Good afternoon;
I have been studying up on this forum since I discovered it over a month ago and really appreciate your willingness to share your vast knowledge. Sorry in advance for the length of the post.
I am 33, have been a Marine helicopter pilot for the past 10 years, and am currently earning my MBA in Madrid Spain. I have been somewhat involved in the recycling industry for several years, and have a small consumer electronics refurbishment and resale company back in the States that is operating in several locations. That experience has made me want to get further into the recycling industry and it has been my plan for several years to determine the viability of an e-waste recycling plant in Latin America once I left the Corps (last Oct), which is one of the main reasons I am in this MBA program.
This forum has given me a lott of knowledge, but at the same time it has opened up a lot more questions. I have been a little hesitant to posting some of my questions for fear of coming off as the classic newb who comes in and asks everyone to solve his problems without doing his research, but I guess I will take the plunge here.
One of the most interesting discoveries has been how many different processes there are to achieve the same end goals. It has been confusing for me to differentiate between processes which are recommended because they are efficient and effective vs processes which are recommended because they are more focused on the small scale refiners who need inexpensive or small processes. It has also been difficult to differentiate between the different members' experiences who have found e-waste recycling unprofitable; whether that was due to small scale or different technology, or just that the items are straight up unprofitable.
My current research and business modeling is around the planned creation of a large, end to end recycling plant capable of recycling minimum 10 tons of ewaste a month, but I havent found much information on processes of this scale and larger. One of my questions is (hopefully I will not get smashed here for asking a "simple" question), there are so many different processes out there, however why not just go with turn-key machinery from one of the companies in China or Canada that make these end to end systems? With my limited understanding, it seems like this machinery with dry grind, air and electrostatic separation which they claim reaches 99% purity just makes things simple and clean, and then smelting and electrolysis for further purification as needed. This seems ideal as it doesn't require chemicals or waste water (besides the electrolysis), but I am sure I must be missing something in my understanding? And if these machines are so good at crushing and grinding, what benefits does pyrolysis have, which I would assume has a much higher energy cost?
http://www.pcbrecyclingmachine.com/pcb-1000-e-waste-recycling-plant.html
http://www.copperwirerecyclingmachinery.com/print_circuit_board_recycling_machine/
Thank you.
I have been studying up on this forum since I discovered it over a month ago and really appreciate your willingness to share your vast knowledge. Sorry in advance for the length of the post.
I am 33, have been a Marine helicopter pilot for the past 10 years, and am currently earning my MBA in Madrid Spain. I have been somewhat involved in the recycling industry for several years, and have a small consumer electronics refurbishment and resale company back in the States that is operating in several locations. That experience has made me want to get further into the recycling industry and it has been my plan for several years to determine the viability of an e-waste recycling plant in Latin America once I left the Corps (last Oct), which is one of the main reasons I am in this MBA program.
This forum has given me a lott of knowledge, but at the same time it has opened up a lot more questions. I have been a little hesitant to posting some of my questions for fear of coming off as the classic newb who comes in and asks everyone to solve his problems without doing his research, but I guess I will take the plunge here.
One of the most interesting discoveries has been how many different processes there are to achieve the same end goals. It has been confusing for me to differentiate between processes which are recommended because they are efficient and effective vs processes which are recommended because they are more focused on the small scale refiners who need inexpensive or small processes. It has also been difficult to differentiate between the different members' experiences who have found e-waste recycling unprofitable; whether that was due to small scale or different technology, or just that the items are straight up unprofitable.
My current research and business modeling is around the planned creation of a large, end to end recycling plant capable of recycling minimum 10 tons of ewaste a month, but I havent found much information on processes of this scale and larger. One of my questions is (hopefully I will not get smashed here for asking a "simple" question), there are so many different processes out there, however why not just go with turn-key machinery from one of the companies in China or Canada that make these end to end systems? With my limited understanding, it seems like this machinery with dry grind, air and electrostatic separation which they claim reaches 99% purity just makes things simple and clean, and then smelting and electrolysis for further purification as needed. This seems ideal as it doesn't require chemicals or waste water (besides the electrolysis), but I am sure I must be missing something in my understanding? And if these machines are so good at crushing and grinding, what benefits does pyrolysis have, which I would assume has a much higher energy cost?
http://www.pcbrecyclingmachine.com/pcb-1000-e-waste-recycling-plant.html
http://www.copperwirerecyclingmachinery.com/print_circuit_board_recycling_machine/
Thank you.