145459 20260217205559.0 doi 10.3390/en17194973 sideral 140309 ART-2024-140309 eng Torrubia, Jorge Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9282-1428 Applying Circular Thermoeconomics for Sustainable Metal Recovery in PCB Recycling 2024 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted The momentum of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is driving increased demand for certain specific metals. These include copper, silver, gold, and platinum group metals (PGMs), which have important applications in renewable energies, green hydrogen, and electronic products. However, the continuous extraction of these metals is leading to a rapid decline in their ore grades and, consequently, increasing the environmental impact of extraction. Hence, obtaining metals from secondary sources, such as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), has become imperative for both environmental sustainability and ensuring their availability. To evaluate the sustainability of the process, this paper proposes using an exergy approach, which enables appropriate allocation among co-products, as well as the assessment of exergy losses and the use of non-renewable resources. As a case study, this paper analyzes the recycling process of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) by disaggregating the exergy cost into renewable and non-renewable sources, employing different exergy-based cost allocation methods for the mentioned metals. It further considers the complete life cycle of metals using the Circular Thermoeconomics methodology. The results show that, when considering the entire life cycle, between 47% and 53% of the non-renewable exergy is destroyed during recycling. Therefore, delaying recycling as much as possible would be the most desirable option for minimizing the use of non-renewable resources. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HORIZON EUROPE/101091668/EU/Aragon's REgional Hub for circularity: Demonstration Of Local industrial-urban symbiosis initiatives/REDOL info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-RESTORE PID2023-148401OB-I00 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 3.2 2024 ENERGY & FUELS 112 / 182 = 0.615 2024 Q3 T2 0.713 2024 Engineering (miscellaneous) 2024 Q1 Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2024 Q2 Energy (miscellaneous) 2024 Q2 Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 2024 Q2 Fuel Technology 2024 Q2 Control and Optimization 2024 Q2 Energy Engineering and Power Technology 2024 Q2 7.3 2024 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Torres, César Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-6360-1159 Valero, Alicia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-3330-1793 Valero, Antonio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-0702-733X Mahmud Parvez, Ashak Sajjad, Mohsin García Paz, Felipe 5004 590 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica Área Máquinas y Motores Térmi. 17, 19 (2024), 4973 [22 pp.] ENERGIES Energies 1996-1073 2790458 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145459/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2713048 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/145459/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:145459 articulos driver 2026-02-17-20:44:01 ARTICLE