Sustainable valorization of waste keyboard keys via microwave assisted pyrolysis over Fe-Ni doped green catalyst towards clean fuel production.

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]