Research Article

Cite This: ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 13016−13024 pubs.acs.org/journal/ascecg

Characterizing the Materials Composition and Recovery Potential

from Waste Mobile Phones: A Comparative Evaluation of Cellular
and Smart Phones
Narendra Singh,*,† Huabo Duan,*,† Fengfu Yin,‡ Qingbin Song,§ and Jinhui Li∥
†
School of Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
‡
Academic Division of Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao 266061, China
§
Macau Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
∥
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing
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100084, China
*
S Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest

growing waste streams around the world, and waste mobile
phones contribute a major portion of this waste, in terms of
the number of units. Thus, in order to fully discover the
constituent materials and systematically evaluate the recovery
potentials for waste mobile phones, we dismantled 20 waste
mobile phones, manufactured between 2001 and 2015, into 7
main parts. We wanted to determine all the valuable materials
and precious metals in these devices and to compare the
differences between cellular and smart phones. The results
show that cellular phones were evolving into smaller sizes
between 2001 and 2012, while the smart phones were becoming higher in mass between 2006 and 2015. The composition
analysis showed that a smart phone typically contained approximately 260 various metallic and nonmetallic parts, while a cell
phone contained about 150. The experimental analysis of precious metals in waste mobile phones indicated that one kg of
cellular phones contained approximately 1,600 mg of silver, 186.5 mg of gold, and 36.9 mg of palladium (on average) and about
1,732.9 mg of silver, 190.9 mg of gold, and 40.1 mg of palladium (on average) were contained in one kg of smart phones. The
information obtained in this study shows that waste mobile phones could constitute a potential new resource for the sustainable
secondary mining of rare and precious metals.
KEYWORDS: Mobile phones, Smart phones, Precious metals, Recycling potential, E-waste

■ INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the technological boom has been making our
phones is growing rapidly all over the world, while the
collection and recycling rates of these waste devices are
daily lives more comfortable in many ways, including the insignificant compared to other waste electrical appliances.3,6−8
extensive use of mobile phones. One of the consequences of Waste mobile phones typically consist of many materials such
the rapid growth of this new telephony, however, has been an as plastic, printed circuit boards (PCBs, which contain most of
increasing volume of obsolete mobile phones.1−4 Today the precious and toxic metals), screens, magnets, vibrators,
mobile phones are one of the most common and well-known LED back lights, steel, and batteries, with a complex chemical
electronic devices and are used by more than 90% of the global composition.9 In the past few years, various researchers and
population; the subscription rate reached over 7.5 billion in research institutions have published numerous research
2016: higher than the world population in that year
studies, white papers, and reports on the metal composition
(Supporting Information Figure S1).
A mobile phone is a portable hand-held device that can of mobile phones.6,10−14 However, no comprehensive evalua-
make and receive calls over a radio frequency link within a tion of the precise components of these devices, nor any
telephone service area. A mobile phone that contains a fixed set comparative study of the various models of cellular and smart
of functions such as voice calling, text messaging, and web phones and their metal compositions, is readily available.
browsing is generally referred to as a feature or cellular phone;
a mobile phone that contains a number of distinguishing Received: May 30, 2018
features and offers greatly advanced computing capabilities is Revised: September 1, 2018
referred to as a smart phone.5 The volume of waste mobile Published: September 4, 2018

© 2018 American Chemical Society 13016 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 13016−13024
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Research Article

Figure 1. Typical smart phone and its 7 main components, including metal content14,40

