities related to the recycling of end-of-life products, such as e-waste. Collaboration between researchers on the innovative reuse of waste and by-products is crucial. It is necessary to invent technologies that allow the recycling of valuable metals from e-waste, such as old smartphones and batteries, to be used in new smartphones and lithium-ion batteries.
Pyrometallurgical e-waste processing processes are limited by the resulting hazardous emissions, such as dioxins, which are produced during smelting. Hydrometallurgical processes are a suitable alternative for increasing the purity of base metals (Cu, Ni, and Co, etc.) and obtaining noble metals (Au and Ag). A challenge for research can be the design of ecological recycling technologies for the recovery of Cu, Au, Ag, Co, and Li from electrical waste. The research can be based on the development of hydrometallurgical technologies involving processes such as leaching, solvent extraction, precipitation, electrowinning, etc. Sampling procedures from discarded smartphones, circuit boards, and batteries are crucial for processing.
The aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research articles in areas related to the development of new technologies for recycling e-waste in order to recover valuable metals or compounds in accordance with environmental requirements and the importance of sustainability. Contributions that use the methods of LCA assessment for comparing products such as smartphones or electromobiles and processes focused on environmental and economic aspects and impacts will also be greatly appreciated.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Metal recovery;
- Sustainable recycling of e-waste;
- E-waste management;
- Environmental recycling technologies
- Sustainability development;
- Circular economy;
- Processing of unconventional earth resources;
- Spent portable and car batteries;
- Sampling procedures for e-waste;
- LCA assessment;
- Reverse logistics;
- Modeling and simulation.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Martina Laubertova
Dr. Marcela Malindzakova
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- e-waste
- metals recovery
- circular economy
- critical raw materials
- smartphones
- batteries
- sustainable development
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