Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature

Energy consumption in buildings is linked to lighting technology. Light-emitting diode (LED) technology includes lamps and luminaires for general lighting applications. Due to their structure, LED lamps are expected to generate specific waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) streams. LEDs...

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Main Authors: Konstantinos M. Sideris, Ioannis Katsiris, Dimitrios Fragkoulis, Vassilis N. Stathopoulos, Panagiotis Sinioros
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Recycling
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/9/6/128
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author Konstantinos M. Sideris
Ioannis Katsiris
Dimitrios Fragkoulis
Vassilis N. Stathopoulos
Panagiotis Sinioros
author_facet Konstantinos M. Sideris
Ioannis Katsiris
Dimitrios Fragkoulis
Vassilis N. Stathopoulos
Panagiotis Sinioros
author_sort Konstantinos M. Sideris
collection DOAJ
description Energy consumption in buildings is linked to lighting technology. Light-emitting diode (LED) technology includes lamps and luminaires for general lighting applications. Due to their structure, LED lamps are expected to generate specific waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) streams. LEDs are the main source of luminous flux, and their elemental composition is of particular interest to the recycling sector. In this study, surface-mount device (SMD) LEDs from six types of LED lamps (E27, E14, G9, R7S, GU10, and MR16) were removed, collected, separated by correlated colour temperature (CCT) (2700 K, 3000 K, 4000 K, and 6500 K), and characterised for the presence of rare earth elements and precious metals. They were digested with HNO<sub>3</sub>, aqua regia, and HF in a hot plate and characterised by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentration of each element as a function of CCT ranged as follows: lanthanum, 242–1840 mg/kg; cerium, 132–284 mg/kg; europium, 15–69 mg/kg; gadolinium, 1.9–3.8 mg/kg; terbium, 0.1–0.4 mg/kg; lutetium, 29–6381 mg/kg; yttrium, 4804–11,551 mg/kg; silver, 2712–5262 mg/kg; gold, 502–956 mg/kg; and palladium, 32–110 mg/kg. These results indicate the need for selective removal and separate recycling processes of SMD LEDs from LED lamps.
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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series Recycling
spelling doaj-art-0ed31b9dc2bd43288bc8e878ee92b2c82024-12-27T14:50:11ZengMDPI AGRecycling2313-43212024-12-019612810.3390/recycling9060128Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour TemperatureKonstantinos M. Sideris0Ioannis Katsiris1Dimitrios Fragkoulis2Vassilis N. Stathopoulos3Panagiotis Sinioros4Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of West Attica, 122 44 Egaleo, GreeceDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Educators, School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, 151 22 Marousi Attica, GreeceDepartment of Agricultural Development, Agrifood and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 344 00 Evia, GreeceDepartment of Agricultural Development, Agrifood and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna Campus, 344 00 Evia, GreeceDepartment of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of West Attica, 122 44 Egaleo, GreeceEnergy consumption in buildings is linked to lighting technology. Light-emitting diode (LED) technology includes lamps and luminaires for general lighting applications. Due to their structure, LED lamps are expected to generate specific waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) streams. LEDs are the main source of luminous flux, and their elemental composition is of particular interest to the recycling sector. In this study, surface-mount device (SMD) LEDs from six types of LED lamps (E27, E14, G9, R7S, GU10, and MR16) were removed, collected, separated by correlated colour temperature (CCT) (2700 K, 3000 K, 4000 K, and 6500 K), and characterised for the presence of rare earth elements and precious metals. They were digested with HNO<sub>3</sub>, aqua regia, and HF in a hot plate and characterised by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentration of each element as a function of CCT ranged as follows: lanthanum, 242–1840 mg/kg; cerium, 132–284 mg/kg; europium, 15–69 mg/kg; gadolinium, 1.9–3.8 mg/kg; terbium, 0.1–0.4 mg/kg; lutetium, 29–6381 mg/kg; yttrium, 4804–11,551 mg/kg; silver, 2712–5262 mg/kg; gold, 502–956 mg/kg; and palladium, 32–110 mg/kg. These results indicate the need for selective removal and separate recycling processes of SMD LEDs from LED lamps.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/9/6/128measurements and characterisationLED lampsLED moduleSMD LEDsrare earth elementsprecious metals
spellingShingle Konstantinos M. Sideris
Ioannis Katsiris
Dimitrios Fragkoulis
Vassilis N. Stathopoulos
Panagiotis Sinioros
Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
Recycling
measurements and characterisation
LED lamps
LED module
SMD LEDs
rare earth elements
precious metals
title Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
title_full Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
title_fullStr Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
title_full_unstemmed Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
title_short Waste SMD LEDs from End-of-Life Residential LED Lamps: Presence and Characterisation of Rare Earth Elements and Precious Metals as a Function of Correlated Colour Temperature
title_sort waste smd leds from end of life residential led lamps presence and characterisation of rare earth elements and precious metals as a function of correlated colour temperature
topic measurements and characterisation
LED lamps
LED module
SMD LEDs
rare earth elements
precious metals
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/9/6/128
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