Search results

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and other organic chelates are widely employed in electroless plating processes used by the printed circuit board and metal finishing industries. These chelating agents can pose problems with downstream waste water treatment, and metals and water recycling processes, due to their ability to complex heavy metal ions and their low biodegradabilities. Conventional treatment methods, such as carbon adsorption, air stripping and reverse osmosis can create secondary waste problems and are normally applied as “end of pipe” treatments. The development of new technology to address these problems would be welcomed. The ROCWAT project, funded by the EC under the “CRAFT” programme, detailed in this paper was undertaken to develop and deliver innovative techniques for the in situ destruction of chelates and other organics found in manufacturing process chemistries and effluent streams.

To present an update and the latest results from work on a project aimed at enabling printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing to become more sustainable.

Various individual treatment technologies were studied individually under laboratory conditions and then combined into a pilot‐scale demonstrator line that was used to process effluent from a nickel‐gold plating line in a PCB production environment.

The use of these novel processes, including special electroplating techniques, advanced oxidation methods and a new ion exchange system can be combined to give a more sustainable treatment process for effluent emanating from PCB manufacturing. The approach also generates high quality pure water that can be recycled and reused in the manufacturing process.

The combined technology has been demonstrated with a nickel‐gold plating line. Further development work should be undertaken to tailor the technology for other parts of the PCB manufacturing process.

The paper details how individual treatment technologies can be combined to enable a much more sustainable approach to PCB manufacturing which offers the benefits of reduced effluent levels and a source of high purity recycled water.

To present the initial results from a project recently undertaken by Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Europe Ltd, in collaboration with a number of European partners, to develop individual elements of the traditional PCB manufacturing process towards a sustainable and zero‐discharge alternative.

This paper presents initial results from work aimed at enabling PCB manufacturing to become more sustainable. Novel processes evaluated include special electroplating techniques, advanced oxidation methods to remove organic contaminants, and new ion exchange systems. Work has been carried out to develop these processes into viable demonstrators and the results of progress to date are reported. Descriptions of how these individual technologies may be combined to provide an integrated approach to a more sustainable PCB manufacturing methodology are also given.

Initial results indicate that a more sustainable PCB manufacturing process may be achieved by combining the use of organic and metal capture resins with advanced oxidation and electrochemical recovery technologies.

The value of the paper lies in its provision of information from a project that is integrating available treatment technologies in a novel approach that will take the PCB manufacturing process closer to a zero effluent discharge situation.

Ethylene diamine tetra‐acetic acid (EDTA) and other chelates are widely employed in the electroless copper plating solutions and related chemistries used in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. EDTA in particular, imparts many benefits to these processes but it is also becoming increasingly undesirable from an effluent treatment and environmental perspective. Consequently, there is a need to remove EDTA and similar compounds from effluent produced during the PCB manufacturing process. In this paper, the effectiveness of hydroxyl radicals, generated by a UV/ozone based enhanced oxidation process, in destroying relatively low levels of EDTA and other chelates has been evaluated. The influence of temperature, operating pH and chelate concentration has been investigated. Initial results indicate that a combined UV/ozone based process provides a useful and effective method for conveniently destroying EDTA, its hydroxy ethyl analogue and ethanolamine in aqueous solution.

In September 1998 six European companies involved in PCB manufacturing and electronic packaging started collaborating in a development project known as “PRIME”. The “Program for Re‐engineering and Innovating (PCB) Manufacturing and Equipment” project lost one of its original members in late 1999, and Coates Circuit Products joined as the dielectric supplier. The project is now approaching the mid‐term assessment (MTA), where alternative production scenarios will be discussed and the most attractive carried forward to fabricate test vehicles and ultimately demonstrator patterns. Some essential features of the project have already been demonstrated and these initial results will be presented.

Banking has not been caught off guard by the speed of change within the industry brought about by Internet banking. In fact, the combination of the speed and direction of change has acted as a catalyst for a new era in financial services. This paper considers what impact this has for the corporate identities of the companies concerned, whether existing banks can leverage their corporate identity to obtain sustainable competitive advantage and whether new entrants in the financial market will be able to woo new customers.

Purpose: Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways towards self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation for women in a country without guaranteed employment. The research contributes and provides reasons for supporting women’s entrepreneurship, as although it is well-documented that women’s entrepreneurship increases economic growth, other approaches need attention, especially those related to sustainability.

Need for the study: Women have superior emotional intelligence, resilience, and capacity to maintain a healthy work–life balance; women make better business and entrepreneurial leaders. Many businesses see encouraging women to join the workforce as a key to achieving sustainability goals. This study will provide valuable insights into the role of female entrepreneurs in driving sustainable business practices in the USA and India – rural India and urban India.

Methodology: The chapter adopts a descriptive research design methodology in conducting a thorough literature review on the evolution of women entrepreneurship in India. The case-based approach has been adopted to depict women entrepreneurs and their growth stories. The analysis is based on qualitative analysis of secondary data and primary data. This research proposes exciting revelations regarding the trend of women entrepreneurship in India and, from a global perspective, challenges women entrepreneurs face in organised and unorganised sectors in India and policies in different countries that promote women entrepreneurship towards sustainability.

Findings: Women business owners in India help the economy thrive, reduce poverty, and have a greater chance of shaping India’s destiny. This chapter looks at how entrepreneurial actions affect cultural morals and values. Women’s business growth rates vary from country to country, and this variation is influenced by the fact that countries can be broadly categorised as either developed or developing.

This paper aims to present a review carried out under DEFRA‐funded project WRT208, describing: the composition of WEEE, current treatment technologies, emerging technologies and research.

This paper summarises the output from the first part of the project. It provides information on the composition of WEEE and an extensive survey of technologies relevant to materials recycling from WEEE. A series of further papers will be published from this research project.

WEEE has been identified as one of the fastest growing sources of waste in the EU, and is estimated to be increasing by 16‐28 per cent every five years. Within each sector a complex set of heterogeneous secondary wastes is created. Although treatment requirements are complicated, the sources from any one sector possess many common characteristics. However, there exist huge variations in the nature of electronic wastes between sectors, and treatment regimes appropriate for one cannot be readily transferred to another.

A very large number of treatment technologies are available, both established and emerging, that singly and in combination could address the specific needs of each sector. However, no single set of treatment methods can be applied universally.

This paper is the first part of work leading to the development of technical strategies and methodologies for reprocessing WEEE into primary and secondary products, and where possible the recovery of higher added‐value components and materials.