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The technological evolution of electronic equipment in the field of computers and household appliances, along with shorter life of most items, is creating a great concern for managing this waste stream. The main aim of the present investigation was to convert waste keyboard keys into high-quality pyrolysis oil using a microwave catalytic pyrolysis process. Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), were doped in different ratios on Biochar (BC) by wet impregnation method, and it was used as a green catalyst for clean fuel production. Initially, a non-catalytic pyrolysis process was conducted and found a maximum pyrolysis oil yield of 49.6 wt.%. Further, microwave catalytic pyrolysis was conducted with variable amount of metal loading and found that highest oil yield of 61.33 wt.% was achieved using 15%Fe-5%Ni/BC catalyst due to the presence of a higher quantity of iron. The produced pyrolysis oil at this condition consists of 45.07% single-ring compounds and reduced the undesirable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the pyrolysis oil. This work provides a pathway for preparing green catalysts and safe disposal of electrical and electronic plastic waste with better resource recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study revealed the optimum co-pyrolysis process condition and simultaneously evaluated the environmental impact potential during co-valorisation of electronic plastic waste (WEEP) with Hydnocarpus de-oiled seed cake (HDSC) to produce renewable hydrocarbon fuel. In this work, the primary co-pyrolysis process parameters such as operating temperature, mixture ratio, and catalyst loading were modeled and optimized using a combined approach of both Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). In the optimized condition, a maximum pyrolysis oil yield of 30.79 wt% was achieved at an operating temperature of 530 °C, a mixture ratio of 0.49, and catalyst loading of 20 wt%. The obtained co-pyrolysis products were characterized to evaluate their physiochemical properties. Finally, a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) of the scaled-up microwave-assisted co-pyrolysis plant has been modeled, and the result revealed that the emission levels of 771.95 kg CO 2 eq, 3.11 kg SO 2 eq, 1.69 kg PO 4 eq, 338.59 DCB eq, and 0.11 kg C 2 H 4 eq were projected for processing 1 tonne of feedstock. Further, sensitivity analysis revealed that a decrease of 15% in electricity consumption results in a reduction of the overall environmental impact by 13.69%. Above results demonstrate that microwave co-pyrolysis of biomass with plastic waste holds great potential for positive energy production and negative emission technology when compared to other waste management methods. Hence, this investigation paves the way for the sustainable conversion of e-waste plastic and biomass residue into renewable fuel and helps to achieve the sustainability goal of reducing GWP emissions. [Display omitted] • Microwave co-pyrolysis is effective in valorising mixed biomass and plastic waste. • Combined approach of RSM and ANN was utilized to optimize the co-pyrolysis process. • Results shows RSM and ANN models predicted 29.96 and 30.92 wt% of bio-oil yield. • LCA results are more sensitive to energy mix, location and quality of raw materials. • Integration of renewables with co-pyrolysis process potentially reduce overall GWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]