Abstract
Electronic waste (e-waste) management poses a significant environmental challenge due to its hazardous nature and increasing volume. E-waste contains critical metals such as Au, Ni, and Cu, whose value is rising due to supply risks and skyrocketing demand. Conventional recovery technologies are energy-intensive, involving high acidity, temperature, and pressure. This study evaluates a novel method for recovering these metals from printed circuit boards (PCBs) using low-energy media milling and sequential chemical etching. We characterized the chemical and mechanical properties of PCB Au fingers using nanoindentation and focused ion beam etching. Using dilute sulfuric acid (0.1 M) and hydrogen peroxide (0.01 M), >90% of Cu and Ni were leached from unpulverized PCBs, with Au remaining undissolved for easy filtration and recovery. In-situ grinding improves the leaching and delamination kinetics, achieving quantitative recovery within 3 h. Our findings offer an efficient, milder approach to e-waste management without high-temperature smelting or shredding.
Published Version
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