Bruno Martina, Fiore Silvia
Department of Environment, Land, and Infrastructure Engineering (DIATI), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Apr 27;18(9):1979. doi: 10.3390/ma18091979.
Small waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as waste mobile phones are rich in plastic components. Recycling mobile phones is particularly challenging, since the main interest for recyclers is printed circuit boards, rich in valuable metals, while the plastic components are usually destined for thermal recovery. This study is dedicated to the assessment of the recyclability potential of the plastic fractions of end-of-life (EoL) mobile phones according to the European Union's (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) directives. A total of 275 plastic items (inventoried as casings, frames, and screens) were dismantled from 100 EoL mobile phones and analyzed to identify the type and abundance of polymers via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the presence of hazardous elements such as Br, Cl, Pb, and Cd via X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Polycarbonate (PC) (57% of samples) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (27% of the items) were identified as the most common prevalent polymers. In total, 67% of the items contained Cl (0.84-40,700 mg/kg), and 26% contained Br (0.08-2020 mg/kg). Hg was detected only in one item (17 mg/kg). Cr was found in 17% of the items, with concentrations between 0.37 mg/kg and 915 mg/kg, while Pb was found in 15% of the items in low concentrations (1-90 mg/kg). In conclusion, while hazardous elements are present in the plastic fractions of EoL mobile phones (with higher values in smartphones), their concentrations were below the regulatory limits, suggesting compliance with recycling regulations in the EU.
诸如废旧手机之类的小型电气和电子设备废弃物（WEEE）富含塑料部件。回收手机极具挑战性，因为回收商主要关注的是富含贵重金属的印刷电路板，而塑料部件通常只能进行热回收。本研究致力于根据欧盟的《有害物质限制指令》（RoHS）以及《化学品注册、评估、授权和限制法规》（REACH），评估报废手机塑料部分的回收潜力。从100部报废手机上拆解了总共275个塑料部件（分类为外壳、框架和屏幕），并通过傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）分析以确定聚合物的类型和含量，同时通过X射线荧光光谱（XRF）检测溴、氯、铅和镉等有害元素的存在情况。聚碳酸酯（PC）（占样本的57%）和聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）（占部件的27%）被确定为最常见的聚合物。总体而言，67%的部件含有氯（0.84 - 40,700毫克/千克），26%的部件含有溴（0.08 - 2020毫克/千克）。仅在一个部件中检测到汞（17毫克/千克）。在17%的部件中发现了铬，浓度在0.37毫克/千克至915毫克/千克之间，而在15%的部件中发现了低浓度的铅（1 - 90毫克/千克）。总之，虽然报废手机的塑料部分存在有害元素（智能手机中的含量更高），但其浓度低于监管限值，表明符合欧盟的回收法规。
