폐휴대전화 유용 광물 재활용의 사회‧경제적 효과 분석: 탄소를 중심으로

초록

In this paper, we quantify the socio-economic impacts of recycling from a carbon social benefit perspective based on a life cycle assessment and economic evaluation of the printed circuit board (PCB) recycling process for waste mobile phones. In particular, we compare the metal recovery process through PCB recycling of waste mobile phones with the traditional metal mining and smelting process, and analyze the change in carbon dioxide emissions under two electricity generation mixes in 2018 and 2030. The analysis shows that for both gold and copper, PCB recycling generates 6.86 times and 3.69 times more carbon dioxide than traditional mining and smelting, respectively. However, when the 2030 electricity generation mix is applied, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the recycling process decreases by 44.72% and 44.65% for copper and gold recovery, respectively. This is due to the nature of the recycling process, which uses electricity as the main energy source. A cost-benefit analysis that includes the social cost of carbon dioxide shows a B/C of 1.95, indicating that recycling is economically feasible. However, this result does not take into account both the problem of securing a sufficient amount of waste PCBs and the social cost of the pollutants emitted by the recycling process. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that cost-benefit analyses reflecting the social cost of carbon and carbon dioxide emissions through life cycle assessment of the recycling process will continue to be actively conducted not only for PCB waste recycling, but also for the circular economy and recycling processes that have recently attracted attention.

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