Direct element characterization of mobile phones using data fusion from three complementary spectroanalytical techniques

Abstract

Mobile phones are among the fastest growing types of electronic waste in the world. The fast development of technology provides more advanced models of mobile phones, which leads the consumers to replace their devices frequently. Mobile phones are very complex products when it comes to dismantling and recycling, due to the large variety of valuable materials present in them such as plastics, metals, glass, and ceramics. A typical device is composed of a battery, front and back cases, printed circuit board (PCB), and liquid crystal display (LCD) unit. Identifying the materials composition of mobile phones and recovering them is the largest and most emerging area of research in the field of mobile phone recycling. In this project, we propose to use a combination of laser-based techniques (LIBS and LA-ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) with chemometrics data analysis to establish an analytical method for mobile phone analysis. Electronic waste samples are among the most variable samples in terms of matrices and elemental composition. In particular, we propose to establish data fusion strategies of LIBS, LA-ICP-MS, and XRF for determination of precious (e.g., Au, Cu, Pd), critical (e.g., Ga, In) and hazardous (e.g., As, Pb, Cd) elements in mobile phones (especially LCD screens and PCBs). (AU)