Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used in nearly all electronic products.
It is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another.
The world market for PCBs exceeded $60.2 billion in 2014 and is estimated to reach $79 billion by 2024.
PCB components
A typical 0.35 kg PCB consists of:
- 0.25 kg of integrated circuit
- 0.01 kg of capacitor
- 0.005 kg of electric connector
- 0.005 kg of inductor
- 0.003 kg of resistor
- 0.002 kg of transformer
- 0.001 kg of transistor
- 0.0005 kg of glass diode
- 0.0001 kg of light emitting diode
Translation into material stocks
More than 30% of the weight of waste PCB consists of metals, including roughly:
- 16% of Copper (Cu)
- 4% of Tin (Sn)
- 3% of Iron (Fe)
- 2% of Nickel (Ni)
- 1% of Zinc (Sn)
- 0.039% of Gold (Au)
- 0.156% of Silver (Ag)
- 0.009% of Palladium (Pd)