Techno-economic evaluation of electronic component recovery for reuse from waste PCBs: advancing circular economy practices in automotive electronics

Abstract The increasing volume of electronic waste (e-waste) and shortage of critical materials emphasize the need for sustainable management of end-of-life printed circuit boards (PCBs). This study explores the techno-economic feasibility of reusing electronic components (ECs) from discarded PCBs, particularly used in automotive applications. We developed a systematic process involving manual disassembling with hot air guns, followed by a three-stage sorting process involving size-based segregation, magnetic separation, and optical sorting through convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The CNN-based sorting achieved over 99% identification accuracy, and electrical testing confirmed 98% of the components as functional for reuse. Techno-economic analysis of a simulated EC recovery plant showed encouraging financial outcomes, proving profitable even with a conservative resale value of 5–20% of market prices. A techno-economic model for a recovery plant was developed based on bottom-up costing, incorporating disassembly rates, labor productivity, equipment costs, reverse logistics, and resale value assumptions to evaluate break-even time and scalability across geographic regions. The research proved the environmental and economic benefits of integrating EC reuse into circular economy practices, offering a scalable framework for sustainable e-waste management. Graphical Abstract