Alternative Materials for Printed Circuit Board Production: An Environmental Perspective

Mohammad Naji Nassajfar, Ivan Deviatkin, Ville Leminen and Mika Horttanainen
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Mohammad Naji Nassajfar: Department of Sustainability Science, School of Energy Systems, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Ivan Deviatkin: Department of Sustainability Science, School of Energy Systems, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Ville Leminen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Energy Systems, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Mika Horttanainen: Department of Sustainability Science, School of Energy Systems, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: This article investigates the potential environmental impacts of four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) production from cradle to grave. The study starts with a lifecycle assessment of conventional PCB production. Then, the alternative materials of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA)/glass fiber composite and paper are investigated for the substrate. A conventional PCB adopts copper as the conductive material and requires an etching process. The environmental impacts of changing the conductive deposition method to an additive method by printing silver nanoparticles is studied. In a conventional PCB, electricity generation contributes 41% of the global warming potential (GWP) and 38% of the abiotic resource depletion (ADP), in the fossil category. By applying an additive manufacturing method, the GWP of PCB manufacturing can be reduced to 14% of that of the conventional method. A sensitivity analysis of silver recycling illustrates that a 40% higher silver recycling rate would decrease the GWP of silver material by about 48–60%. Uncertainty in the energy consumption of PCB production would alter the environmental impacts; however, even with the most conservative energy consumption in a conventional PCB production method, the environmental impacts of the additive method are about five times lower than those of conventional PCB production.

Keywords: lifecycle assessment; printed circuit board; bio-materials; printed electronics; sustainable electronics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12126-:d:671092

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