Processing of electronic waste in a counter current teeter-bed separator

Advanced gravity separation of ground electronic waste (e-waste) in a teeter-bed separator was investigated. It was established that the Floatex Density Seprator (FDS) is a promising device for wet processing of e-waste to recover metal values physically. It was possible to enrich the metal content from 23% in the feed to 37% in the product in a single stage operation using the FDS with over 95% recovery of the metals. A two-stage processing scheme was developed that enriched the metal content further to 48.2%. The influence of the operating variables, namely, teeter water flow rate, bed pressure and feed rate were quantified. Low bed pressures and low teeter water rates produced higher mass yields with poorer product grades. On the contrary, a high bed pressure and high teeter water rate combination led to a lower mass yield but better product quality. A high feed rate introduced en-masse settling leading to higher yield but at a poorer product grade. For an FDS with 230 mm × 230 mm cross section and a height of 530 mm, the process condition with 6.6 lpm teeter water rate, 5.27 kPa bed pressure and 82 kg/hr feed rate maximized the yield for a target product grade of 37% metal in a single pass.

► Applicability of teeter-bed separator for e-waste processing was established.
► Effective pre-concentration of metal values and rejection of plastics was achieved.
► Conditions to obtain maximum yield at a target product grade were obtained.
► Feed grade of 23% metal enhanced to 48% with over 95% recovery of metals.
► Environmental concerns over e-waste significantly addressed by physical separation.