Environmental effects of the technology transformation from hard-disk to solid-state drives from resource depletion and toxicity management perspectives

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are used as data storage systems in various electronic devices in place of hard-disk drives (HDDs) due to their higher speed and durability and lower noise and power consumption. Although SSDs have these advantages, the environmental consequences of the technology transformation from HDD to SSD need to be examined from resource depletion and toxicity management perspectives because most electronic components and devices contain rare, precious, and toxic metals. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess and compare resource depletion and toxicity potentials from metals in an HDD and an SSD on a same capacity basis. The environmental impact potentials were evaluated based on the metal contents and masses of the drives and environmental impact characterization factors used in life cycle impact assessments. The SSD had 86% to 94% lower resource depletion potentials than the HDD, due primarily to the lower contents of Au, Cu, Pd, Ru, and Pt, whereas the SSD had 33% higher potential for only In. The SSD also had 87% to 94% lower toxicity potentials due primarily to the lower contents of Ni, Pb, Cu, and Cr. Thus, this study showed that the technology transformation is environmentally desirable to conserve resources and to protect human and ecological health. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:292–298.