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https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/manufacturing/replace-pcbs-with-vitrimer-pcbs-to-save-millions-of-tons-in-ewaste-say-uw-researchers>
"Standard PCBs are known for being fireproof and chemical-proof, but as a
result, they are notoriously difficult to reuse or recycle in any way. However,
research published by the University of Washington points towards a new way of
making more environmentally-conscious, actually recyclable PCBs. The new
so-called 'vPCBs' (or vitrimer PCBs) are repeatedly recyclable, with very
little material going to waste during the recycling process.
vPCBs work by replacing most of the PCB material with vitrimer. Vitrimer is
best thought of as a highly engineered polymer jelly that can be either
solidified to create a PCB or swelled to make it possible to pluck out
components for reuse or recycling. With this process, which should be
compatible with existing manufacturing processes, researchers were able to
recover 98% of the vitrimer and 100% of the glass fiber by recycling a vPCB.
According to the testing of the original research team from the University of
Washington, vPCBs perform roughly the same in strength and electrical
properties as FR-4, which is the current most common PCB material in use today.
vPCBs, then, seem like they may be a natural replacement — particularly with
the potential to reduce carcinogenic emissions by 81% compared to standard
PCBs. Since standard PCB disposal makes up a great deal of existing e-waste, a
more sustainable solution like this may be just what the environment needs in
today's tech-driven society."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
