Mechanical Plant — End Products & Buyers
The five output streams sold by a mechanical e-waste recycling plant — ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, precious and rare earth metals, plastic parts, and other recyclables — with the composition, physical form, and typical Indian buyers for each stream.
| Output Stream | Composition | Output Form | Typical Buyers | Forward Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrous Metals | Iron alloys & Steel 85–95%, Nickel-based alloys 5–15% | 5–50 mm granules / flakes / chunks | Metal traders, steel & iron foundries, nickel alloy manufacturers, larger smelters | Pyrometallurgical refining for carbon steel + speciality alloys |
| Non-Ferrous Metals | Al 45–55%, Cu 20–30%, Brass 5–10%, Zn 3–7%, Pb 2–5%, Sn 1–3% | 2–20 mm granules / flakes | Aluminium smelters, zinc smelters, copper wire mfrs, battery & solder makers | Pyrometallurgical refining to pure metal ingots |
| Precious & Rare Earth Metals | Au 0.03–0.10%, Ag 0.10–0.50%, Pd 0.01–0.05%, Pt 0.005–0.02%, Cu 20–30% | Fine powder | Precious metal refiners, electronics manufacturers, bullion dealers | Hydrometallurgical recovery for individual high-purity metals |
| Plastic Parts | ABS 35–45%, PC 15–25%, HDPE 10–15%, PP 8–12%, PVC 5–10%, PS 5–10%, Flame-Retardant 3–7% | Granules / chips + intact parts from dismantling | Plastic recyclers, moulding companies, wire & cable manufacturers | Granulation & pelletizing, recycled plastic products |
| Other Recyclables | Glass (CRT, optical, fiberglass), rubber, ceramics (MLCCs), batteries (Li-ion, lead-acid) | Mixed forms | Specialised glass / rubber / ceramic / battery recyclers | Each goes to its own dedicated recycling stream |
Beyond definitions
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How to read this table
- Each row is one output stream; columns show composition, physical output form, typical buyers, and the forward processing that buyers use the material for.
- The precious metals stream must go to a hydrometallurgical refiner — selling it as generic copper scrap forfeits all gold, silver, palladium, and platinum value to the downstream smelter.
- Other Recyclables sub-materials (batteries, CRTs) have regulatory handling requirements separate from the main output streams — confirm disposal routes with your SPCB before accepting high-battery e-waste streams.
About this table
A mechanical e-waste recycling plant sells five distinct output streams — each with its own buyer category, price discovery mechanism, and forward processing path. Understanding all five streams and their buyer relationships is essential for building the revenue model and for making informed decisions about which streams to route to further processing versus selling as-is. This table maps all five streams from the mechanical plant gate.
The Ferrous Metals stream (iron alloys and steel at 85–95% of the ferrous fraction, plus nickel alloys at 5–15%) exits as 5–50 mm granules, flakes, and chunks. Buyers are metal traders, steel and iron foundries, and nickel alloy manufacturers. The ferrous stream is the highest-volume output but the lowest value per kilogram. The Non-Ferrous Metals stream (aluminium 45–55%, copper 20–30%, brass 5–10%, zinc 3–7%, lead 2–5%, tin 1–3%) exits as 2–20 mm granules and is the highest-revenue non-precious stream. Aluminium smelters, copper wire manufacturers, and zinc and battery-material smelters are the main buyers.
The Precious and Rare Earth Metals stream — the fine powder from shredded PCBs containing gold (0.03–0.10%), silver (0.10–0.50%), palladium (0.01–0.05%), platinum (0.005–0.02%), and a copper base of 20–30% — is the highest-value stream by revenue per kilogram. It must be routed to a hydrometallurgical refiner, not sold as copper scrap, to capture the precious metal value. Plastic Parts (ABS 35–45%, polycarbonate 15–25%, HDPE, PP, PVC, polystyrene, flame-retardant plastics) go to plastic recyclers, moulding companies, and wire and cable manufacturers. The Other Recyclables stream covers glass (CRT, optical, fiberglass), rubber, ceramics (MLCCs), and batteries (lithium-ion, lead-acid) — each sub-material in this stream has its own specialist buyer, and some (batteries, CRTs) have specific regulatory handling requirements.
Key insights
- The precious and rare earth metals fine-powder stream is the highest-value output per kilogram — routing it to a hydrometallurgical refiner rather than selling as copper scrap is the most commercially critical dispatch decision in a mechanical plant.
- Five distinct output streams mean five separate buyer relationships and five separate price-tracking requirements — mechanical plant operators need a multi-buyer commercial organisation from day one.
- Flame-retardant plastics within the Plastic Parts stream are hazardous waste under the E-Waste Rules and cannot be sold as recyclate — this fraction goes to a TSDF as a disposal cost, not as revenue.
- Batteries and CRT glass within Other Recyclables require specialist authorised buyers — accepting large volumes of battery-heavy e-waste without a confirmed battery recycler buyer creates a storage and compliance problem.
Methodology & sources
Output stream composition data is based on typical mixed e-waste mechanical recycling line outputs as referenced in course materials. Actual buyer categories and forward use paths are illustrative of the Indian secondary market structure. Precious metal fraction values depend on feedstock PCB density and cannot be calculated without assay testing of actual batches.
Related data tables
Mechanical Recycling — Ferrous Metals Output
Two ferrous metal output streams from e-waste mechanical recycling — iron alloys and steel (85–95% of the ferrous mix, sold to foundries and metal traders) and nickel-based alloys (5–15%, sold to nickel alloy manufacturers) — with typical output size and buyers.
Mechanical Recycling — Non-Ferrous Metals Output
The six non-ferrous metal fractions recovered from the eddy-current and density separation stages of a mechanical e-waste recycling line — aluminium, copper, brass, zinc, lead, and tin — with each metal's share of the non-ferrous stream and its output size.
Mechanical Recycling — Plastic Parts Output
The seven plastic types in the plastic fraction recovered from mechanical e-waste recycling — ABS, polycarbonate, HDPE, PP, PVC, polystyrene, and flame-retardant plastics — with each type's share of the total plastic output, sold to plastic recyclers and moulding companies.
Mechanical Recycling — Precious Metals Output
The precious and trace metals present in the fine-powder fraction from mechanical e-waste processing — gold, silver, palladium, platinum, and copper — with their percentage ranges and the requirement to route this fraction to hydrometallurgical refiners for full value recovery.
PCB Plant — End Products & Buyers
The five output streams sold by an e-waste PCB recycling plant — with the crushed component mixture (precious metals fine powder) as the highest-value stream that must go to a hydrometallurgical refiner, plus ferrous, copper-rich, plastic, and residual fractions.