| A Solution to PWB Pollution? |
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| Friday, 22 August 2008 13:50 | |||
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SHANGHAI–While consumers are becoming aware of the growing problems from electronic waste accumulating in landfills, chemists at Jiao Tong University may have developed a method that converts printed circuit board refuse into viable building material. After valuable metals are recycled from PCBs, the debris, typically comprised of epoxy resin, glass fibers and metallic residue from laminate and plating, ends up in landfills. With the new process, chemists can turn the debris, or pulp, into a material suitable for a number of applications. First, the pulp is crushed and any residual metallic components are removed using an electrostatic separator. The fine powder is then mixed and kneaded with unsaturated polyester to form a dough-like substance that can be heated and pressed into shapes such as planks. The recycled material has the properties consistent with construction materials, the scientists claim. “We tested the strength and hardness of our planks and showed that they have properties that are comparable with other building materials,” explains Zhenming Xu, leader of the research team. “We are confident that this material can be used for making products such as fences, sewer grates and park benches.”
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| Last Updated on Monday, 25 August 2008 10:57 |
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Products
Pentalogix Upgrades ViewMate Editing Suite
ViewMate line of Gerber viewer and editors now comes with Smart DFM technology, which reads the PCB design, verifies layout and prepares data for manufacture. Performs dozens of DfM checks and fixes CAM issues. Allows user to edit or ignore issues. Is Windows-based.Pentalogix, www.pentalogix.com
ViewMate line of Gerber viewer and editors now comes with Smart DFM technology, which reads the PCB design, verifies layout and prepares data for manufacture. Performs dozens of DfM checks and fixes CAM issues. Allows user to edit or ignore issues. Is Windows-based.Pentalogix, www.pentalogix.com
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Printing Screens Revisited
Research continues on improving printed frontside silver conductor line efficiency.A simple Internet search will reveal the photovoltaic industry is working hard on higher aspect ratio frontside conductor grids as a route to greater solar cell efficiencies. This is because the conductors, typically screen-printed on a cell’s frontside, block sunlight from reaching the energy converting strata below, and the narrower they are, the less shadow they cast. However, as it is essential they...
Research continues on improving printed frontside silver conductor line efficiency.A simple Internet search will reveal the photovoltaic industry is working hard on higher aspect ratio frontside conductor grids as a route to greater solar cell efficiencies. This is because the conductors, typically screen-printed on a cell’s frontside, block sunlight from reaching the energy converting strata below, and the narrower they are, the less shadow they cast. However, as it is essential they...
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