The second chance of mobile phones now off because they are no longer in step with the times and new technologies, passes through the circular economy. It therefore provides for the recovery and recycling of the materials contained in the various components. Starting from this fact, Enea researchers have for some time started a series of initiatives and research aimed at recovering materials from discarded electronic instruments. The Portent project, co-financed by the Lazio Region, carried out by the Enea Laboratory “Technologies for Reuse, Recycling, Recovery and Enhancement of Waste and Materials”, falls within this perspective.
Electronic waste is growing
To support the decision to continue the project that aims to develop “a new process for the recovery of high-value materials and metals from mobile phones at the end of their life in a circular economy”, the growth of waste deriving from electrical and electronic instruments . “The amount of waste from electrical and electronic equipment, especially due to ever shorter technical obsolescence times, is growing – says Danilo Fontana, Enea researcher and project manager -. This phenomenon could generate serious management problems linked to the presence of metals and harmful substances that represent a real risk for human health and the environment ».
The data of the increase
According to the data provided by Enea and relating to the WEEE report, in 2020 the growth in the collection of this type of waste was +7.68 percent compared to 2019, reaching 78 thousand tons. In the Lazio region, where the share of materials collected was 6 thousand tons, growth recorded a jump of 2.4 thousand tons compared to the previous year.
The new raw materials
As for the materials that can be obtained, the data is eloquent. One ton of electronic cards from end-of-life telephones contains on average 276 grams of gold, 345 of silver, 132 kilograms of copper. “If we consider other components, such as magnets and integrated antennas for example, the list extends with rare earths (such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium) which can reach 2.7 kilograms per ton of smartphone”.
Technology drives recovery
To lend a hand to the activity of recovery, but also of extraction of the “precious” materials contained within the cards and smartphones, there is the increasingly advanced technology. “Thanks to the current ones, it is possible to recycle over 96 percent of these electronic devices, recovering significant quantities of precious metals with high purity degrees – argues the researcher -. This would make it possible to avoid the depletion of natural resources and the procurement of some of these critical raw materials present mainly in politically unstable countries ».