In this study the material flows of an iron production site are investigated. The plant utilizes waste plastics in addition to coke as reducing agent. Advantages and challenges for the application of material flow accounting on a company level are described, particularly with respect to data uncertainties from substance concentration measurements and error propagation.

The study by the bifa environmental institute describes a future-orientated view of the ecological and economic effects of photovoltaic (PV) systems along their whole life cycle.

Slag from Waste Incineration and bottom ash from fluidized-bed incineration of residual municipal solid waste contain relevant quantities of recyclable materials: glass, metals, stones. While recyclable parts of wet settled slag from grid incineration are contaminated with adherences, bottom particles of dry settled bottom ash from fluidized bed incineration are free of adherences.

Consumer electronics have become an integral part of daily life and revolutionized the way we communicate, retrieve information, and entertain ourselves. Between cell phones, computers, televisions, iPads, and e-Readers, it is estimated that the average person in the United States (U.S.) uses 24 electronic products (CEA, 2008).

Our economy increasingly depends on metals and minerals, which are present on earth in only low concentration. Waste electronic equipment contains strategically relevant metals and minerals and is therefore an important source for recovery of secondary raw material.

For the processing of metals and their oxides there is always the problem of residual materials like dusts or sludges. Because of that, environmental concerns become more and more important to the government and to companies. Due to changes in environmental laws, the disposal of process residues becomes more challenging and more expensive. This is the reason why inertisation of hazardous materials and the fabrication of saleable products get more interesting for the metal industry.

Electrical and electronic appliances are a fast growing product Group with high diversification. The products contain recyclable material as metals, Plastics and rare earths, but also materials, inter alia in hte glass of Picture tubes, fridges, LCD-Screens and Computer boards. Their proper disposal, especially in the non-OECD countries, is a particular challenge for the Environment and health protection.¹ The european Community has therefore put in place the Directive 2002/96/EG for electrical and electronic waste Equipment (WEEE-Directive) on 13th February 2003.²

The variety of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) makes it difficult to determine the material composition of mixed composite inputs. Most of the types of equipment collected are of a very complex device structure, mechanical parts and electronic compnents, which imply a diverse composite material composition. Besides iron and nonferrous metals, a variety of non-metallic components of some electronic devices contain precoious metals and rare earths. On the other hand, most devices contain hazardous components, which need a specific treatment and/or a controlled waste disposal process.

Whether the treatment and sorting facility for metal recycling is right next to a waste incineration plant, or whether this is done at the treatment facility of a dedicated company, is a business decision that has to be taken by each incineration plant individually. Systemically this is of lower priority, although the additional costs for transport will have to be taken into consideration in the climate Balance.

In the presented work material-specific sensor-based sorting was evaluated for its technical application on heterogeneous wastes on a pilot and a large scale, in order to optimize the routing options of waste streams in an economically attractive way.

Minimum treatment requirements for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are laid down by the Directive 2002/96/EC (WEEE Directive, last amended by 2008/34/EC). Annex II (1) to the Directive specifies 15 substances, preparations and components in total, which as a minimum have to be removed from any separately collected WEEE (Depollution). The following components can be part of small Electrical and Electronic Equipment (sWEEE): capacitors (all PCB-containing capacitors and electrolyte capacitors), batteries, printed circuit boards, toner cartridges, liquid crystal displays, mercury containing components, such as switches or backlighting lamps, asbestos-containing components, components containing refractory ceramic fibres, components containing radioactive substances, plastic-containing brominated flame retardants and external electric cables.

Electrical and electronic equipment represents with 9 million/tons/year the fastest growing waste stream in Europe. Since 2003 the WEEE-Directive (2002/96/EC) promotes reuse, recy-cling and other forms of recovery with collection targets and targets for re-use and recycling. The directive implies a producer responsibility for financing the waste management. Today most of the EOL-CRT-glass is recycled closed-loop. After the required treatment the cullet is sent to CRT-producers mainly in Middle-Asia. But the European market for CRT-appliances nearly seems closed. Worldwide, CRT-producers gave up the production within last years. Even if until today developing countries represent a market for CRT-appliances an appre-ciable decrease in the production is feared.

The EX900 sorting unit, manufactured by Exsor GmbH, is a completely new development in the field of fully automatic, sensor-aided metal sorting. It can accurately recognise and sort out electrically-conducting materials, has a throughput of up to 60 tons per hour for slag and has an intelligent automation concept with freely selectable sorting and metal programs. Thanks to the PROFIBUS automation concept it is possible to control, monitor and visualise all assembly groups and subsystems universally and modularly, while the system can be extended almost infinitely.