Progress in the preparation of composites based on the nonmetallic fractions recycled from waste printed circuit boards

From the use of renewable resources and environmental protection, recycling of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) receives wide concerns as the amounts of scrap PCBs increases dramatically. However, the recycle technology for waste PCBs in China is still immature. Previous studies focused on metals recovery, but resource utilization for nonmetallic fractions (NMFs) is relatively fewer. In this paper, the physical properties of the recovered nonmetallic powder is briefly introduced. The preparation of composites including organic and inorganic composites through the recycling NMFs was reviewed. In addition, the research directions of preparation of composites based on recycling NMFs were put forward. Firstly, the study on the reaction mechanism of composites preparation should be strengthened to explore the reasons why the additional quantity and particle size of NMFs powder have effects on the properties of composites. Secondly, a suitable coupling agent should be chosen to improve the the interface compatibility between the NMFs and matrix.