WEEE ID - knowledge and technology for more sustainable e-waste recycling

Purpose and goal

The purpose of the project was primarily to develop an automated identification and sorting process for WEEE. The project was successful in this and can present a demonstrator capable of identifying a large number of products. Using the demonstrator makes it possible to replace manual operations, which today is the most common way to sort WEEE. Increased recycling rates are also to be expected thanks to the improved sorting. The knowledge gained of products´ materials content give good prerequisites to carry out more optimized treatments in processes that follow.

Expected results and effects

The demonstrator works satisfactorily and is ready for commercial use already at this point. The demonstrator can be equipped with more separation units, making it possible to sort products into an almost unlimited number of fractions. Tests showed high sorting success of a large number of products. In addition to the demonstrator, the ´Sustainability impact assessment methodology´ developed in parallel, adds something new to the WEEE recycling industry as there is not so much previously done on this topic within this field.

Planned approach and implementation

The developed demonstrator is, depending on the purpose of use, a mature technology ready for the market. Practical tests were done continuously to optimize the functionality of the demonstrator and identify room for improvements. Other important parts of the project were, among others, modeling and method development with the purpose to account for sustainability aspects, and gain increased knowledge of the material content of WEEE products.