The increasing demand for and consumption of mobile The material composition and the design (partially) of
phones and other electronic appliances around the world has mobile phones makes recycling and dismantling very complex,
fueled the pace of global demand and the consumption of mainly because of the presence of a wide variety of materials in
precious and critical metals; these are the main metallic the devices, such as plastics, glass, and ceramics.32,33 Plastics
components of any electronic device, because of their electrical and PCBs make up the heaviest parts of a mobile phone;
conductivity.4,15−17 According to the Thomson Reuters GFMS plastic represents almost 40−50% by weight of a typical mobile
2016 and Statista, around 861.8 metric tonnes (Mt) of gold, phone. In terms of recycling value, though, PCBs are the most
6619 Mt of silver, and 29 Mt of palladium are used annually in important modules of waste mobile phones, as they contain
various electronics industries.18,19 According to a UNU report, most of the precious and valuable metals.34−36 Molto et al.
in 2014 alone, global e-waste generation accounted for around (2011) examined surveys and other literature and found that
41.8 million metric tonnes of waste, and this figure may reach about 80 to 96% of the material in mobile phones could be
as high as 50 Mt by 2018; waste mobile phones accounted for effectively recycled.14,37 However, basic data on the physical
0.189 Mt of the 2014 total.20,21 E-waste is therefore currently composition of mobile phones, and on the evolution from
considered to be one of the fastest growing waste streams, cellular to smart phones in the past decade, have not been
investigated sufficiently to provide a sustainable roadmap for
globally. Unfortunately, mobile phones have a very low
the sound management and recycling of waste mobile devices.
recycling rate; most of the discards are either stored in
In the past few years many studies have been conducted on
households or disposed of in landfills, and the metalsboth waste mobile phones, revealing their potential for the recovery
precious and basefrom all waste electronic devices make up of valuable precious metals, but the lack of information on the
less than 15% of the captured electrical and electronic material composition of waste cellular and smart phones has
waste.20,22,23 widened the gap between the collection of these devices and
Globally, the recycling rate of waste mobile devices is about metal recyclers’ interest in them, and there is almost no interest
3%, and in developing countries it is even lower: less than at all from the remanufacturing industry.2,6,10
1%.24,25 In China, waste mobile phone generation accounts for In this study we aimed to evaluate the entire valuable
nearly 10 million units annually, while the recycling rate of the material inventories available for the material composition in
phones is less than 1%.26 It is therefore very important to waste mobile phonesplastics, PCBs, magnets, vibrators, LED
conduct studies on the material composition of waste mobile lights, precious metals, and other metallic partsincluding
phones and to assess the precious metal content in these their physical and chemical compositions, their evolution over
devices. time, and a systematic comparison between cellular and smart
Recycling waste mobile phones would not only be an phones. Discovering the exact material composition of the
economic advantage for waste recyclers but could also help main parts of waste cellular and smart phones, and especially
avert an environmental catastrophe. Additionally, recycling determining the number and amount of precious metals (silver,
waste mobile phones could be a type of secondary mining of gold and palladium) in the PCBs of these waste devices will
precious and rare earth elements (REEs) that could provide a provide the basis for evaluating the recoverability of these
broader reverse supply chain for the booming electronics substances. The study offered here is a result of the
industry and reduce primary metals mining.4,27−29 In a broader comparative material composition of the main parts and
sense, if sufficient levels of collection and proper manual precious metal content in the PCBs of waste cellular and smart
dismantling of waste mobile phones could be attained phones.
(extracting specific recyclable materialssuch as plastics,
PCBs, magnets, LED back lights, vibrators, etc.for further
reuse or recycling by formal recyclers), energy consumption for
■ MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample Preparation and Assessment. Twenty waste mobile
the production of mobile phones could be reduced, and phones, of two types, were collected from one of the biggest waste
resource use efficiency could be increased.30,31 mobile-device recycling companies in China, in Shenzhen city. Type

13017 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516

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ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Research Article

Figure 2. Sketch of sample preparation and precious metal analysis process.

