Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning
The present paper is focused on the extraction of gold from high-grade e-waste, i.e., spent electronic connectors and plates, by leaching and electrowinning. These connectors are usually made up of an alloy covered by a layer of gold; sometimes, in some of them, a plastic part is also present. The a...
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doaj-6c679c414d3e422eb9556910673d2ade2021-02-26T00:05:45ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2021-02-011123523510.3390/min11030235Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and ElectrowinningNicolò Maria Ippolito0Ionela Birloaga1Francesco Ferella2Marcello Centofanti3Francesco Vegliò4Department of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyThe present paper is focused on the extraction of gold from high-grade e-waste, i.e., spent electronic connectors and plates, by leaching and electrowinning. These connectors are usually made up of an alloy covered by a layer of gold; sometimes, in some of them, a plastic part is also present. The applied leaching system consisted of an acid solution of diluted sulfuric acid (0.2 mol/L) with thiourea (20 g/L) as a reagent and ferric sulfate (21.8 g/L) as an oxidant. This system was applied on three different high-grade e-waste, namely: (1) Connectors with the partial gold-plated surface (Au concentration—1139 mg/kg); (2) different types of connectors with some of which with completely gold-plated surface (Au concentration—590 mg/kg); and (3) connectors and plates with the completely gold-plated surface (Au concentration—7900 mg/kg). Gold dissolution yields of 52, 94, and 49% were achieved from the first, second, and third samples, respectively. About 95% of Au recovery was achieved after 1.5 h of electrowinning at a current efficiency of only 4.06% and current consumption of 3.02 kWh/kg of Au from the leach solution of the third sample.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/11/3/235golde-wasteconnectorthioureaelectrowinning |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nicolò Maria Ippolito Ionela Birloaga Francesco Ferella Marcello Centofanti Francesco Vegliò |
spellingShingle |
Nicolò Maria Ippolito Ionela Birloaga Francesco Ferella Marcello Centofanti Francesco Vegliò Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning Minerals gold e-waste connector thiourea electrowinning |
author_facet |
Nicolò Maria Ippolito Ionela Birloaga Francesco Ferella Marcello Centofanti Francesco Vegliò |
author_sort |
Nicolò Maria Ippolito |
title |
Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning |
title_short |
Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning |
title_full |
Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning |
title_fullStr |
Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning |
title_full_unstemmed |
Preliminary Study on Gold Recovery from High Grade E-Waste by Thiourea Leaching and Electrowinning |
title_sort |
preliminary study on gold recovery from high grade e-waste by thiourea leaching and electrowinning |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Minerals |
issn |
2075-163X |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
The present paper is focused on the extraction of gold from high-grade e-waste, i.e., spent electronic connectors and plates, by leaching and electrowinning. These connectors are usually made up of an alloy covered by a layer of gold; sometimes, in some of them, a plastic part is also present. The applied leaching system consisted of an acid solution of diluted sulfuric acid (0.2 mol/L) with thiourea (20 g/L) as a reagent and ferric sulfate (21.8 g/L) as an oxidant. This system was applied on three different high-grade e-waste, namely: (1) Connectors with the partial gold-plated surface (Au concentration—1139 mg/kg); (2) different types of connectors with some of which with completely gold-plated surface (Au concentration—590 mg/kg); and (3) connectors and plates with the completely gold-plated surface (Au concentration—7900 mg/kg). Gold dissolution yields of 52, 94, and 49% were achieved from the first, second, and third samples, respectively. About 95% of Au recovery was achieved after 1.5 h of electrowinning at a current efficiency of only 4.06% and current consumption of 3.02 kWh/kg of Au from the leach solution of the third sample. |
topic |
gold e-waste connector thiourea electrowinning |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/11/3/235 |
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