Abstract

It is estimated that approximately 6,000,000 scrap TVs and 10,000,000 personal computers are generated each year in China. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from these machines consist of 85% glass (65% panel, 30% funnel and 5% neck glass). The leaded glass (funnel-24%, neck-30%) may seriously pollute the environment if it is not properly disposed of. In this paper, the past, current and future status of CRT dismantling technologies as well as the CRT glass recycling situation in China are presented and discussed. Recycling technology for waste CRTs in China is still immature. While the conventional CRT dismantling technologies have disadvantages from both economic and environmental viewpoints, some of the new and emerging treatments such as automatic optical sorting facilities that have been applied in developed countries offer advantages, and therefore should be transferred to China in the next few years to solve the CRT pre-processing problem. Meanwhile, because the demand for CRT glass closed-loop recycling is extremely limited, the authorities should take effective measures to improve CRT glass recycling rates and to facilitate a match to local conditions. Moreover, we also provide a broad review of the research developments in recycling techniques for CRT cullet. The challenge for the future is to transfer these environmentally friendly and energy-saving technologies into practice.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Xu Q, Li G, He W, Huang J, Shi X

Institution

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.

Source

Waste management (New York, N.Y.) 32:8 2012 Aug pg 1566-74

MeSH

Cathode Ray Tube
China
Electronic Waste
Glass
Internationality
Recycling

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22542858