Abstract

A LIBS analyzer for the automatic detection of heavy metals and brominated flame retardants in moving end-of-life waste electric and electronic equipment (EOL-WEEE) pieces collected for recycling is presented. An autofocusing unit with an adjustment range of 50 mm has been incorporated to allow measurements with varying distances to the sample surface. Detection limits in the range of 100 µg/g were achieved for the elements Cd, Hg, Pb, Cr and Sb in moving samples. The classification results achieved during tests of the LIBS analyzer at a conveyor belt of a pilot sorting system for EOL-WEEE are presented.

© 2002 Optical Society of America