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POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENT FOR A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD PLANT (EPA/600/S-95/020)
Citation:
Edwards, H. W., M. F. Kostrzewa, AND G. P. Looby. POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENT FOR A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD PLANT (EPA/600/S-95/020). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1995.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has funded a pilot project to assist small and medium-size manufacturers who want to minimize their generation of waste but who lack the expertise to do so. Waste Minimization Assessment Centers (WMACs) were established at selected universities and procedures were adapted from the EPA Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003, July 1988). That document has been superseded by the Facility Pollution Prevention (EPA/600/R-92/088, May 1992). The WMAC team at Colorada State University performed an assessment at a plant that manufactures printed circuit boards. Templates for the circuit design are generated from customer-supplied circuit information. Cooper/epoxy laminates and copper foil are cut into blank boards and layers. Circuit patterns are generated through a series of photolithographic and plating processes. The team's report, detailing findings and recommendations, indicated that the onsite ion-exchange treatment of metal-containing rinse water generates regenerant solutions that could be further treated by electrowinning to recover metals and to achieve significant cost savings.