Table 1. Average Weight of Each Component in the Waste Mobile Phones

Total Plastics including PCBs including metallic Screen Magnets Vibrator LED Cover case and Other
Sample weight (g) glass (g) wires (g) (g) (g) (g) lights (g) screws (g) materials (g)
1 67.44 31.26 19.87 3.87 1.86 1.16 0.02 9.17 0.18
2 55.22 28.87 16.69 5.01 0.76 1.10 0.01 2.44 0.13
3 49.98 18.12 13.09 5.34 1.00 1.06 0.01 11.22 0.34
4 62.60 35.61 14.38 3.87 0.79 0.76 0.01 7.02 0.14
5 44.26 20.74 12.96 4.80 1.42 0.89 0.01 3.33 0.18
6 42.45 22.39 11.10 4.24 1.19 0.76 0.01 2.63 0.15
7 64.70 33.40 14.15 5.48 1.22 1.05 0.01 9.39 0.05
8 37.13 19.19 6.47 5.48 0.61 1.11 0.01 4.22 0.11
9 42.36 20.70 11.55 4.47 1.00 0.89 0.00 3.61 0.13
10 51.74 24.88 13.15 4.75 1.09 1.01 0.01 6.71 0.23
Mean cellular 51.79 25.52 13.34 4.73 1.09 0.98 0.01 5.97
phones
11 51.86 26.18 13.21 5.78 1.54 1.06 0.03 3.93 0.25
12 55.83 18.25 11.03 8.91 1.63 0.88 0.03 14.92 0.27
13 64.04 28.88 16.03 4.84 1.48 0.83 0.01 11.89 0.06
14 112.9 44.89 14.97 13.10 1.00 0.89 0.02 37.84 0.22
15 68.74 20.69 9.82 4.64 1.00 1.35 0.01 30.97 0.27
16 53.66 22.08 15.45 8.28 1.46 0.64 0.03 5.53 0.00
17 92.70 6.37 9.46 30.61 1.23 1.98 0.03 42.77 0.12
18 75.07 30.94 16.68 9.33 1.18 0.91 0.02 15.77 0.13
19 82.19 31.76 14.76 10.99 1.25 0.68 0.03 22.45 0.19
20 71.20 27.28 16.31 11.19 1.45 0.67 0.03 14.14 0.19
Mean smart 72.82 25.73 13.77 10.77 1.32 0.99 0.02 20.02
phones
Overall mean 62.30 25.62 13.56 7.75 1.21 0.98 0.02 13.00 0.17
Cellular phones Smart phones
1. Motorola T189 6. Samsung E1207T 11. ZTE A18 16. Lephone F2
2. LG C3100 7. Nokia 2330 12. Skyworth SE89 17. iphone 4S
3. Nokia 6021 8. Huawei C28000 13. LG C119 18. Samsung Galaxi III
4. Motorola C123 9. Haier M360 14. iphone 3GS 19. Motorola Razr M
5. ZTC 8610 10. Nokia 113 15. Nokia2220 20. Coolpad Dazen

one mobile phone is the model described in this paper as a cellular and launching year were then determined using a Google search
phone which enables only calls while the second type of the model engine; the selections are shown in Supporting Information Table S1.
analyzed is referred to as a smartphone. Smartphones include a high- After identification of all the waste devices, the weight of each device
resolution touch screen display, Wi-Fi connectivity, web browsing was measured using an analytical balance in the laboratory of
capabilities, and ability to accept sophisticated applications.38 In order Shenzhen University. Finally, the selected mobile samples were sent
to obtain an accurate representation of the current waste stream of to the IMPAQ testing laboratory in Shenzhen city for further precious
mobile phones and obsolete devices, we randomly selected 20 waste metal analysis in the PCBs.
devices from the company’s storage. We chose the brand names that The selected samples were manually separated into 7 main parts:
covered almost 80% of the world market share of mobile phones.39 (1) plastics, including glass; (2) PCBs, including flexible PCBs; (3)
The selected samples were identified visually, and their model number screens; (4) magnets; (5) vibrators; (6) LED back lights; and (7)

13018 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516

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Figure 3. Overall average mass of material composition in waste mobile phones. (a) Average mass content in smart and cellular phones; (b) Overall
mass content in mobile phones. (Note: Max = maximum mass of each part; Min = minimum mass of each part.)

