To present an update and the latest results from work on a project aimed at enabling printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing to become more sustainable.
Various individual treatment technologies were studied individually under laboratory conditions and then combined into a pilot‐scale demonstrator line that was used to process effluent from a nickel‐gold plating line in a PCB production environment.
The use of these novel processes, including special electroplating techniques, advanced oxidation methods and a new ion exchange system can be combined to give a more sustainable treatment process for effluent emanating from PCB manufacturing. The approach also generates high quality pure water that can be recycled and reused in the manufacturing process.
The combined technology has been demonstrated with a nickel‐gold plating line. Further development work should be undertaken to tailor the technology for other parts of the PCB manufacturing process.
The paper details how individual treatment technologies can be combined to enable a much more sustainable approach to PCB manufacturing which offers the benefits of reduced effluent levels and a source of high purity recycled water.
