Apparatus and method for stripping solder metals during the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment
First Claim
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1. A process for recovering at least one precious metal from printed wire boards (PWB) and/or PWB components, the process comprising,(a) heating the PWBs in a heating module to soften solder, adhesives, epoxy, and/or glue to remove the PWB components and/or casing from the PWBs;
- (b) removing at least a portion of the solder from the PWBs and/or PWB components using a chemical solder removal composition in a chemical solder removal module;
(c) contacting the PWBs and/or PWB components with a leaching composition in a precious metal leaching module to extract at least a portion of the at least one precious metal from the PWBs and/or PWB components into the leaching composition, wherein the at least one precious metal is substantially dissolved or solubilized in the leaching composition;
(d) isolating the leaching composition from the PWBs and/or PWB components;
(e) rinsing the PWBs and/or PWB components in a rinsing module; and
(f) drying the PWBs and/or PWB components in a drying module.
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Abstract
Apparatuses and processes for recycling printed wire boards, wherein electronic components, precious metals and base metals may be collected for reuse and recycling. The apparatuses generally include a mechanical solder removal module and/or a thermal module, a chemical solder removal module, and a precious metal leaching module, wherein the modules are attached for continuous passage of the e-waste from module to module.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A process for recovering at least one precious metal from printed wire boards (PWB) and/or PWB components, the process comprising,
(a) heating the PWBs in a heating module to soften solder, adhesives, epoxy, and/or glue to remove the PWB components and/or casing from the PWBs; -
(b) removing at least a portion of the solder from the PWBs and/or PWB components using a chemical solder removal composition in a chemical solder removal module; (c) contacting the PWBs and/or PWB components with a leaching composition in a precious metal leaching module to extract at least a portion of the at least one precious metal from the PWBs and/or PWB components into the leaching composition, wherein the at least one precious metal is substantially dissolved or solubilized in the leaching composition; (d) isolating the leaching composition from the PWBs and/or PWB components; (e) rinsing the PWBs and/or PWB components in a rinsing module; and (f) drying the PWBs and/or PWB components in a drying module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification