Random Bits of Useful Information
Recoverable Materials from Electronics
Raw Materials in iPhones
Source: Green Care Conf 2018
For every 100.000 devices
| Element | Kgs/10.000 devices |
|---|---|
| Aluminum | 1900kg |
| Gold | 0.97kg |
| Silver | 7.5kg |
| Rare earth elements | 11kg |
| Tungsten | 93kg |
| Copper | 710kg |
| Palladium | 0.10kg |
| Tin | 42kg |
| Cobalt | 770kg |
| Tantalium | 1.8kg |
Raw Materials cell phones
EPA Data
For every 1 million devices (original data in pounds).
| Element | Pounds/1M devices | Kgs/1M devices |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 35274 | 16000.018 |
| Silver | 772 | 350.17333 |
| Gold | 75 | 34.01943 |
| Palladium | 33 | 14.968549 |
Elements in a Smartphone
Source: Oko-Institut 2016
| Material | Quantity | MU | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 22.16 | g | Case |
| Copper | 15.12 | g | Wires, shielding, PCB, speakers, vibration |
| Plastics | 9.53 | g | Case |
| Magnesium | 5.54 | g | Case |
| Cobalt | 5.38 | g | Battery |
| Tin | 1.21 | g | Solder past |
| Iron | 0.88 | g | Case |
| Tungsten | 0.44 | g | Vibration alarm |
| Silver | 0.31 | g | Soldier paste, PCB |
| Neodymium | 0.05 | g | Magnets of speakers |
| Gold | 0.03 | g | Electronic components, PCB |
| Tantalum | 0.02 | g | Capacitors |
| Palladium | 0.01 | g | Electronic components, PCB |
| Praseodymium | 0.01 | g | Magnets of speakers |
| Indum | 0.01 | g | Display |
| Yttrium | 0.0004 | g | LED-backlights |
| Gallium | 0.0004 | g | LED-backlights |
| Gadolinium | 0.0002 | g | LED-backlights |
| Europium | 0.0001 | g | LED-backlights |
| Cerium | 0.00003 | g | LED-backlights |
| Others | 99.29 | g | Glass, ceramics, semiconductors |
Carbon Footprint of a Fairphone
Source: Green Care Conf 2018
By Phase
| Phase | kg CO2E |
|---|---|
| Production | 35 |
| Transport | 2 |
| Use | 6 |
| Eol | 0 |
By Component
| Components | Kg CO2E |
|---|---|
| Core Module | 62.5 |
| Assembly | 13.5 |
| Battery Module | 5.4 |
| Display Module | 7.5 |
| Packaging | 0.6 |
| Camera Module | 5.4 |
| Top module | 3.6 |
| Back cover | 0.2 |
| Bottom module | 1.5 |
Repairability
Barriers to repair: assess of EU policies
- legal barriers (EULA), lack of awareness about rights, misinformation in warranties
- access to spare parts
- access to manuals
- software “doping” (access to drivers, …)/software protections
- the total price of repair
- consumer preferences
iFixIT
- in Japan there are shops which sell broken products; price depend upon repairability
- some producers are making it more difficult for independent repair shops; examples: Nikon, Apple sued an independent repair shop
- fragmentation of devices (see pictures) requires a bunch of information to be able to actually repair a device
- A recycler sent to jail, because of his activity: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/27/17286810/e-waste-recycling-microsoft-eric-lundgren-prison-restore-discs https://www.activistpost.com/2018/04/e-waste-recycler-sentenced-to-over-a-year-in-prison-for-fixing-old-pcs-and-selling-them.html
- Right to repair requires: service information, tools (e.g., screwdrivers), diagnostic software
- Computers with best repairability: Dell, HP, Lenovo
- in the US things are moving towards asserting the right of repair: in MA a poll passed; it is now unlawful to put stickers which warn about the warranty being void; DMCA (copyright law) does not block the right to repair (Eric Lundgren is going to prison for 15 months for selling restore disks for computers, which would extend their longevity and allow them to be resold to new users. A federal appeals court in Miami rejected the appeal in his case this week, upholding a federal district judge’s ruling that Lundgren violated Microsoft’s copyright by selling the disks)
- Greenpeace: “Guide to Greener Electronics”(2 017)
- Liability vs. Repairability: in the automotive sector there do not seem to be issues; making information available about how to service a product might reduce the liability of a company
Difficulties in recycling materials from ewaste
- Miniaturization (decreases volume of elements)
- Integrated batteries (safety hazard) (There is WP article on fires caused by Li+ batteries)
- Layering and gluing
- Materials’ identification
Why People Change Phones
Motivations to change phone
Source: GreenCare Conf, 2018
| It is important that products last long to save money | 93 |
| It is important to use products for a long time to protect the environment | 91 |
| It is exhausting that there are som many new models | 71 |
| It is a great feeling to have a new device | 53 |
| It is important to me to have state-of-the-art technology | 51 |
| New devices mean a high quality of life for me | 46 |
| I don’t have enough time for product maintenance | 30 |
| I like to discuss new smartphones | 29 |
| I like to show when I have something new | 26 |
| I don’t mind when something is broken, because then I buy something new | 16 |
| I think it is normal to have a new smartphone every year | 14 |
[OHA2017]
Why changing your phone
Source: GreenCare Conf, 2018, Talk by Fraunhofer, adapted from handyrepairtur123
| Display | 52% |
| Other damages | 14% |
| Software | 10% |
| Water damage | 8% |
| Battery | 5% |
| Back cover | 5% |
| Loudspeaker | 5% |
Raw Materials Factsheet
Gold Mining and Electronics
(Source: GreenCare Conference 2018)
Impact of mining 1t of gold:
- 18,000 tons of CO2e released
- 260,000 tons of water used
- 200,000 GJ of energy consumed
- 1,270,000 tons of waste solids produced
Gold density in Electronics:
- There is up to 800x more gold in a ton of motherboards than in a ton of gold ore
- Every year 60 USDM worth of gold and silver go to waste in the US from phones alone
Cobalt
- Co has exceptional properties (e.g., resistance to high temperature) and it is in great demand (price risen 250% in 2017) from unstable countries (Congo, Zambia Central African Republic)
- Sources:
- Primary production/extraction from ores: 65% (10.000 tons/year)
- Secondary production: 35% (recovered from batteries, super-alloys and hard metals)
- 160M laptops sold in 2017, average Co content 0.003 kg/laptop, implies 5000 tons of cobalt recoverable at end of life (yearly)
- Car batteries of electric cars (Tesla) contain 7Kg each