Recovery of Metals from Printed Circuit Boards by Gold-REC 1 Hydrometallurgical Process

The paper describes a small full-scale plant based on the Gold-REC 1 process, designed and patented by the University of L’Aquila; the hydrometallurgical process allows the treatment of printed circuit boards (PCBs). The first step is a mechanical treatment to reduce the size of the scraps below 2 mm. The extraction of base metals occurs in a first reactor by a sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide solution. After filtration, the solid is leached again with thiourea and ferric sulfate in a sulfuric acid solution to extract gold and silver. This second solution is sent to an electrolytic cell where gold is recovered as metal powder. The resulting solution undergoes a second electrowinning, where silver is deposited on the cathode. The first pregnant solution undergoes recovery of Cu and Sn. A simulation was developed using lab-scale trial results. The 350 tons PCBs/year, running in a batch operating mode, produces around 43.8 kg/year of gold, 85.8 kg/year of silver, 42.4 tons/year of copper, and 7.2 tons/year of tin oxide. The results show the profitability of the process: the net present value is EUR 10.7 M, with an internal rate of return of 150% and a discounted payback time of 2 years.