Recovery of gold from computer circuit board scrap using aqua regia.

Computer circuit board scrap was first treated with one part concentrated nitric acid and two parts water at 70 degrees C for 1 h. This step dissolved the base metals, thereby liberating the chips from the boards. After solid-liquid separation, the chips, intermixed with some metallic flakes and tin oxide precipitate, were mechanically crushed to liberate the base and precious metals contained within the protective plastic or ceramic chip cases. The base metals in this crushed product were dissolved by leaching again with the same type of nitric acid-water solution. The remaining solid constituents, crushed chips and resin, plus solid particles of gold, were leached with aqua regia at various times and temperatures. Gold was precipitated from the leachate with ferrous sulphate.     

Prioritizing material recovery for end-of-life printed circuit boards

The increasing growth in generation of electronic waste (e-waste) motivates a variety of waste reduction research. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an important sub-set of the overall e-waste stream due to the high value of the materials contained within them and potential toxicity. This work explores several environmental and economic metrics for prioritizing the recovery of materials from end-of-life PCBs. A weighted sum model is used to investigate the trade-offs among economic value, energy saving potentials, and eco-toxicity. Results show that given equal weights for these three sustainability criteria gold has the highest recovery priority, followed by copper, palladium, aluminum, tin, lead, platinum, nickel, zinc, and silver. However, recovery priority will change significantly due to variation in the composition of PCBs, choice of ranking metrics, and weighting factors when scoring multiple metrics. These results can be used by waste management decision-makers to quantify the value and environmental savings potential for recycling technology development and infrastructure. They can also be extended by policy-makers to inform possible penalties for land-filling PCBs or exporting to the informal recycling sector. The importance of weighting factors when examining recovery trade-offs, particularly for policies regarding PCB collection and recycling are explored further.     

A new strain for recovering precious metals from waste printed circuit boards

A new strain, Pseudomonas Chlororaphis (PC), was found for dissolving gold, silver, and copper from the metallic particles of crushed waste printed circuit boards (PCBs). The optimized conditions that greatly improved the ability of producing CN^? (for dissolving metals) were obtained. Dissolving experiments of pure gold, silver, and copper showed that the metals could be changed into Au⁺, Ag⁺, and Cu²⁺. PC cells and their secreta would adsorb metallic ions. Meanwhile, metallic ions destroyed the growth of PC. Dissolving experiments of metallic particles from crushed waste PCBs were performed by PC. The results indicated that 8.2% of the gold, 12.1% silver, and 52.3% copper were dissolved into solution. This paper contributed significance information to recovering precious metals from waste PCBs by bioleaching.     

Evaluation of a recycling process for printed circuit board by physical separation and heat treatment

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) from discarded personal computer (PC) and hard disk drive were crushed by explosion in water or mechanical comminution in order to disintegrate the attached parts. More parts were stripped from PCB of PC, composed of epoxy resin; than from PCB of household appliance, composed of phenol resin.In an attempt to raise the copper grade of PCB by removing other components, a carbonization treatment was investigated. The crushed PCB without surface-mounted parts was carbonized under a nitrogen atmosphere at 873–1073 K. After screening, the char was classified by size into oversized pieces, undersized pieces and powder. The copper foil and glass fiber pieces were liberated and collected in undersized fraction. The copper foil was liberated easily from glass fiber by stamping treatment.As one of the mounted parts, the multi-layered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which contain nickel, were carbonized at 873 K. The magnetic separation is carried out at a lower magnetic field strength of 0.1 T and then at 0.8 T. In the +0.5 mm size fraction the nickel grade in magnetic product was increased from 0.16% to 6.7% and the nickel recovery is 74%.The other useful mounted parts are tantalum capacitors. The tantalum capacitors were collected from mounted parts. The tantalum-sintered bodies were separated from molded resins by heat treatment at 723–773 K in air atmosphere and screening of 0.5 mm. Silica was removed and 70% of tantalum grade was obtained after more than 823 K heating and separation.Next, the evaluation of Cu recycling in PCB is estimated. Energy consumption of new process increased and the treatment cost becomes 3 times higher comparing the conventional process, while the environmental burden of new process decreased comparing conventional process.The nickel recovery process in fine ground particles increased energy and energy cost comparing those of the conventional process. However, the environmental burden decreased than the conventional one.The process for recovering tantalum used more heat for the treatment and therefore the energy consumption increased by 50%, when comparing with conventional process. However, the market price for tantalum is very large; the profit for tantalum recovery is added. Also the environmental burden decreased by the recycling of tantalum recovery. Therefore, the tantalum recovery is very important step in the PCB recycling. If there is no tantalum, the consumed energy and treatment cost increase in the new process, though the environmental burden decreases.     

