Reuse and recycle of End-of-Life (EOL) Tablets

Supervisor:Y.C.ChanCourseCode:EE6613TitleofReport:ReuseandrecycleofEnd-of-Life(EOL)-TabletsReportDate:Name:WENQianqianStudentID:54169831Supervisor:CourseCode:TitleofReport:ReportDate:Name：StudentID：1.IntroductionandSituation1.1IntroductionElectronicequipmenthasbecomemoreandmorepopularinourmoderndailylife.Theyfacilitateourlifeandmakeourdaysmorecolorful.WenowhaveTVsinthehome,GPSnavigatorsinthecar,cellphonesandtabletinthebags,thelaptopsonthedesks.Nowadays,thespeedofupdateandreplacementofelectronicproductsisfasterthanourimagination.Asaresult,theelectronicwasteincreasedrapidlyduringthepasttwodecades.Wecanfindthedataofcomputerobsoletefromlate1990sto2000sinalotofdocuments.Itshowsthataround20millioncomputerswerediscardedinthelate1990swhilemorethan100,000computersbecameobsoleteeverydayintheearly2000s.EoLstandsforEndofLife.Itrepresentsthelastsectionofaproduct’slife.EoLmanagementincludesberesponsiblefordisposingoftheexistingproduct,transitioningtoanewproductandminimizingthedamagetotheenvironment.Findingacost-efficientandenvironment-friendlymethodfortabletrecoveryandrecyclingisaurgentissueglobally.1.2SituationTheamountofelectronicwastehasboostedasaconsequenceofthedevelopmentoftheindustrialization.Itishighlypossiblethatlargeamountofe-wastewillleadtoheavyenvironmentpollutions.Thematerialsandchemicalcomponentsinthee-wastearedangerousastheycoulddoharmtoboththehumanbodiesandthebiologicalsystem.Ifthetoxicelementsareabandonedorprocessedinanincorrectway,thesoilandwaterwillbepollutedwhichwilldoharmtoothercreaturesinthefoodchain.Thus,themanagementandrecyclingoftheelectronicwasteisbecomingaworldwideenvironmentprotectionissuewhichisemphasizedbytheUNandalotofinternationalorganizations.Somecountrieshavestartedtosolvetheelectronicwasteproblemsbymakinglegislationsandlaws.TheWEEEDirectiveandtheRoHSDirectiveareallimplementedbytheEUwhoputstheenvironmentalprotectionplanintopracticeasavanguard.EUalsorecommendedtheconceptofrecyclingandreusagetothemanufacturersinordertomakethemhavetheawarenessoftheEoLmanagementduringtheproductionprocess.Itmeansthatthemanufacturersareencouragedtoimprovetheirdesignandtechnologyoftheproductwhichwillbeeasiertorecycle,reuseanddisassemble.Tabletsareakindofuniqueproductinalle-wastes.Notonlybecausetheyhavelargevolumeandrelevantshortlifespan,butalsobecausehighpossibilityofrecyclingandreusetheyhave.ItisimportanttostrengthentheawarenessofEoLmanagementinthetabletdesignandmanufacturingprocess.Itwillsavealotofthecostduringthedisposeofthee-waste.2.GoalsandMethod2.1GoalsTabletsarethemosttrendyelectronicequipmentinthemoderndays.Theirpopularityhasbeenincreasedbecauseoftheiruniquefeatures.TheysharealmostthesamefunctionswiththePCs.However,theyaremuchlighterandmoreportablecomparedtothecommonones.Thebasiccomponentsoftheatabletaretouchscreen,processor,memory,harddriveandintegratedmotherboard.Thetouchscreensaretouch-sensitive.Thescreensarecapableofdisplaybrilliantcolorpicturesandhigh-qualityvideoswhichshouldbesuitableforprofessionalpresentations.TheCPUshouldbelow-powerconsumptionandhigh-octanecalculation.Thememorydependsontheusers.Iftheuserswanttodovideoeditingontheirtablets,theyneedlargerRAMsuchas4GB.Theharddrivespaceinthetabletisheldtominimumastheyarenormallyusedtodoonlinework.Anintegratedmotherboardshouldbeequippedinthetabletwhichincludesdifferentkindsofcardsandports.Allthecomponentshavespecificmethodsforrecyclingandrecovery.2.2BasicConceptNowadays,theEoLproductmanagementcanbedividedintothreemainsteps:Collection,fatedeterminationandprocessing.Theprocessingstepsalsoincludesthreedifferentpart:reuseoftablets,reuseofcomponentsandrecyclingofmaterials.（出处）Duringthemanagementprocess,itisessentialtouseeffectiveanalysismethod.Themanufacturershouldconsidertheeconomicandenvironmentalinfluenceintheirmanagement.Itmeansthatcostcontrolshouldbeconsideredbythemanufacturers.Thewastesolutionpartcanbewastemanagement,wasteprevention,sourcereduction,recyclingandwastecombustionandland-filling.Thewastemanagementincludesminimizingtheimpactandthewastepreventionfocusonminimizingthevolume.Amongthem,themostimportantpartisminimizingthevolume.Wecandochemicallyorbiologicallytreatorincinerate,recycleandcompostasmuchwasteaspossible,reuseasmanythingsaspossible,reducewasteandpollutionandburywhatisleft.Duringtherecyclingprocess,wefocusonfivekindsofmaterials:CRTs,circuitboards,batteries,PCBsandEOLequipment.Beforerecycling,somespecialissuesshouldbenoticed.Firstly,thereusedmaterialsshouldberefurbishedandtestedforfunctionalityandresidualfocusmaterialsaremanagedresponsibly.Secondly,personaldataontheEoLelectronicsshouldbeclearedanddestroyed.Therearesomedifferencesofreuseandrecycle.Theconceptofreuseiswhenaproductthatisnewlypurchasedisputtoanotheruseafterthefirstuseiscompleted.Itwilldobigcontributiontotheenvironmentbecauseiteliminatestheneedtobuyanothernewproduct.Thiswillalsodecreasetheconsumptionofthenaturalresource.Recycleisaprocessingofusedmaterialsintonewproductstoavoidwasteofpotentiallyusefulmaterials.Thewastewillbeconvertedintonewmaterialsforthenewproduct.Recyclinghe