Indicators for the feasibility of WEEE processing plants in Brazil : a relationship between virgin mineral copper ore and the recycling of consumer electronic products

Abstract

This paper assesses the economic analysis of the implementation of WEEE – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive – processing plants in Brazil, through the study of potential copper extraction from this secondary source. A comparative approach was performed on its copper grade related to levels of its virgin ore mineral extracted from mines located in Brazil, in the United States and through a global average. The results demonstrate that the amount of copper mass originated from the recycling of disassembly of twenty electronic products ranges from 0.24% to 17.83% of its total mass, with an average of 3.63% of copper. In eighteen of these products, values greater than 0.4% were found, which surpass current levels of copper in ore mines in the USA. In fourteen products, these rates exceed the index of 1.5% copper in the ore, considered the minimum rate for the feasibility of opening new units of copper underground mining in Brazil. Thus, this paper shows the economic analysis that aims to guide on the viability of deploying WEEE processing plants, focusing on the expansion of recycling and reuse of copper by the processing industry.