other metallic parts. The samples are listed in Figure 1. The units g, 1.0 g, 0.02 g, 13.37 g, and 0.17 g/unit, respectively. The
were manually disassembled, using a plastic triangle opener, small mean percent content weight of the various parts and a
screwdrivers, fine-tipped curved tweezers, a precision knife set, and a comparison between cellular and smart phones’ mean weight
pair of standard scissors. First, the mobile devices were unfastened values are also represented in Table 1. The results show that
with a precision knife and small screwdrivers, and then the plastic
cover case was detached from the screen with the help of the precision the mean weight of plastics in the cellular phones (25.52 g)
knife and the plastic triangle opening tools. After separating the screen was almost identical to that of the smart phones (25.73 g), but
from the housing/frame, the remaining screws were unfastened with all the other components in the smart phones were higher in
manual screwdrivers, and then, with the help of tweezers and scissors, quantity than the corresponding cellular-phone components’
all the main parts were separated from the devices. The batteries and weights. Interestingly, the mean weights of the most important
the plastic cover cases were excluded from our study because the parts, namely the PCBs, were almost identical in the cellular
batteries had already been removed from the waste mobile phones at and smart phones: about 13.34 g and 13.77 g, respectively,
the mobile recycling center and sent to a special battery recycling indicating that the precious metal content in both devices was
center. After the manual dismantling of all the above-described 7
parts, the weight of each module of the waste devices was measured
about the same, and in terms of precious metals recycling, both
and the weight ratio calculated. In order to analyze the various parts of the devices presumably would yield similar economic value for
the waste mobile devices, we selected one cellular and one smart the recyclers, despite the variation in the shapes and sizes of
phone to dismantle entirely, to determine the number of parts and the two devices.
their morphological compositions. Figure 3(a) shows the average mass composition and the
Precious Metals Analysis. The chemical composition of waste mass variation per unit of all 7 groups of components in the
mobile phones is very complex and heterogeneous because of the waste cellular and smart phones. The comparative results show
continual modification of functions and design; however, they do that the average percentage of mass per unit of plastics, PCBs,
contain various standard material parts such as plastic, glass, and more magnets, and vibrators was higher in the cellular phones than
than 40 metals, notably the precious metals in the PCBs.14 The metals
contained in the PCBs are shown in Figure 1. in the smart phones, while the average mass per unit of the
The chemical compositions of the precious metals (gold, silver, and PCBs, screens, LED lights, and other metallic parts was higher
palladium) were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic in the smart phones than in the cellular phones. Figure 3(b)
emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis. Initially, samples of the shows the overall average mass composition per unit of all 7
PCBs from the selected waste devices were cut into small pieces of groups of modules in the 20 waste mobile phones. As shown in
about 1 cm length using a pair of standard scissors, and then the Figure 3, plastic held the maximum portion in both cellular and
pieces of the PCBs were ground into powder with a milling machine smart phones, making up about 42% of the average mass of the
and sieved. The obtained PCB powder, with a particle range of 150− 20 mobile devices (10 cellular and 10 smart phones). The
200 μm, was dried at 105 °C for 24 h. Then 0.2 g of powder from
each sample was digested in 8 mL of 69% nitric acid (HNO3) and 2
average percent value of PCBs was about 23%the second
mL of 30% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the obtained aqueous highest portion of waste after plastic, followed by other
solution was quantitatively analyzed via ICP-AES for the gold, silver, metallic parts, about 19%; screens, about 12%; then vibrator
and palladium content; the process is shown in Figure 2. The and magnets, both around 2%; and last, LED lights, less than
microwave digestion vessels were heated at 180 °C for 5 min and 1%, although these contained the rare earth elements, which
were then held at 180 °C for 15 min. The operational frequency of the could be recycled or reused if the device were manually
microwave was at 2.45 GHz with the wavelength of 12.2 cm.41

