Improved adhesive formula streamlines mobile recycling
Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - 10:29:59
Modern smartphones are seemingly seamless devices, but under the skin a lot of components are actually held together using adhesives, as well as tiny screws.
While screws are straightforward to remove, adhesives prove much trickier to tackle during disassembly. This not only makes mobiles harder to repair, but also poses a problem when it comes to recycling.
Now researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany have come up with a new type of adhesive which is much easier to remove without creating complications or leaving residues in the process.
Phys.org reports that this smart glue will help make it easier to recycle all sorts of electronic devices, not just smartphones.
Adhesives are advantageous when it comes to manufacturing gadgets for various reasons, from keeping the weight of each device to a minimum to making sure that there is no opportunity for the ingress of dust and dirt. This means it is not possible to stop using them altogether in order to improve recycling rates; this alternative approach involving a new formula makes the most sense.
The glue that researchers have developed will remain firmly fixed in place at normal operational temperatures. However, when it needs to be removed it can be heated up and extracted with relative ease, so that components which are bonded together can be uncoupled while suffering no discernible damage.
Following the creation of this cutting edge adhesive, the KIT team has patented the design and will be seeking to work with commercial partners so that it can be rolled out and used in a variety of devices.
Tighter regulations on recycling and aims to improve the rate with which e-waste is processed sustainably will make this type of innovation all the more important in the UK and elsewhere going forwards.
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