Improving sustainable recovery of metals from waste printed circuit boards by the primary copper smelter process

In this paper, utilizing the existing primary copper smelter process for the recovery of metals from waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) is proposed as an alternative to the current backyard operations in developing countries. The Model for Evaluating Metal Recycling Efficiency from Complex Scraps (MEMRECS) concept is introduced as a tool for the evaluation of the eco-efficiency of metals recovery from waste PCBs. Based on the MEMRECS approach, the relative contribution of every metal fraction to the recyclability of the whole product is estimated. Thereby, gold content is identified as a key factor strongly influencing the efficiency of metals recovery from waste PCBs. Furthermore, it could be used as an indicator for the categorization of waste PCBs before feeding them into the recycling process. Finally, an integrated process is proposed to optimize the eco-efficiency of metals recovery from waste PCBs in developing countries.     

Pyrolysis characteristics of the mixture of printed circuit board scraps and coal powder

Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and infrared spectroscopy were used to analyze the pyrolysis characteristics of printed circuit board scraps (PCBs), coal powder and their mixtures under nitrogen atmosphere. The experimental results show that there is a large difference between waste PCBs and coal powder in pyrolysis processing. The pyrolysis properties of the mixing samples are the result of interaction of the PCBs and coal powder, which is influenced by the content of mixture. The degree of pyrolysis and pyrolysis properties of the mixture are much better than that of the single component. The TG and the differential thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of the PCBs mixed with coal powder move towards the high-temperature zone with increasing amount of coal powder and subsequently the DTG peak also becomes wider. The Coats–Redfern integral method was used to determine the kinetic parameters of pyrolysis reaction mechanism with the different proportion of mixture. The gas of pyrolysis mainly composes of CO₂, CO, H₂O and some hydrocarbon. The bromide characteristic absorption peak has been detected obviously in the pyrolysis gas of PCBs. On the contrary, the absorption peak of the bromide is not obvious in pyrolysis gas of the PCBs samples adding 40% coal powder.     

Generation of copper rich metallic phases from waste printed circuit boards

The rapid consumption and obsolescence of electronics have resulted in e-waste being one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are among the most complex e-waste, containing significant quantities of hazardous and toxic materials leading to high levels of pollution if landfilled or processed inappropriately. However, PCBs are also an important resource of metals including copper, tin, lead and precious metals; their recycling is appealing especially as the concentration of these metals in PCBs is considerably higher than in their ores. This article is focused on a novel approach to recover copper rich phases from waste PCBs. Crushed PCBs were heat treated at 1150 °C under argon gas flowing at 1 L/min into a horizontal tube furnace. Samples were placed into an alumina crucible and positioned in the cold zone of the furnace for 5 min to avoid thermal shock, and then pushed into the hot zone, with specimens exposed to high temperatures for 10 and 20 min. After treatment, residues were pulled back to the cold zone and kept there for 5 min to avoid thermal cracking and re-oxidation. This process resulted in the generation of a metallic phase in the form of droplets and a carbonaceous residue. The metallic phase was formed of copper-rich red droplets and tin-rich white droplets along with the presence of several precious metals. The carbonaceous residue was found to consist of slag and ～30% carbon. The process conditions led to the segregation of hazardous lead and tin clusters in the metallic phase. The heat treatment temperature was chosen to be above the melting point of copper; molten copper helped to concentrate metallic constituents and their separation from the carbonaceous residue and the slag. Inert atmosphere prevented the re-oxidation of metals and the loss of carbon in the gaseous fraction. Recycling e-waste is expected to lead to enhanced metal recovery, conserving natural resources and providing an environmentally sustainable solution to the management of waste products.     