■
dismantled. The overall results suggest that the value of
precious and other (base) metals would be similar in mobile
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION phones and smart phones, given their similar masses of PCBs,
Material Compositions. The physical material composi- despite the differences in per-unit mass of cellular and smart
tions of the selected waste cellular and smart phones are shown phones. But in the case of the REEs, indium, and tin, the smart
in Table 1. The mean weights of all the selected waste devices phones held more recycling value than the cellular phones,
themselves and of their composite partsplastics, PCBs, because of the higher mass of their screens, magnets, vibrators,
screens, magnets, vibrators, LED lights, steel, and other LED lights, and other metallic parts, even though the per-unit
materialswere about 62.28 g, 25.31 g, 13.46 g, 7.76 g, 1.20 contents of the vibrator and magnets were higher in the cellular
13019 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516
ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 13016−13024
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Research Article

Figure 4. Evolution of total weight and various component modules’ weights, of cellular and smart phones, from 2001 to 2015. (a) Cell phones,
sample numbers 1−10; (b) Smart phones, sample numbers 11−20. (Note: The years of manufacture in the figure correspond to those given in
Table 1.

phones. These parts could be easily separated from the smart period of 10 years, while the cellular phones’ mass has
phones and reused as raw material in the electronics industry.40 decreased in the same period of time.
Among all the selected waste cellular and smart phones, the The plastic composition in all the selected mobile phones
iPhone devices samples 14 (iPhone 3GS) and sample 17 was the highest of all the modules, except for samples 17
(iPhone 4S) were the heaviest, followed by sample 19 (iPhone 4S) and sample 15 (Nokia 2220); both of those
(Motorola Razer M), sample 18 (Samsung Galaxy III), sample devices contained more other metallic parts by weight,
20 (Coolpad Dazen), and sample 15 (Nokia2220), as shown in compared to other modules. Both cellular and smart phones
Table 1. Figure 4(a) shows the evolution in the weight of had almost identical average weights of PCBs and plastic,
cellular phones and their various modules, for manufacture despite their size and weight differences. PCBs are the most
dates from 2001 to 2012. The results show that the mass of important parts of the waste mobile devices because they
cellular phones had a declining trend from 2001 to 2012 contain both precious and base metals.42,43 The screen weights
(except for the samples from 2006 and 2009, which could be in the smart phones were higher compared to those in cellular
assumed as an exception here because of the limited number of phones, obviously because of the larger size of their displays.
The weights of magnets, vibrators, and LED back lights were
samples), and it was observed that the cellular phones on
higher in smart phones compared to cellular phones.
average evolved into a smaller mass over the past decade. In
Interestingly, these parts are very valuable in all waste mobile
the case of the components’ mass evolution, most of the devices because they contain REEs and other critical
weights showed a declining trend, except for the cover case and elements.44 For example, a typical speaker’s magnet contains
screws parts (steel), which showed an increasing trend from neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium; the LED back
2001 to 2012. Therefore, the obtained results show that the lights contain europium, cerium, gadolinium, yttrium, and
mass of cellular phones has decreased in the past decades, gallium. The vibrators of mobile phones are mostly made from
except for steel, and hence that the consumption of most of the tungsten.14 All of the above-mentioned REEs and other
material parts also decreased over the same period of time, in critically important metals could be recovered from waste
cellular phones. mobile phones, if they were manually dismantled before
Figure 4(b) shows the changes in the smart phones’ total recycling. Smart phones hold larger amounts of these metals
weight and the weights of the various separated modules, for than cellular phones because of the higher weights of the
phones manufactured between 2006 and 2015. The results corresponding modules in those phones.
show that the average total weight of smart phones, along with The results of the parts analysis show that the various parts
their component modules’ weight, has increased over this of the smart phones include both metallic and nonmetallic
13020 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516
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ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Research Article

Table 2. Average Metal Content in PCBs (mg/kg)

