Waste Management Solutions for WEE plastics containing Brominated Flame Retardants

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Bromine Recovery from Plastics containing
brominated flame retardants option for
Sustainable bromine production?
Lein Tange, Dead Sea Bromine Group, Eurobrom
B.V. Dieter Drohmann, Great Lakes Chemical
Corporation
R2002 - Geneva
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Introduction End-of-life management

• EBFRIP/BSEF objectives for WEEE with BFRs
• Provide waste recovery solutions in addition to
  mechanical recycling
• Evaluate incineration and pyrolysis/gasification
  processes including corrosion
• Develop recovery options for HBr and optional
  Bromine
• Review the feasibility and economics

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Management of EE Plastics Waste
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Use of flame retarded plastics in EE equipment
2000 data
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Plastics from WEEE with BFRs today (186.000
tons/year)

• Current situation for WEEE plastics
• Largest volume goes to landfill
• 10 to incineration for energy recovery
• After dismantling, still 60 to landfill
• No feedstock recycling or re-use is taking place

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Bromine Recovery from Plastics containing BFRs

• Process
• Co-combustion in MSWI and Feedstock Recycling
• Volumes ca. 11,000 tonnes of bromine/year
• BFRs are converted into HBr and optional in
  Bromine
• Distillation
• Neutralisation
• Peroxide route

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Analysis Input Pilot Trials from Plastics WEEE
with BFRs
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Bromine Recycling from BFR-containing plastics

• Two pilot trials for technical-economical
  feasability
• TAMARA pilot plant co-combustion with municipal
  solid waste
• ECN Holland to simulate pyrolysis/gasification
  process
• Results of economic study
• Feasible to recover 11,000 tons of bromine per
  year in EU.
• A bromine recovery unit will become economical
  with a capacity above 500 mtons/year, depending
  on the local situation!
• Environmental advantages
• Resources can be saved as the Bromine loop can be
  closed

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German Pilot Plant FZK Tamara Co-combustion
trial

• A pilot plant as copy of a modern MSW incinerator
• Trial in cooperation with APME and FZK
• Capacity 250 kg/h containing 50 kg WEEE
  plastics
• Bromine content up to 10 g/kg MSW
• After combustion the HBr is transferred into the
  flue gas
• The HBr is absorbed in a scrubber with water or
  NaOH
• Samples were collected tested by Bromine
  producers

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Recovery of HBr out of flue gasses from Pilot
plant Tamara
Scrubber with caustic (produce NaBr)
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Recovery HBr in flue gasses from Pilot Trials at
ECN Pyromate

• Pilot trial with a 1,5 kg/h
• Plastics coming from Tamara trial
• Pure plastics stream
• More concentrated flue gas stream

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Cl and Br recovered from Pilot trial compared
to natural sources

• Levels in co-combustion for Bromine will vary
  between 2 and 15 g/l
• For Chlorine this is 20-45 g/l
• Seawater contains ca. 65 ppm Bromine
• Dead Sea in Israel contains 10-20 g Bromine/l
• The Chlorine content is 35 g/l in seawater

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Working up methods for recovered Br-products
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Status Bromine Recovery from WEEE

• Basic process study HBr recovery
• Evaluation to install an additional distillation
  column to a MSWI (or Therm. Process) for HBr
• The bromine recovery was tested with chlorine
• Alternative option using peroxide to produce
  bromine out of HBr-stream
• Additional corrosion study by TNO Holland

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Bromine Recycling in MSWI

• MSWI needs to have wet scrubbing systems
• An eco-efficiency for Br recycling operation in
  MSWC facility will be based on several factors
• Availability and composition of suitable EE
  waste streams (F)
• Market conditions for Br2, HBr or NaBr
• Availability of Chlorine on the site
• Commercial and technical decision will be
  influenced by economics of the recycling
  operation plus the context of implementation of
  the proposed EU Directive on WEEE

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MSWC or other thermal processIncome streams

• Example of a dedicated or multipurpose facility
• (Co-)feed 4 tonnes per hour of WEEE plastics
• A potential of recycling 83 kg/h of Br
• 660 tonnes of Br or 1250 ton/y of HBr 47
• The investment for HBr recovery will be between
  2-3 Million Euro depending on the local situation

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MSWCs capacity in W. Europe
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Bromine Recycling Economics
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Overall conclusion (1)

• Br recovery from WEEE plastics with BFRs is
  technically, economically and ecologically
  feasible
• Halogens in plastics are transformed mainly into
  HCl or HBr and can be recovered
• The investment for an additional unit will be 2-3
  Million Euro depending the local situation

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Overall conclusions (2)

• Energy recovery and feedstock recycling can play
  an important role in a waste management concept
  for plastics containing BFRs
• EBFRIP continues to further technical
  understanding of BFRs containing of waste
  management processes via full scale trials and
  corrosion study in thermal processes

Option for Sustainable bromine production? YES
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Acknowledgements

• The authors wish to thank
• FZK, Tamara pilot plant practical experiments to
  produce Br products - J.Vehlow and his group
• European Plastics Council, APME co-sponsored of
  TAMARA trial - F.Mark and H.Fish
• Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN)
  pyromaat pilot trial - A.Oudhuis and
  H.Boerrigter
• BSEF as co-sponsor of the practical experiments
  on bromine recovery

WWW.BSEF.COM
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• For more information, visit
• TAMARA report on EE plastics containing BFRs
• WWW.APME.ORG
• All studies will be published via

WWW.BSEF.COM