Leaching copper from shredded particles of waste printed circuit boards

Leaching copper from shredded particles of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) was carried out in sulfuric acid solution using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant at room temperature. The influence of system variables on copper recovery by leaching was investigated, such as sulfuric concentration, amount of hydrogen peroxide addition, waste PBCs particle size, presence of cupric ion, temperature and time. The results shown that the optimum addition amount was 100 mL 15 (wt%) sulfuric acid solution and 10 mL of 30% hydrogen peroxide for leaching 10 g waste PCBs powder with a solid/liquid ratio of 1/10 for 3 h at room temperature (similar to 23 degrees C). Moreover leaching temperature and initial copper ion concentration had insignificant effect on the leaching recovery of copper. The effect of different particle size of shredded waste PCBs on leaching of copper was investigated under the optimum leaching condition. The results revealed that shredding pieces of waste PCBs smaller than 1 mm was efficient and suitable for copper leaching. Then the leaching solution was concentrated to crystallize CuSO4 center dot 5H(2)O, and crystal liquor was reused or the next cycles. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.