An Artificial Panel Produced by Sorting Residue of Copper Clad Laminate

Copper Clad Laminate (CCL) are used in printed circuit boards (PCBs) as base material. When PCBs are wasted, a large amount of sorting residue are disposed badly in China, mainly by stacking in the field, which may cause secondary pollution and resource-wasting. In this study, a type of artificial panel (AP) has been produced by the sorting residue of CCL (SRCCL). The AP is produced by a self-developed mechanical former through adding resin paste as a bonding agent. Furthermore, micro-shapes of SRCCL and effects of the contents on mechanical properties of the AP are investigated. It has been found that SRCCLs are in the form of fiber bundles, with the majority of fibers being encapsulated in resin. When SRCCL content was 70 wt %, the AP has excellent mechanical properties, which results in a flexural strength of 25.85 MPa. This technique offers a possibility for recycling of SRCCL and resolving the environmental pollutions during recycling of PCBs.