159
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Khan et al. (eds.), E-waste Recycling and Management,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 33,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14184-4_9
Chapter 9
Recycling Processes for the Recovery
of Metal from E-waste of the LED Industry
Emanuele Caroline Araújo dos Santos, Tamires Augustin da Silveira,
Angéli Viviani Colling, Carlos Alberto Mendes Moraes,
and Feliciane Andrade Brehm
Contents
9.1 Introduction
160
9.2 History of LED Production
161
9.3 The LED Industry and the Prospects of Consumption
166
9.4 The Elements Available for Recycling in LEDs
166
9.5 The LED Production Chain
169
9.6 LED Recycling Processes
171
9.6.1 Bulbs
172
9.6.2 Other LED Devices
172
9.7 Critical Elements
174
9.8 Conclusion
175
References
176
Abstract Increasingly used today, the light-emitting diode (LED) technology
today replaces other technologies and has gained a notable market share. This
growth in use implies an increased demand for specific materials used in LED manufacturer, aiming at improved performance of devices. However, most materials
used in LED manufacture are considered critical in terms of availability, since they
are increasingly sought after by the industry. Chemical elements like gallium (Ga)
and indium (In), rare earth elements like yttrium (Y) and cerium (Ce), and precious
metals such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag) are used in LED devices. An additional
difficulty concerns the methods used to sort and reuse these materials, especially
due to the small amounts used. This poses a considerable challenge in the full recycling of LED devices. Research is carried out to develop sorting and recovery methods for critical metals generated during the production of LED devices and at the
E. C. A. dos Santos · T. A. da Silveira · A. V. Colling
C. A. M. Moraes (*) · F. A. Brehm
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
e-mail: cmoraes@unisinos.br
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Khan et al. (eds.), E-waste Recycling and Management,
Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 33,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14184-4_9
Chapter 9
Recycling Processes for the Recovery
of Metal from E-waste of the LED Industry
Emanuele Caroline Araújo dos Santos, Tamires Augustin da Silveira,
Angéli Viviani Colling, Carlos Alberto Mendes Moraes,
and Feliciane Andrade Brehm
Contents
9.1 Introduction
160
9.2 History of LED Production
161
9.3 The LED Industry and the Prospects of Consumption
166
9.4 The Elements Available for Recycling in LEDs
166
9.5 The LED Production Chain
169
9.6 LED Recycling Processes
171
9.6.1 Bulbs
172
9.6.2 Other LED Devices
172
9.7 Critical Elements
174
9.8 Conclusion
175
References
176
Abstract Increasingly used today, the light-emitting diode (LED) technology
today replaces other technologies and has gained a notable market share. This
growth in use implies an increased demand for specific materials used in LED manufacturer, aiming at improved performance of devices. However, most materials
used in LED manufacture are considered critical in terms of availability, since they
are increasingly sought after by the industry. Chemical elements like gallium (Ga)
and indium (In), rare earth elements like yttrium (Y) and cerium (Ce), and precious
metals such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag) are used in LED devices. An additional
difficulty concerns the methods used to sort and reuse these materials, especially
due to the small amounts used. This poses a considerable challenge in the full recycling of LED devices. Research is carried out to develop sorting and recovery methods for critical metals generated during the production of LED devices and at the
E. C. A. dos Santos · T. A. da Silveira · A. V. Colling
C. A. M. Moraes (*) · F. A. Brehm
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
e-mail: cmoraes@unisinos.br