Waste Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are one of the most valuable and recycled components of electronic waste due to the presence of precious metals such as copper, silver, gold and palladium. The rejects of the PCB recycling process, named non-metal fraction (NMF) have continuously been sent to landfills. Several researchers have proposed alternative use of NMF as secondary materials such as fillers in composites or as adsorbent. This study is focused on the potential application of the PCB recycling rejects as waste-derived fuel or alternative fuel in the cement industry. Approximately 2 million metric tonnes (Mt) of this waste was produced in 2014 globally and estimated to reach 6.5 million Mt in 2050. The presence of high organic matter in the NMF renders it useful as an alternative fuel. The organic content of the NMF could also potentially be increased using gravity separation and thus increasing its net calorific value. The study showed that the NMF could provide up to 21 MJ kg^-1 of heating value with low heavy metal and ash concentration. A comparison with other waste-derived fuel sources is also presented in the paper.

废印刷电路板（PCB）由于存在铜，银，金和钯等贵金属而成为电子废品中最有价值和可回收的组件之一。PCB回收过程中的废品（称为非金属成分（NMF））已连续发送到垃圾填埋场。几位研究人员提出了将NMF用作替代材料（例如复合材料中的填料）或吸附剂的替代用途。这项研究的重点是PCB回收废料作为废料燃料或替代燃料在水泥工业中的潜在应用。2014年，全球产生了约200万吨这种废物，估计到2050年将达到650万吨。NMF中高有机质的存在使其可用作替代燃料。NMF的有机物含量也可以通过重力分离来增加，从而增加其净热值。研究表明，NMF最多可提供21 MJ kg重金属和灰分浓度低的热值^-1。本文还介绍了与其他废物衍生燃料来源的比较。