Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Wednesday 18 April 2018

#EWaste #Recycling #Sustainability #CircularEconomy


A   Sahaj  Solution  ?



Indian Express ( 10 April ) carries following news :












An Indian-origin scientist in Australia has launched the world’s first micro factory that can transform the components from electronic waste items such as smartphones and laptops into valuable materials for re-use.

According to Veena Sahajwalla,



a professor at the University of New South Wales, the e-waste micro factory has the potential to reduce the rapidly growing problem of vast amounts of electronic waste causing environmental harm and going into landfill.


It can also turn many types of consumer waste such as glass, plastic and timber into commercial materials and products, she said.


For instance, from e-waste, computer circuit boards can be transformed into valuable metal alloys such as copper and tin while glass and plastic from e-devices can be converted into micro materials used in industrial grade ceramics and plastic filaments for 3D printing.


“Our e-waste micro factory and another under development for other consumer waste types offer a cost-effective solution to one of the greatest environmental challenges of our age,” said Sahajwalla, who earned her BTech degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1986.


“Using our green manufacturing technologies, these micro factories can transform waste where it is stockpiled and created, enabling local businesses and communities to not only tackle local waste problems but to develop a commercial opportunity from the valuable materials that are created,” she said.


 Sahajwalla said micro factories present a solution to burning and burying waste items that contain materials which can be transformed into value-added substances and products to meet existing and new industry and consumer demands.


The modular micro factories can operate on a site as small as 50 square metres and can be located wherever waste may be stockpiled.


A micro factory is one or a series of small machines and devices that uses patented technology to perform one or more functions in the reforming of waste products into new and usable resources. The e-waste micro factory that reforms discarded computers, mobile phones and printers has a number of small modules for this process and fits into a small site, said Sahajwalla.


The discarded devices are first placed into a module to break them down. The next module may involve a special robot for the identification of useful parts, she said. Another module then involves using a small furnace which transforms these parts into valuable materials by using a precisely controlled temperature process developed via extensive research. These transformed materials include metal alloys and a range of micromaterials, Sahajwalla said.


These can be used in industrial-grade ceramics while the specific quality plastics from computers, printers and other discarded sources can be put through another module that produces filaments suitable for 3D-printing applications. The metal alloys can be used as metal components for new or existing manufacturing processes, she said.




CONTEXT  :


     In 2014, approximately 41.8 million tons of e-waste was generated worldwide.



     The amount of worldwide e-waste generation is expected to be 49.8 million tons in 2018



     Only 6.5 million tons of total global e-waste generation in 2014 was treated by national electronic take-back systems



Currently, only 15-20 per cent of all e-waste is recycled.


According to a recent report by EPA, every day, we are to get rid of over 416,000 mobile devices and 142,000 computers either by recycling or disposing of them in landfills and incinerators.


Another EPA report reveals that by recycling one million cell phones, we can recover more than 20,000 lbs of copper20 lbs of palladium550 lbs of silver, and 50 lbs of gold.


Cell phones contain very high amount of precious metals such as silver and gold. Americans throw away approximately $60 million worth of silver and gold per year.


Each year, globally, around 1 billion cell phones and 300 million computers are put into production.


The amount of global e-waste is expected to grow by 8 per cent per year.


Roughly 80 percent of e-waste generated in the U.S. is exported to Asia, a trade flow that is a source of considerable controversy.




QUESTION :


Can , at least 5 million Indian youth get self employed , repairing / recycling ”  E Waste “ generated globally ?



ANSWER  :


*   Obtain micro-factory technology from  Ms Sahajwalla (veena@unsw.edu.au )


*   Give away this design for free to any start up which wants to manufacture it



*   Provide special MUDRA loans to Self Employed who want to get into this e – waste
     recycling business , using this micro-factory process



*   Donations made to such “ Self Employed “ by manufacturers of Electronic Devices ,
    be adjusted against their CSR obligations



I do hope Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji will consider my suggestion




19  April  2018





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