New method to recycle e-waste developed

City scientists have developed an eco-friendly method to recycle the printed circuit board (PCB) in your personal computer without releasing toxic gases into the environment. A PCB is a thin plate on which chips and other electronic components are placed in a computer.

City scientists have developed an eco-friendly method to recycle the printed circuit board (PCB) in your personal computer without releasing toxic gases into the environment. A PCB is a thin plate on which chips and other electronic components are placed in a computer.

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A three-member team from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Matunga, and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mankhurd, used high-energy electron beams to degrade a circuit board and make it worthy of being recycled.

The study is important for Mumbai, which generates the maximum electronic waste (e-waste) in the country as per a 2010 survey conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board. The city generates 11,000 tonnes of the 20,000 tonnes of e-waste generated in Maharashtra.

At present, e-waste including PCBs comprising poisonous chemicals are discarded by open burning by the informal sector. "We decided to work on e-waste components that are found in large quantities and where recycling poses an environmental challenge. Every household has a computer that is eventually discarded," said professor RN Jagtap, head, department of polymer and surface engineering at ICT and part of the study. "Our method does not release effluents or toxic gases in the air."