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Proposed by S Poonam
Huge future market potential for green applications both in industrialized and developing Countries.
Consumer awareness on environmental issues is constantly increasing. Cost-savings for manufacturers in energy consumption,materials,packaging, logistics, waste management etc.
GREEN ELECTRONICS
BASIC AIM Green Electronics focuses on elimination of harmful chemicals, elements and components, and recycling of electronic products at the end of life.
INTRODUCTION
Electronics has made life easier for us. Certain materials in the electronic goods and products are toxic and harmful to the nature and the humans especially.
Green Electronics focuses on the elimination of these harmful and toxic chemicals and elements from the products, and recycling the electronic items at the end of their life. Among the harmful chemicals are Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Polybrominated Diphenyls Ethers(PBDE).
Many Parliaments of the different Countries has passed the legislation to restrict the use of Lead and other harmful materials for the manufacture of electronics products.
E-WASTE
The E-WASTE components in computers include: Computer circuit boards containing heavy metals like lead and cadmium Computer batteries containing cadmium and Mercury in flat screens and switches. Polybrominated diphenyl's ethers present in older capacitors and transformers.
Cathode ray tubes with lead oxide and barium. Brominated flame--retardants used on PCBs, cables and plastic casing. Poly--vinyl chloride (PVC) coated copper cables and plastic computer casings that release highly toxic dioxins and fumes when burnt to recover valuable metals.
SOURCES OF E-WASTE
IT & Telecom Equipment's Large Household Appliances Small Household Appliances Consumer & Lighting Equipment's Electrical & Electronic Tools Toys, Leisure & Sports Equipment Medical Devices Monitoring & Control Instruments
HAZARDS IN E-WASTE
LEAD - Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and reproductive system in humans. It was first banned from gasoline in the 1970s. CADMIUM - Cadmium compounds are toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on human health, and accumulate in the human body, particularly the kidneys. MERCURY - Mercury can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys, as well as the foetus. BARIUM- Barium is a soft silvery-white metal that is used in computers in the front panel of a CRT, to protect users from radiation. Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium has caused brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver, and spleen.
HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM/CHROMIUM VI - Chromium VI is used as corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates and as a decorative or hardener for steel housings. Chromium VI can cause damage to DNA and is extremely toxic in the environment. BERYLLIUM - Beryllium is a steel-grey metal that is extremely lightweight, hard, a good conductor of electricity and heat, and is non-magnetic. It produces skin disorders and lung disease. TONERS - Is the plastic printer cartridge containing black and colour toners. It can cause cancer after prolonged exposure. PHOSPHOR AND ADDITIVES - Phosphor is an inorganic chemical compound that is applied as a coat on the interior of the CRT faceplate. Highly toxic it cause skin disorders and eye problems
FACTS of LEAD..!
90% of all Electronic goods and products are made up of LEAD. Semiconductors are the basis of all the electronic components and lead is the glue that binds all the semiconductor devices to make them work efficiently. Lead alloy solders help to transfer data from your computer. Earlier, lead was even used in paints, ceramic glazes and plumbing solders. But now its been discarded due to its poisoning effects. So at the end of this session it can be inferred that though Lead is an important element for the electronic industry, but its replacement is quite difficult for the researchers and engineers.
From health point of view, it is a risk using lead in tin solders for human exposure.
The humans are most prone to lead via the Environment. Toxic materials and emissions contaminate the air and water resources.
DISPOSAL OF E-WASTE
E-Waste can be disposed in three ways:
INCINERATION
Incineration basically entails to destroying the e-waste including computers and other electronic devices and components by burning.
Incineration is particularly dangerous because of the variety of different substances found together in electro scrap.
The burning of these components results into high concentrations of metals, including heavy metals in the slag, fly ash, flue gas and filter cake. 90%of cadmium results into fly ash and 70% of mercury results into filter cake. Some of the electro scrap can also be sent to cement kilns for use as an alternative to fuel.
LANDFILLING
Landfilling involves disposing the E-waste by burning it, especially as a method of filling in and reclaiming excavated pits. Major Disadvantage: Even the best state-of -the-art landfills dont remain completely tight throughout their lifetimes and a certain amount of chemical and metal leaching does occur.
Mercury leaches when certain electronic devices, such as circuit breakers, are destroyed. The same is true for PCBs from condensers.
When brominated flame--retarded plastic or cadmium are landfilled, both PBDE and cadmium may leach into the soil and groundwater. Even significant amount of lead ions are dissolved from broken lead containing glass, such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes, when mixed with acid waters.
RECYCLING
Of the three discussed, Recycling is the best method. Most items that recyclers receive are manually dismantled as the first step to separate all of the commodities. Items that cannot be dismantled in an efficient manner are put through a shredding process. Whole e-scrap or dismantled parts can be shredded down to pieces that are less than 2 inches in diameter.
They can then be separated through a series of devices all connected via conveyor belts in a process that is 95% automated.
The recycled products include iron, copper, aluminium, plastic, glass, precious metal mix, and shredded circuit boards.
Advantages of
Recycling
Recycling e-waste saves energy, and can prevent toxins found in electronics like mercury, lead, and cadmium from entering the air or the water supply in landfill burn-smoke or runoff.
By recycling e-waste you're being a responsible custodian of the planet's limited resources, and you're helping ensure e-waste toxins don't cause health problems for people and ecosystems.
Green electronics
Green electronics refers to recycle or reuse their electronics products once they have reached end-of-life. They focus on elimination of harmful elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury , etc.
Manufacture electronic components, computers, and other associated subsystems with minimal impact on the environment.
It produces electronics products that consume less energy such as LED lightning low power electronics portable device. It non-toxic, eco-efficient products and manufacturing processes, Environmentally friendly electronics solutions .It is fully recyclable. The cost is low, electronic components are more flexible and user friendly. Few examples - Printed (disposable) sensors, Water taps with optical sensors, sensor technologies for monitoring industrial processes.
FEW EXAMPLES..
o Earlier electronics o Green electronics
By Industry
Proper disposal by generators
By Citizens
Donate products. No disposal through house holds. Recycle containers. Energy efficient products. Use minimum packaging. Buy certified goods
EPEAT
EPEAT is a comprehensive environmental rating that helps identify greener computers and other electronic equipment.
Green computing represents a responsible way to address the issue of GLOBAL WARMING.
CONCLUSION
Green electronics deals with creating awareness about the electronic wastes that are being introduced very rapidly.
Green computing represents a responsible way to address the issue of global warming. The knowledge of green electronics is essential for a good electronics engineer for good future. By adopting green computing practices, business leaders can contribute positively to protect the environment while also reducing energy and paper costs. It focuses on disposal, recycling, designing products that are less hazardous, etc.
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