scholarly journals Effect of Acid Leaching Pre-Treatment on Gold Extraction from Printed Circuit Boards of Spent Mobile Phones

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 362
Author(s):  
Nicolò Maria Ippolito ◽  
Franco Medici ◽  
Loris Pietrelli ◽  
Luigi Piga
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Printed Circuit Boards ◽  
Acid Leaching ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Circuit Boards ◽  
Gold Extraction ◽  
Printed Circuit ◽  
Solid Ratio ◽  
Thiourea Complex ◽  
Pre Treatment

The effect of a preliminary acid leaching for the recovery of gold by thiourea from printed circuit boards (PCBs) of spent mobile phones, was investigated. Preliminary leaching is aimed to recover copper in the leachate that would compete with gold in the successive leaching of the residue with thiourea, thus preventing the formation of the gold-thiourea complex. Two hydrometallurgical routes were tested for the recovery of copper first, and gold after. The first one was based on a two-step leaching that utilizes sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in the preliminary leaching and then thiourea for the recovery of gold in the successive leaching: A copper and gold recovery of 81% and 79% were obtained, respectively. In the second route, nitric acid was used: 100% of copper was recovered in the leachate and 85% of gold in the thiourea successive leaching. The main operative parameters, namely thiourea and ferric sulphate concentrations, leach time, liquid-solid ratio, and temperature were studied according to a factorial plan strategy. A flowsheet of the processes was proposed, and a mass balance of both routes was obtained. Finally, qualitative considerations on the technical and economic feasibility of the different routes were made.

scholarly journals Utilising Commercially Fabricated Printed Circuit Boards as an Electrochemical Biosensing Platform

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Uroš Zupančič ◽  
Joshua Rainbow ◽  
Pedro Estrela ◽  
Despina Moschou
Keyword(s):  
Printed Circuit Boards ◽  
Electrochemical Sensors ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Electrochemical Sensing ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Circuit Boards ◽  
Printed Circuit ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Electrochemical Biosensing ◽  
Pre Treatment

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) offer a promising platform for the development of electronics-assisted biomedical diagnostic sensors and microsystems. The long-standing industrial basis offers distinctive advantages for cost-effective, reproducible, and easily integrated sample-in-answer-out diagnostic microsystems. Nonetheless, the commercial techniques used in the fabrication of PCBs produce various contaminants potentially degrading severely their stability and repeatability in electrochemical sensing applications. Herein, we analyse for the first time such critical technological considerations, allowing the exploitation of commercial PCB platforms as reliable electrochemical sensing platforms. The presented electrochemical and physical characterisation data reveal clear evidence of both organic and inorganic sensing electrode surface contaminants, which can be removed using various pre-cleaning techniques. We demonstrate that, following such pre-treatment rules, PCB-based electrodes can be reliably fabricated for sensitive electrochemical biosensors. Herein, we demonstrate the applicability of the methodology both for labelled protein (procalcitonin) and label-free nucleic acid (E. coli-specific DNA) biomarker quantification, with observed limits of detection (LoD) of 2 pM and 110 pM, respectively. The proposed optimisation of surface pre-treatment is critical in the development of robust and sensitive PCB-based electrochemical sensors for both clinical and environmental diagnostics and monitoring applications.

scholarly journals Effect of Graphite on Copper Bioleaching from Waste Printed Circuit Boards

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Tong ◽  
Qianfei Zhao ◽  
Ali Kamali ◽  
Wolfgang Sand ◽  
Hongying Yang
Keyword(s):  
Printed Circuit Boards ◽  
Acid Leaching ◽  
Circuit Boards ◽  
Printed Circuit ◽  
Waste Printed Circuit Boards ◽  
Copper Leaching ◽  
Initial Ph ◽  
Efficient Extraction ◽  
Bacteria Culture ◽  
The Impact

The efficient extraction of copper as a valuable metal from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) is currently attracting growing interest. Here, we systematically investigated the impact of bacteria on the efficiency of copper leaching from WPCBs, and evaluated the effect of graphite on bioleaching performance. The HQ0211 bacteria culture containing Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Ferroplasma acidiphilum, and Leptospirillum ferriphilum enhanced Cu-leaching performance in either ferric sulfate and sulfuric acid leaching, so a final leaching of up to 76.2% was recorded after 5 days. With the addition of graphite, the percentage of copper leaching could be increased to 80.5%. Single-factor experiments confirmed the compatibility of graphite with the HQ0211 culture, and identified the optimal pulp density of WPCBs, the initial pH, and the graphite content to be 2% (w/v), 1.6, and 2.5 g/L, respectively.

Sampling and digestion of waste mobile phones printed circuit boards for Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn determination

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislava Mičková ◽  
Silvia Ružičková ◽  
Dagmar Remeteiová ◽  
Martina Laubertová ◽  
Marianna Dorková
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Printed Circuit Boards ◽  
Circuit Boards ◽  
Printed Circuit
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