ABSTRACT

LED lamps already conquered the market of general lighting and are expected to generate a substantial stream of e-waste in the coming years. The challenge of recycling LED lamps have emerged, and it is essential to address both environmental and economic aspects to achieve a circular economy. LED lamps contain precious and critical metals, which can be found in electrical components and in the LED itself, making them a prospective waste for recycling initiatives. However, data about the concentration and distribution of these metals in the LED lamp’s components are still scarce and uncertain. This work aims to characterise the various components of different brands of LED lamps to provide novel data on the precious and critical metals’ amounts. Gold and silver were found in all brands of lamp, and we highlight the occurrence of gold in all analysed components, in concentrations between 0.01% and 0.07%, which is relevant to the economic viability of future recycling routes (gold and silver can contribute with USD 4340.00 per ton of LED lamps). The critical metals gallium, yttrium, and cerium were found in LEDs, while cobalt, barium, gallium, antimony, and manganese were found in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Additionally, the elements lead, cadmium, and arsenic were characterised due to their association with environmental and human toxicity.

摘要

LED 灯已经征服了普通照明市场，预计未来几年将产生大量电子垃圾。回收 LED 灯的挑战已经出现，必须同时解决环境和经济方面的问题，以实现循环经济。LED 灯含有贵金属和关键金属，这些金属存在于电子元件和 LED 本身中，使其成为回收计划的潜在废物。然而，关于这些金属在 LED 灯组件中的浓度和分布的数据仍然稀缺且不确定。这项工作旨在表征不同品牌 LED 灯的各种组件，以提供有关贵金属和关键金属含量的新数据。在所有品牌的灯中都发现了金银，我们强调了所有分析成分中金的存在，浓度在 0.01% 和 0.07% 之间，这与未来回收路线的经济可行性有关（金和银可以为每吨 LED 灯贡献 4340.00 美元）。在 LED 中发现了关键金属镓、钇和铈，而在印刷电路板 (PCB) 中发现了钴、钡、镓、锑和锰。此外，铅、镉和砷元素因其与环境和人类毒性相关而被表征。在印刷电路板 (PCB) 中发现了锑和锰。此外，铅、镉和砷元素因其与环境和人类毒性相关而被表征。在印刷电路板 (PCB) 中发现了锑和锰。此外，铅、镉和砷元素因其与环境和人类毒性相关而被表征。