FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method, process and a system for salvaging the recyclable and reusable components of electronic waste. More particularly, it relates to a method for salvaging the recyclable and reusable parts of E-Waste. The proposed invention minimizes E-waste by re-processing and enhancing re-5 usability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
E-waste management is an important requirement for ecologically sustainable development in many countries. E-waste comprises of the components that can 10 either be reused or recycled as per their functional state. Taking out such functional components from e-waste for the purpose of reuse and recycling might be employed as an effective waste management and skilled approach. The economic value of waste is best realized when it is segregated.
Despite of the malfunctioned nature of E-waste, it comprises embedded 15 components that can independently perform their inherent functions. Therefore, safe removal/segregation thereof can serve as a cost effective approach by making them available for reuse purpose. Such an approach can be termed as a salvage process for the functional, recyclable, and reusable components.
A salvage process may include a single step or comprises of a series of unit 20 operations and that need to accomplish by retaining full functionality of components or parts. Salvaging requires safe removal of embedded components that are properly fixed on the devices or boards to perform a specific function. Sometimes, salvage process become a complex task, due to such tight bonding of such parts to their corresponding parent part(s) or devices, assemblies and the like 25 depending upon the type of e-waste.
Some attempts have been made to provide apparatus and methods for removal of components and integrated circuits in such a manner as to permit recovery and restoration of the components. U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,430 shows an apparatus for
3
removing a component from a substrate to which it has been soldered utilizing a concentrated source of heat encompassing the solder connections. The substrate is located approximate to the heat source and a tension device is secured to the component and removes the component when the solder connections are exposed to the heat source. 5
A similar approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,151 disclosing a soldering machine for removing IC’s from printed circuit boards. The apparatus includes a closed bath of molten solder having a passage leading from the bath. The printed circuit board is secured in a positioning frame at the open end of the passage and guided by a template so that the circuit element has the soldered leads positioned 10 over the opening. When in this position, a plunger displaces a portion of the solder and the molten solder level in the passage rises to contact the leads to facilitate removal of the leads.
While both of the foregoing techniques are effective, they are inconvenient in that they utilize a molten solder bath. Further, the techniques require a positioning 15 apparatus to isolate a portion of the printed circuit board and therefore are not adaptable to efficient high rate removal and restoration of components. Further, use of molten solder bath as practiced in these patents can result in damage to the components.
CN101444784A discloses a method and a device for high-efficiency recovery of 20 waste circuit boards in a vacuum. As per the disclosed methodology, the waste circuit board is arranged in a vacuum vessel and heated for pyrolysis, wherein, most of the pyrolysis volatile matter is cooled and liquefied into liquid oil, and the rest is taken into a gas collector; a centrifuge device separates soldering tin from the circuit board during the pyrolysis; substrates and electronic components of the 25 paralyzed circuit board are assorted and collected to be further separated and recovered. The main disadvantage of this method is that the heating involved in the pyrolysis process might affect the functionality of working components even pyrolysis take place under vacuum condition.
4
In order to overcome limitations of the state of the art, one way is to come up with an approach that can ensure an effective salvage procedure irrespective of the nature, functionality, and an abundance of valuable materials.
Therefore, an approach is needed that can salvage the components by retaining their functionality which may help the reckless to set the flow and objectives of 5 the waste management process which either may be the re-use, recycling, and recovery of the components.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to provide an effective method, 10 process and a system for salvaging functional components of E-wastes.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a salvaging method and a process that segregates all the functional components embedded in the e-waste without hampering their functionality and physical endurance.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a salvaging method that 15 ensures quality of parts by checking their physical appearance, mechanical strength, and functionality and thereby identifying the parts to be salvaged.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of salvaging wherein the parts are quality checked, segregated, cleansed, and packaged to render a perfectly ready component(s) for reuse purpose. 20
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of salvaging wherein the electrical/mechanical parts and surface mount parts are separately removed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an eco-friendly method of salvaging that avoids emission and exposure of harmful chemical fumes to the 25 environment during the salvage process.
5
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a salvaging approach that rescue sensitive parts from high temperatures and prevent damage of the components due to high temperatures.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for salvaging functional components from e-waste. 5
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method and a process for salvaging the functional components from e-waste. The method involves plurality of component spot quality checks for identifying candidate(s) for salvage process. 10 These checks also identify components requiring mechanical repair (MR), electrical repair (ER) and Solder with iron & Machine (SI & SM) the like. The component(s) in good working condition is disassembled from the waste product using an appropriate segregation means depending on the nature of fixing and the type of embedded component(s). If required, the components are cleaned and 15 demagnetized using an ionized air gun or any deionization means. The components removed are segregated, labelled and stored in separate ESD safe bags/containers wherein they are again checked for functionality. The parts in good working condition are cleaned and laminated to avoid scratches.
20
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The various features, advantages and other uses of the present e-waste recycling method and apparatus will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a basic process flow diagram elucidating the general steps in salvaging 25 process of electrical and mechanical parts of an e-waste according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6
FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram elucidating the general steps in salvaging process of surface mount parts of an e-waste according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 5
The present invention now will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy 10 applicable legal requirements.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will readily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited 15 to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended drawings. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram elucidating the general steps involved in the 20 salvage process of electrical and mechanical parts according to an embodiment of the present invention. The waste material is received and sent for an initial level of spot quality check wherein the waste materials like mother-boards, printed circuit boards, integrated circuit and the like go through a visual check for determining physical appearance and integrity of the components. After visual 25 inspection, the parts are then sent for micro level screenings to evaluate quality of small sized embedded components. Once functional parts are identified, they are removed from the e-waste for execution of further steps of salvage process. In the next step, the removed components are cleaned, demagnetized with the help of
7
ionized air gun. The parts are then segregated to collect similar parts, followed by labelling and storing them into the ESD safe bags/containers.