Cellular phones Gold Silver Palladium Smart phones Gold Silver Palladium
1 258 411.2 23.2 11 102.6 449 22.5
2 300 105.4 35.7 12 118.1 660 25.4
3 119.4 532 18.8 13 112.4 549 12.2
4 251 111.7 21.2 14 199.4 2552 13.8
5 200 1105.4 31.7 15 196.4 1437 53.9
6 55.5 2262 56 16 225.8 1924 27.6
7 110.6 2128 49.6 17 220.6 2338 59.3
8 202.6 3541 33.4 18 213.3 2660 65.9
9 145.5 3262.3 46.5 19 224.7 2323 57.5
10 222.6 2541 53.4 20 296.4 2437 63.5
Avg. total 186.5 1600 36.95 Avg. total 190.9 1732.9 40.16

parts; morphological descriptions are attached in the

Supporting Information. The parts composition analysis
shows that a smart phone typically contained 257 various
metallic and nonmetallic partsmore than a cellular phone,
which typically contained about 150 parts. Even though it is
well-known that mobile phones contain plastic, glass, and more
than 40 metals (including precious, base, and hazardous
metals), it is important to know the exact material composition
of the various parts of mobile phones, because this information
could help to identify the characteristics, and hence the
economic value, of the various modules. Furthermore, the
descriptions of the various parts (attached in Supporting
Information Figure S2) can help identify the characteristics of
the hazardous parts, which could ultimately assist recyclers in
managing waste mobile phones in an appropriate manner
without further contamination or pollution.
Precious Metals Content in Cellular and Smart
Phones. Table 2 shows the precious metals (gold, silver,
and palladium) content in selected waste mobile phones’
PCBs. The results show that one kg of waste cellular phones
contained approximately 1,600 mg of silver, 186.5 mg of gold,
and 36.9 mg of palladium (on average), and one kg of smart
phones contained 1,732.9 mg of silver, 190.9 mg of gold, and
Figure 5. Precious metal content in waste cellular and smart phones’
40.16 mg of palladium (on average).
PCBs, manufactured between 2001 and 2015. (a) Precious metal
Figure 5 shows the precious metals content in waste cellular content in waste cell phones. (b) Precious metal content in waste
and smart phones’ PCBs, for those manufactured between smart phones.
2001 and 2015. The results show that the contents of gold and
palladium in waste cell phones were consistently similar, with smart phones contained more precious metals than cellular
only slight up-and-down trends from 2001 to 2012, as shown phones and that they therefore represent a greater potential for
in Figure 5(a), revealing that the consumption of both these secondary mining.
metals in cell phones was almost unchanged. However, the The gold content in individual devices ranged from 2.4 to
silver content in waste cell phones shows different con- 20.4 mg/unit in all the devices, with the highest value found in
sumption trends from those of gold or palladium. The silver one of the smart phones sample 17 (iPhone 4S) and the lowest
content was stable from 2001 to 2006, but thereafter, it in one of the cell phones sample 6 (Samsung E1207T).
increased, up until 2012. These differing trends of the precious Palladium and silver contents ranged from 0.8 to 5.5 mg/unit
metals content in waste cell phones indicates that the and 5.8 to 288.1 mg/unit in all the devices, respectively. The
consumption of precious metals in cell phones changed with comparative results of precious metals content between cell
innovative technological advancement.45,46 But the lower phones and smart phones revealed that (on average) the smart
consumption of gold and palladium might have been triggered phones contained higher quantities of these elements than did
by rising prices for these metals, while the consumption of the cell phones.
silver increased because it was comparatively cheaper than gold Potential Precious Metal Recovery from Waste
or palladium. On the other hand, the content of all precious Mobile Phones. The demand for precious metals such as
metals analyzed in the waste smart phones sampled here rose gold, silver, and palladium has been increasing rapidly with the
between 2006 and 2015. increasing consumption in the electronics industry around the
Figure 5(b) shows the content of precious metals in smart world. Figure 6(a) and (b) show the precious metal
phones from 2006 to 2015, and the results show that the consumption trends in waste cellular and smart phones from
content of precious metals (gold, silver, and palladium) has 2001 to 2015. These results reveal that the consumption of
constantly increased during this time, indicating that the waste precious metals has been constantly increasing in smart
13021 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516
ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2018, 6, 13016−13024
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Figure 6. Precious metal consumption in waste mobile phones, price trends, and global mining production. (a) Precious metal content in cell
phones; (b) precious metal content in smart phones: (c) precious metal price trends; (d) global mining production.

