The Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), India, has developed a technology to recover metal from discarded electronics in an environmentally-friendly way. This new approach is said to involve safer chemical steps, converting zinc waste into a high-value zinc salt using simple leaching and hydrothermal stages. The commercial price of the recovered product is currently around Rs 800,000 per kg (US$ 11,940) and so the economic benefits of this new process are ‘significant’ for the recycling industries.
A recent study by Assocham-cKinetics suggests that India will generate annually some 5.2 million tonnes of e-scrap by 2020 compared to current levels of 180 000 tonnes, equivalent to an annual compound growth rate of around 30%. Researchers hope this latest breakthrough will boost India’s e-cycling rate currently standing at just 1.5%. Discarded electronics account for up to 40% of lead and 70% of heavy metals dumped in landfills by the countless players in India’s informal recycling sector.
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