Referring to FIG. 2, a process flow elucidating salvaging of surface mount components from the e-waste. The parts like mother boards, printed circuit boards, integrated circuits wherein the components are mounted or placed 5 directly onto the surface are collected and placed in an oven or in any means wherein the baking of parts can take place. Parts are removed from the baking environment after a predetermined period of time depending upon the nature of the part to be baked. A typical part comprising a circuit board is placed for 1-2 hours at 2400C. Once, the parts are baked, the functional components mounted 10 on the surface are removed, cleaned and stored in ESD safe storage bags/containers. The parts so obtained are then dispatched for reuse purpose.
In another embodiment of the invention, the method conveys all the components for various checks to determine components in good working condition, said checks may include several tests that can be executed by any suitable testing 15 means depending upon the type of the component and thereby provide an approach to separate functional components from non functional one.
The method of salvaging the electrical and mechanical components from e-waste of the present invention basically comprises steps of collection, visual inspection, micro level inspection of e-waste followed by extraction of functional 20 components. The extracted components are cleaned and thereafter demagnetized with the help of any demagnetizing means preferably ionized air gun. The components are subjected to segregation to collect components of the same type and labelled. The labelled components are stored in separate ESD safe bags/containers followed by their dispatch for reuse purpose. 25
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method to salvage the surface mount parts is provided. The method comprises steps of collecting e-waste like waste motherboards, printed circuit boards, integrated circuits and the like. The boards are exposed to a baking environment up to a temperature required for bake the embedded components. The functional surface mount components can 30
8
be extracted thereafter the baking process is done or when the baking temperature is reached at the solder joints. The extracted surface mount components are then cleaned, segregated to get components of similar fashion and labelled followed by their storage in separate ESD safe bags/containers. The components are then dispatched for reuse. 5
In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a system for salvaging the functional component(s) from e-waste, the system comprising:
a testing zone to receive a batch of e-waste substrate/device containing functional component(s);
an inspection zone to scrutinize said e-waste substrate/device to identify the 10 functional components;
a means for demagnetization of the functional components;
a means for baking circuit boards of substrate/device;
a means to remove the surface mount components from baked circuit boards under a fume controlled environment; 15
a cleaning zone to clean the rust and corrosion from the components; and
a means for further processing of said functional component(s) to render them as a suitable candidate for reuse purpose;
the testing zone comprises a testing bench provided for conducting various scrutiny checks on the components. The components are sent to the inspection 20 zone that comprises a visual inspection region to determine the physical appearance and integrity of the components and a micro-level inspection region for a micro level scrutiny of the components in order to identify the functional components from the batch; the functional components are separated, demagnetized, and stored into electrostatic discharge safe bags; 25
the circuit boards are exposed to a baking environment at a temperature ranges from 230-260 ºC for atleast 2-3 hours to salvage surface mount components.
9
The proposed invention provides a fume free salvage method and system thereof to minimize the electronic waste by re-processing and enhancing its re-usability.

CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A system for salvaging functional component(s) from electronic waste substrate, the system comprising:
5
a) a testing zone to receive a batch of electronic waste substrates containing functional component(s);
b) an inspection zone to scrutinize said electronic waste substrates and to identify the functional components;
c) a means for demagnetization of the functional components; 10
d) a means for baking circuit boards present in the electronic waste substrates at a temperature ranging from 230-260 ºC for atleast 2-3 hours to salvage the surface mount components;
e) a means to remove the surface mount components from baked circuit boards under a fume controlled environment; 15
f) a means to clean the rust and corrosion from the removed components; and
g) a means for further processing of said functional component(s) to render them as a suitable candidate for reuse purpose;
20
wherein,
the testing zone comprises a testing bench provided for processing of the components;
the inspection zone comprises a visual inspection region to determine 25 physical appearance and integrity of the components and a micro-level inspection region for a micro level scrutiny of the components to identify the functional components from the batch;
the functional components are separated, demagnetized, and stored in electrostatic discharge safe bags. 30
11
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface mount parts are removed from baked circuit boards under a fume controlled environment and cleaned with a non-polar solvent to remove rust and corrosion thereof.
3. The system as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the fume controlled 5 environment comprises atleast one hepa filter fume extraction unit and at least one tool for removing surface mount components from the baked boards.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circuit boards includes 10 waste motherboards, printed circuit boards, integrated circuit boards, and the like.
5. A method for salvaging functional component(s) from e-waste substrate, comprising the steps of: 15
a) visual inspection of the e-waste substrate to determine the functional components based on physical appearance and integrity thereof;
b) micro-level inspection of the functional components obtained in step a) to identify the parts to be salvaged;
c) separating the mechanical and electromechanical parts in good 20 condition from the electronic devices or e-waste;
d) demagnetizing and cleaning the parts obtained in step c) using an ionized air gun;
e) labeling and storing the parts of step d) in the electrostatic discharge safe bags; 25
f) baking the circuit boards of the electronic waste into an oven in the temperature ranging from 230-260 ºC for atleast 2-3 hours;
g) removing the surface mount parts from the baked boards under a fume controlled environment;
h) cleaning the parts obtained in steps b) and g) with a non polar 30 solvent to remove corrosion and rust from the parts; and
12
i) storing the cleaned parts of step h) in the electrostatic discharge (ESD) safe bags.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-polar solvent is selected from the group consisting of straight chain alkanes.