Treatment of waste printed circuit board by green solvent using ionic liquid

Recycling of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) is an important subject not only for the protection of environment but also for the recovery of valuable materials. A feasibility study was conducted to dissolve bromine epoxy resins of WPCBs using ionic liquid (IL) of 1-ethyl-3-methylimizadolium tetrafluoroborate [EMIM+][BF4-] (nonaqueous green solvent) for recovering copper foils and glass fibers. Experimental results indicated that the initial delamination had seen from the cross-section of the WPCBs by mean of metallographic microscope and digital camera when WPCBs were heated in [EMIM+][BF4-] at 240 °C for a duration of 30 min. When temperature was increased to 260 °C for a duration of 10 min, the bromine epoxy resins of WPCBs were throughout dissolved into [EMIM+][BF4-] and the separations of copper foils and glass fibers from WPCBs were completed. This clean and non-polluting technology offers a new way to recycle valuable materials from WPCBs and prevent the environmental pollution of WPCBs effectively.

► Recycling waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) by ionic liquid (IL).
► The epoxy resins of WPCBs are slightly dissolved to produce initial delamination at 240 °C.
► The epoxy resins of WPCBs are removed by [EMIM+][BF4-] at 260 °C.