Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4471809 | Waste Management | 2012 | 4 Pages |
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 Fe3+ 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 Fe3+ 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 2 h. 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.
► Thiourea is a selective and less hazardous agent as an alternative to the conventional and toxic cyanide. ► The agent was applied to leach gold and silver from PCBs of waste mobile phones. ► The influence of the particle size, thiourea and Fe3+ concentrations and temperature was investigated. ► In the best condition, about 90% of gold and only 50% of silver were leached with a contact time of 2 h. ► The thiourea leaching would be an alternative and low-toxic methodology for gold extraction from PCBs of waste mobile phones.