Recovery of metals from waste printed circuit boards by supercritical water pre-treatment combined with acid leaching process

Waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) contain a large number of metals such as Cu, Sn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Mn. In this work, an efficient and environmentally friendly process for metals recovery from waste PCBs by supercritical water (SCW) pre-treatment combined with acid leaching was developed. In the proposed process, waste PCBs were pre-treated by SCW, then the separated solid phase product with concentrated metals was subjected to an acid leaching process for metals recovery. The effect of SCW pre-treatment on the recovery of different metals from waste PCBs was investigated. Two methods of SCW pre-treatment were studied: supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) and supercritical water depolymerization (SCWD). Experimental results indicated that SCWO and SCWD pre-treatment had significant effect on the recovery of different metals. SCWO pre-treatment was highly efficient for enhancing the recovery of Cu and Pb, and the recovery efficiency increased significantly with increasing pre-treatment temperature. The recovery efficiency of Cu and Pb for SCWO pre-treatment at 420 °C was 99.8% and 80%, respectively, whereas most of the Sn and Cr were immobilized in the residue. The recovery of all studied metals was enhanced by SCWD pre-treatment and increased along with pre-treatment temperature. Up to 90% of Sn, Zn, Cr, Cd, and Mn could be recovered for SCWD pre-treatment at 440 °C.     

Evaluation of gold and silver leaching from printed circuit board of cellphones

Electronic waste has been increasing proportionally with the technology. So, nowadays, it is necessary to consider the useful life, recycling, and final disposal of these equipment. Metals, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Sn and Ni can be found in the printed circuit boards (PCB). According to this, the aims of this work is to characterize the PCBs of mobile phones with aqua regia; obtaining “reference” values of leaching, to gold and silver, with cyanide and nitric acid, respectively; and study the process of leaching of these metals in alternative leaching with sodium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate. The metals were characterized by digesting the sample with aqua regia for 1 and 2 h at 60 °C and 80 °C. The leaching of Au with a commercial reagent (cyanide) and the Ag with HNO₃were made. The leaching of Au and Ag with alternative reagents: Na₂S₂O_3, and (NH₄)₂S₂O₃ in 0.1 M concentration with the addition of CuSO₄, NH₄OH, and H₂O₂, was also studied. The results show that the digestion with aqua regia was efficient to characterize the metals present in the PCBs of mobile phones. However, the best method to solubilize silver was by digesting the sample with nitric acid. The leaching process using sodium thiosulfate was more efficient when an additional concentration of 0.015 and 0.030 M of the CuSO₄ was added.     

Thiourea leaching gold and silver from the printed circuit boards of waste mobile phones

The present communication deals with the leaching of gold and silver from the printed circuit boards (PCBs) of waste mobile phones using an effective and less hazardous system, i.e., a thiourea leaching process as an alternative to the conventional and toxic cyanide leaching of gold. The influence of particle size, thiourea and Fe(3+) concentrations and temperature on the leaching of gold and silver from waste mobile phones was investigated. Gold extraction was found to be enhanced in a PCBs particle size of 100 mesh with the solutions containing 24 g/L thiourea and Fe(3+) concentration of 0.6% under the room temperature. In this case, about 90% of gold and 50% of silver were leached by the reaction of 2h. The obtained data will be useful for the development of processes for the recycling of gold and silver from the PCBs of waste mobile phones.     

Pulverization of waste printed circuit boards

A new pulverization method to reduce the volume of waste printed circuit boards is reported. About 50% of printed circuit boards with integrate circuits (ICs) could be pulverized by our method in one 20-min batch, but boards without ICs could not be pulverized. By repeating the process three times, about 95% of printed circuit boards with ICs could be made into a fine powder with particles less than 106µm. A weight-drop test was also performed to examine the strength of the printed circuit boards and clarify the mechanism of pulverization. When a weight was dropped on the solder-welding side of the board ruptures occurred more easily than when the weight was dropped on the IC-mounted side. With a heavy weight, the IC was fractured more easily when the potential energy was low. Where the stress was concentrated, two types of rupture location were found on printed circuit boards with ICs. One was where the IC was connected to the printed circuit board. The other was where the surface had undulations. It also became clear that the fracture of printed circuit boards depends on the impacting weight rather than on the potential energy.     

