Environmental Considerations in Electronics Manufacturing

Transcription

1 Environmental Considerations in Electronics Manufacturing Martin Goosey Innovative Electronics Manufacturing Research Centre Loughborough University

2 Sustainability Meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs The World Commission on Environment & Development

3 Sustainability - Business Context For businesses, sustainable development means; adopting strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future

4 Producer Responsibility Part of a move by the EC to achieve a more sustainable approach to resource use and a reduction in the quantity of waste going to landfill Aims to divert end of life products for re-use, recycling or other forms of recovery Producer responsibility is an extension of the polluter pays principle Places responsibility for end of life management on the original producer

5 Producer Responsibility Producer Responsibility aims to encourage producers to design products that: reduce or eliminates the use of hazardous materials use greater amounts of recyclate can be more easily treated at end of life minimises waste can be reused use fewer resources

6 Legislation There are several Directives and Regulations aimed at implementing producer responsibility; WEEE Directive RoHS Directive EuP ELV REACH Batteries and Accumulators Directive Packaging Waste Regulations

7 The RoHS Directive Proscribes the use of certain materials deemed to be hazardous in many electronic applications since July 1 st 2006 Responsible for the conversion of electronics to lead-free assembly Also prevents the use of cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium and certain flame retardants Growing pressure to avoid brominated flame retardants halogen-free

8 EuP Directive Framework Directive for the Eco-design of Energy Using Products Directive 2005/32/EC Establishes a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy using products

9 Why is EuP Needed? 80% of the cost of a product is set at the design stage 93% of production materials never used in the final product 80% of products discarded after a single use 99% of materials used discarded in the first six weeks

10 Why is EuP Needed? The EuP Directive states: Action should be taken during the design phase of EuPs since it appears that the pollution caused during the product s life cycle is determined at that stage, and most of the costs involved are committed then Energy using products account for a large proportion of consumption of natural resources and energy in the EU

11 Eco-Design Framework Directive EuP is a framework for setting eco-design requirements for energy using products (EuPs) provides for setting of requirements which EuPs must fulfil before they can be placed on the market Which aims to ensure the free movement of products contribute to sustainable development, security of supply, etc

12 EuP Scope In principle - any energy using products...except for means of transport Also covers parts which are intended to be incorporated into energy using products

13 Applies to Products that represent a significant volume of sales and trade, indicatively more than 200,000 units a year within the Community AND have a significant environmental impact AND present significant potential for improvement without entailing excessive costs

14 Pressure on Electronics Companies Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics

15 Concerns over Chemical Safety Concern over safety re persistent chemicals Focus on brominated flame retardants eg PBDEs, TBBPA, PBBs etc Found in high levels in the breast milk in US women Other materials of concern, PFOS, NPEs, phthalates, endocrine disruptors

16 Green Chemistry Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances (Anastas et al.)

17 Eco - Design Relatively new discipline Addresses the whole life-cycle of the product Identifies areas of financial and environmental opportunity Develops new products which are better : use less materials use less energy easier to disassemble & recycle legislative compliance avoid harmful materials Opens up new markets

18 What can be achieved with Design? Design for disassembly requirement of WEEE Directive Design for energy efficiency energy rating, climate change, reduce operating costs Design for dematerialisation reduced weight, lower costs, less packaging Design for longevity buy right-buy once, higher retail prices, lower impact? Design for modularity future proofing, easier repair, reuse etc Design for manufacturability

19 What can be achieved with Design? Design for chemical safety REACH Design for RoHS Compliance Design for recycling extracting end value, WEEE Design for maintenance and repair extending product life Design for short-life avoids redundancy due to technological advancement Incorporate multifunctionality print, scan, copy, fax

20 Design for Disassembly Example Plastics, Parts and Dismantling Times for a Television Set Year Types of Plastic Plastic Parts Dismantling time/s

21 Materials Impact on Sustainability Consider how materials choices impact recyclability Issues with plastic incompatibilities when recycling Brominated flame retardants range of concerns Low levels of impurities can compromise the recycling process or the recyclate itself

22 Printed Circuit Board Design Subtractive manufacturing process that is very wasteful Involves noxious chemicals, removal of copper and generation of toxic effluent Employs heavy metals, acids, oxidants, alkalis, thiourea formaldehyde, chelates and other undesirable materials Various opportunities to improve the process Use fewer chemicals and ones less harmful Design processes that create less waste

23 Printed Circuit Board Materials Issues with use of chelates such as EDTA Used to hold copper in solution at high ph Concerns over heavy metal remobilisation in Germany Consider replacing with biodegradable chelates eg EDDS, tartrates etc

24 Printed Circuit Board Materials Formaldehyde used as a reducing agent in electroless copper chemistries Tetrabromobisphenol A - key component of the flame retarded FR4 PCB laminates not banned but not liked! Lead has been used in soldering to boards and sometimes during the manufacturing process Other materials such as NPEs, PFOS and some surfactants causing problems

25 PCB Design for RoHS Compliance Essentially relates to design for lead-free assembly Also, need to think about moving to bromine and halogen-free laminate; not yet proscribed but! May require changes to circuit board design eg larger pads, component relocation, higher thermal stability materials, design for CAF resistance etc, etc Removal of other materials eg hexavalent chromium

26 PCB Alternatives and Materials Choices Use alternative manufacturing routes eg moulded interconnect devices (MIDs) and fully additive processes Considerable effort on digital/printed electronics New PCB laminates available that have alternative flame retardant systems Replacements for PFOS, EDTA, NPE Working on formaldehyde alternatives

27 Design Components Inside the Circuit Board Can also move Active Components inside the Circuit Board but has been limited due to design rule constraints

28 Digital Electronics Manufacture PCB manufacturing is an expensive process generating lots of waste Why not print the interconnects and components using digital techniques eg ink jet or other printing techniques Much interest in this technology but still at an early stage Print insulators/resists; could print conductors and components Ideally, whole circuits and their components could be printed Simpler automated process low labour costs ideal for Europe

29 Printed Electronics

30 Work at Brunel University Cleaner Electronics Group at Brunel working on printed electronics for many years Work currently supported by the IeMRC Wide range of printed structures demonstrated Active disassembly

31 CLF Demonstration Circuit Landline telephone mainboard Artwork taken from original resin laminate circuit board SMT passive components attached using conductive adhesive Microprocessor controlled thermometer Circuit interconnect, resistors, capacitors and switch actuator, all printed by offset lithography Device uses a glazed paper as the circuit substrate

32 Manufacturer of Geotechnical Equipment Redesign activity resulted in; circuit boards reduced from 5 to 1 assembly time reduced by 68% fasteners used reduced by 29% removal of glues thinning of materials Resulted in a 147k net saving in the first year

33 Summary and Conclusions There is a need to move to more sustainable design and manufacturing processes in the electronics industry Legislation and consumer pressure is encouraging industry to change the way goods are designed, made and used The use of Green Design concepts enables industry to meet these new demands Green Design offers a wide range of benefits and opportunities at all stages of the product life cycle