phones, while in cellular phones the contents of gold and expand the scope of the worldwide circular economy. Precious
palladium have remained almost unchanged while the silver metals such as REEs, which are critical in the production of
content has shown a rapidly increasing trend. The average many future technologies, depend on the availability of such
price trends of the precious metals from 2000 to 2017 are metals. Moreover, the collection and recycling of waste mobile
shown in Figure 6(c) (data attached in Supporting Information phones in China has economic advantages for e-waste
Table S2). This figure shows that the prices of all the precious recyclers, and for manufacturing industries which can save
metals are increasing, although gold and silver reached their on the cost of materials from virgin mining, while also
peaks in 2012 and then resumed normal trends in 2013, preventing mining pollution and increasing the domestic value
possibly because of the global economic recession or the gold of the overall national economy.47 In this study we found that a
mining restrictions in some countries. Nevertheless, overall waste cell phone (on average) contains about US$ 0.44 worth
price trends are increasing along with the increasing demand of gold, US$ 0.05 worth of silver, and US$ 0.06 worth of
for precious metals in metal-consuming industries. For palladium, while a waste smart phone (on average) contains
example, approximately 861 tonnes of gold, 6619 tonnes of about US$ 0.63 worth of gold, US$ 0.08 worth of silver, and
silver, and 29 tonnes of palladium are being consumed by the US$ 0.09 worth of palladium. These amounts of precious
electronic industries annually.18 However, these amounts of metals in waste mobile phones represent more than almost 100
precious metals represent only 10 to 15% of total global times the value of precious metal from virgin ore.47
production, while the recovery rate for these precious metals
from all end-of-life electronic devices is less than 10%, and in
the case of mobile phones, it is around 2 to 5%, and sometimes
■ CONCLUSION
Physical material compositions analyzed in this study revealed
even less. Most of the precious metals in waste mobile phones that the weight of screens, magnets, vibrators, LED lights, and
are still encased somewhere in individual households or storage steel were higher in smart phones than in cellular phones, but
yards. Figure 6(d) shows the global mining trends of these the average weight percentage of plastic was higher in cellular
three precious metals (data attached in Supporting Informa- phones than in smart phones. The study also shows that waste
tion Table S3) and it indicates that the global mining of smart phones could be a good potential source of REE
precious metals has been increasing along with the demand for recycling, as compared to cellular phones, because the screens,
electronics and other metal-consuming products. magnets, vibrators, and LED lights are mostly made of REEs.
Given the present situation of the global demand for However, the weights of the PCBs in both cellular and smart
precious and critical metal resources, the recovery of precious phones were almost identical, indicating that the recycling
metals and other valuable materials from waste mobile phones recovery value of waste cellular- and smart-phone PCBs would
can help to sustain the Earth’s natural resources and thereby likewise be almost identical, because the highest precious
13022 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516
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ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Research Article

metals content is found in the PCBs. The percent total weight ORCID
of the various parts shows that the average smart phone Narendra Singh: 0000-0002-6519-9722
contained about 37% plastic, 21% PCBs, 14% screens, 2% Jinhui Li: 0000-0001-7819-478X
magnets, 1.5% vibrators, and 0.03% LED back lights, whereas
the average cellular phone contained 47% plastic, 24% PCBs, Notes
10% screens, 2% magnets, 2% vibrators, and 0.02% LED back The authors declare no competing financial interest.
lights.
The results for the chemical compositions of the precious
metals analyzed showed that one kg of cellular phones
■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the China Postdoctoral Science
contained approximately 1,600 mg of silver, 186.5 mg of Foundation (2017M612704) and National Natural Science
gold, and 36.9 mg of palladium (on average) and about 1,732.9 Foundation of China (NSFC21507090,
mg of silver, 190.9 mg of gold, and 40.1 mg of palladium (on NSFC21507115, NSFC 51575287).

■
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13024 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516

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