Scenario assessment of neodymium recycling in Japan based on substance flow analysis and future demand forecast

With the increasing demand for energy-saving technologies, neodymium-iron-boron magnets have been widely utilized in high-efficiency motors. However, the reserves of neodymium, which is a rare earth element (REE), are limited; thus, a strategy for scaling up the REE supply is highly required. In this study, a scenario assessment was conducted to evaluate the effect of material recycling of neodymium from final product waste. Domestic substance flow analysis of neodymium was conducted by focusing on the waste flow of the final product. Moreover, the demand and waste of neodymium until 2050 were forecasted using various multivariate analysis methods. The results showed that the domestic waste of neodymium was forecasted to be 3866–4217 tons/year by 2050. However, material recycling of neodymium from final product waste may cause an additional increase in production by “circular economy rebound”. Considering that CO₂ reduction has also been a global challenge to prevent global warming, the rebound effect was calculated. Therefore, a scenario assessment was conducted to evaluate the influence of this rebound effect by estimating the CO₂ reduction. The results of this study are expected to make a significant contribution to the establishment of a new strategy for neodymium recycling.

     

Techniques to separate metal from waste printed circuit boards from discarded personal computers

Waste printed circuit boards contain valuable metals such as Au, Pd, Ag, and Cu that can be reutilized and harmful elements such as Pb, Br, and Cr that must be removed from the viewpoint of environmental conservation. In this research, we examined a method that separates the materials from printed circuit boards contained in discarded personal computers. After cutting the printed circuit boards to a size of 20 × 20 mm, they were heated at 873 K under an Ar atmosphere to remove organic resins containing elements such as C, H, and N. After heat treatment, the printed circuit boards were crushed using a planetary ball mill and the pulverized powders were filtered. The fraction with a granularity of greater than 250 μm was separated into magnetic and nonmagnetic materials by a magnetic field. Because the fraction with a granularity of less than 250 μm contained 39 mass% of C, it was heated at 1273 K in an atmosphere of 95% Ar and 5% O₂ to allow carbon combustion to take place, followed by metal reduction processing at the same temperature in an atmosphere of 97% Ar and 3% H₂. The basicity of the resulting powder was adjusted and the powder was heated at 1773 K under an Ar atmosphere. The proposed method separated the slag and metal, and 80% of the valuable metals contained in printed circuit boards could be collected.     

Recycling of WEEE: characterization of spent printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers

This paper presents a comparison between printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones. Since printed circuits boards are becoming more complex and smaller, the amount of materials is constantly changing. The main objective of this work was to characterize spent printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones applying mineral processing technique to separate the metal, ceramic, and polymer fractions. The processing was performed by comminution in a hammer mill, followed by particle size analysis, and by magnetic and electrostatic separation. Aqua regia leaching, loss-on-ignition and chemical analysis (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy - ICP-OES) were carried out to determine the composition of printed circuit boards and the metal rich fraction. The composition of the studied mobile phones printed circuit boards (PCB-MP) was 63 wt.% metals; 24 wt.% ceramics and 13 wt.% polymers; and of the printed circuit boards from studied personal computers (PCB-PC) was 45 wt.% metals; 27 wt.% polymers and ceramics 28 wt.% ceramics. The chemical analysis showed that copper concentration in printed circuit boards from personal computers was 20 wt.% and in printed circuit boards from mobile phones was 34.5 wt.%. According to the characteristics of each type of printed circuit board, the recovery of precious metals may be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from personal computers and the recovery of copper should be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from mobile phones. Hence, these printed circuit boards would not be mixed prior treatment. The results of this paper show that copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers.     

Waste collection systems for recyclables: An environmental and economic assessment for the municipality of Aarhus (Denmark)

Recycling of paper and glass from household waste is an integrated part of waste management in Denmark, however, increased recycling is a legislative target. The questions are: how much more can the recycling rate be increased through improvements of collection schemes when organisational and technical limitations are respected, and what will the environmental and economic consequences be? This was investigated in a case study of a municipal waste management system. Five scenarios with alternative collection systems for recyclables (paper, glass, metal and plastic packaging) were assessed by means of a life cycle assessment and an assessment of the municipality’s costs. Kerbside collection would provide the highest recycling rate, 31% compared to 25% in the baseline scenario, but bring schemes with drop-off containers would also be a reasonable solution. Collection of recyclables at recycling centres was not recommendable because the recycling rate would decrease to 20%. In general, the results showed that enhancing recycling and avoiding incineration was recommendable because the environmental performance was improved in several impact categories. The municipal costs for collection and treatment of waste were reduced with increasing recycling, mainly because the high cost for incineration was avoided. However, solutions for mitigation of air pollution caused by increased collection and transport should be sought.     

