New technologies for a sustainable printed circuit board manufacturing process: initial results

Purpose To present the initial results from a project recently undertaken by Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Europe Ltd, in collaboration with a number of European partners, to develop individual elements of the traditional PCB manufacturing process towards a sustainable and zero‐discharge alternative. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents initial results from work aimed at enabling PCB manufacturing to become more sustainable. Novel processes evaluated include special electroplating techniques, advanced oxidation methods to remove organic contaminants, and new ion exchange systems. Work has been carried out to develop these processes into viable demonstrators and the results of progress to date are reported. Descriptions of how these individual technologies may be combined to provide an integrated approach to a more sustainable PCB manufacturing methodology are also given. Findings Initial results indicate that a more sustainable PCB manufacturing process may be achieved by combining the use of organic and metal capture resins with advanced oxidation and electrochemical recovery technologies. Originality/value The value of the paper lies in its provision of information from a project that is integrating available treatment technologies in a novel approach that will take the PCB manufacturing process closer to a zero effluent discharge situation.