Volatile Organic Compounds and Metal Leaching from Composite Products Made from Fiberglass-Resin Portion of Printed Circuit Board Waste

This study focused on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metal leaching from three kinds of composite products made from fiberglass-resin portion (FRP) of crushed printed circuit board (PCB) waste, including phenolic molding compound (PMC), wood plastic composite (WPC), and nonmetallic plate (NMP). Released VOCs from the composite products were quantified by air sampling on adsorbent followed by thermal desorption and GC-MS analysis. The results showed that VOCs emitted from composite products originated from the added organic components during manufacturing process. Phenol in PMC panels came primarily from phenolic resin, and the airborne concentration of phenol emitted from PMC product was 59.4 ± 6.1 μg/m³, which was lower than odor threshold of 100% response for phenol (180 μg/m³). VOCs from WPC product mainly originated from wood flour, e.g., benzaldehyde, octanal, and d-limonene were emitted in relatively low concentrations. For VOCs emitted from NMP product, the airborne concentration of styrene was the highest (633 ± 67 μg/m³). Leaching characteristics of metal ions from composite products were tested using acetic acid buffer solution and sulphuric acid and nitric acid solution. Then the metal concentrations in the leachates were tested by ICP-AES. The results showed that only the concentration of Cu (average = 893 mg/L; limit = 100 mg/L) in the leachate solution of the FRP using acetic acid buffer solution exceeded the standard limit. However, concentrations of other metal ions (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ba, and Ni) were within the standard limit. All the results indicated that the FRP in composite products was not a major concern in terms of environmental assessment based upon VOCs tests and leaching characteristics.