Effect of clay minerals on copper reclamation from leached solution

Abstract

The present investigation focus on the recovery of copper (Cu) ions from printed circuit boards (PCBs) by applying simultaneous treatment of leaching and adsorption, as a novel approach. The PCBs are subjected to chemical leaching using aqua regia resulted in a Cu recovery of 97.06%. The leached solution is treated for removal of Cu with activated bent clay as an adsorbent. The optimum condition of process variables is found through central composite design-response surface methodology (RSM-CCD). The maximum %Cu removal of 97.33% is obtained at the optimum operating conditions of adsorbent size of 0.04 mm, adsorbent dosage of 3.5 g.L^-1 and the temperature of 80°C with 0.845 desirability. This investigation is found to be an eco-friendly way to recover copper ions and does not cause any environmental issues.