Liberation characteristic and physical separation of printed circuit board (PCB)

Recycling of printed circuit board (PCB) is an important subject and to which increasing attention is paid, both in treatment of waste as well as recovery of valuable material terms. Precede physical and mechanical method, a good liberation is the premise to further separation. In this study, two-step crushing process is employed, and standard sieve is applied to screen crushed material to different size fractions, moreover, the liberation situation and particles shape in different size are observed. Then metal of the PCB is separated by physical methods, including pneumatic separation, electrostatic separation and magnetic separation, and major metal contents are characterized by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Results show that the metal and nonmetal particles of PCB are dissociated completely under the crush size 0.6mm; metal is mainly enriched in the four size fractions between 0.15 and 1.25 mm; relatively, pneumatic separation is suitable for 0.6-0.9 mm size fraction, while the electrostatic separation is suitable for three size fractions that are 0.15-0.3mm, 0.3-0.6mm and 0.9-1.25 mm. The whole process that involves crushing, electrostatic and magnetic separation has formed a closed cycle that can return material and provide salable product.     

Qualitative and quantitative determination of heavy metals in waste cellular phones

Twenty four waste cellular phones, manufactured between 2002 and 2011, were selected in order to determine the total heavy metal content in each of their parts (printed circuit boards (PCBs), plastic housing (PH) and liquid crystal display monitors (LCDs)) and compare the results with the permissible limits set by the 2003 Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). All the selected samples were pulverized and digested with strong acids. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to measure the heavy metal content in each sample. The results revealed that concentration levels of the examined heavy metals were higher in PCBs, followed by PH and LCD in that particular order (PCB > PH > LCD). With the exception of Pb and Cr present in PCBs of mobile phones released before the year 2006, all the other metal concentrations were according to the Directive. Concentration levels of Cd, Hg were lower than the permissible limits set by the EU, either before or after the validity of the 2003 RoHS Directive. Considering their significant heavy metal content, coupled with their large quantities produced worldwide in an annual rate, waste cellular phones need to be treated under an environmentally sound management scheme, prioritizing recycling and at the same time eliminating the possibility of any harm.     

End-of-Life Vehicles management: Italian material and energy recovery efficiency

Each European Member State must comply with Directive 2000/53/EC recycling and recovery targets by 2015, set to 85% and 95%, respectively. This paper reports a shredder campaign trial developed and performed in Italy at the beginning of 2008. It turns out to be the first assessment about the critical aspects belonging to the Italian End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) reverse supply chain involving 18 dismantling plants, a shredder plant and 630 ELV representatives of different categories of vehicles treated in Italy during 2006. This trial aims at improving the experimental knowledge related to ELVs added waste, pre-treatment, part reuse, recycling and final metal separation and car fluff disposal. Finally, the study also focuses on the calculation of the effective Italian ELV recycling rate, which results equal to 80.8%, and auto shredder residue (ASR) characterization. According to the results obtained in this work, ASR still contains up to 8% of metals and 40% of polymers that could be recovered. Moreover, physical-chemical analysis showed a Lower Heat Value of almost 20,000 kJ/kg and revealed the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals, mineral oils, PCBs and hydrocarbons.     

Thermal decomposition of tetrabromobisphenol-A containing printed circuit boards in the presence of calcium hydroxide

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Recycling of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is complicated by the presence of flame retardants containing halogen and phosphorus, as the degradation...     

Utilization of magnetic and electrostatic separation in the recycling of printed circuit boards scrap

The progress of the technology is directly related to the growth of production and consumption of electrical/electronics equipment, especially of personal computers. This type of equipment has a relatively short average lifetime, 2-3 years. The amount of defective or obsolete equipment has been increasing substantially; consequently its disposition and/or recycling should be studied. In this work, printed circuit boards, which are used in personal computers, were studied in order to recover the metals in the circuit boards through mechanical processing, such as crushing, screening, as well as magnetic and electrostatic separation. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of using these processes to separate metal fractions from polymers and ceramics, and that it is possible to obtain a fraction concentrated in metals containing more than 50% on average of copper, 24% of tin and 8% of lead.