A study of the end of life treatment of mobile phones identified a major challenge to the optimization of the preprocessing stage of recycling. The lack of supply chain transparency in the mobile phone life cycle limits recyclers’ knowledge of the chemical composition of incoming waste, reducing the effectiveness of this critical stage of resource recovery. X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) was employed to identify the chemical composition of shredded electronic waste, and the results support XRF implementation to enable intelligent sorting during preprocessing. By identifying profitable precious metals and hazardous materials in these waste streams with XRF, recyclers can make more informed decisions regarding electronic waste handling during preprocessing.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Loomis, Amy Eleanor
• Ford, Patrick Benjamin

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-031113-211438

Advisor

• Plummer, Jeanine D.
• Apelian, Diran

Year

• 2013

Sponsor

• Center for Resource Recovery & Recycling

Date created

• 2013-03-11

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Environmental Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright