Grant project deliverable

Co-processing of printed circuit board (PCB) leach solutions with effluent streams from PCB manufacturing

Grant holder: Prof J Petersen

Institution: University of Cape Town

Grant: CSIR/BEI/WRIU/2019/026

Duration: 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2023

Status: Completed

Project outline: The aim of this project is to explore the core process steps for the leaching and recovery of PCBs at both the laboratory and the pilot scale. The project will test recovery technologies of metal from leach solutions and report optimal operating conditions within the context of the study. The pilot study will focus on treating reject PCBs from a manufacturing plant using waste etching solutions and process technology available at the plant. From the insights at bench and pilot scale an integrated waste recovery process will be developed that will follow the principles of industrial symbiosis. Furthermore, the developed process should be a good fit for operation at the local scale with input of the local e-waste stream, i.e. it should not be capital and energy intensive, and be scalable and environmentally friendly.

»	Conference: Kondo, TD., Moyo, T. and Petersen, J. (2024). Evaluation of solvent swelling pre-treatment for copper recovery from waste printed circuit boards. Hydrometallurgy for the Future, 3-9 September 2024, Cape Town, South Africa.
»	Technical report: Petersen, J and Moyo, T. (2023). Co-processing of PCB leach solutions with effluent streams from PCB manufacturing. University of Cape Town.
»	Dissertation: Gonte, MG. (2023). Investigating Early-Stage Process Flow and Reactor Sequencing to Maximise Gold Extraction ln the Thiosulphate Leaching of Waste Printed Circuit Boards. Master’s Thesis. University of Cape Town.
»	Dissertation: Kondo, TD. (2022). Evaluation of solvent swelling pre-treatment combined with ammonia leaching using waste etchant from printed circuit board manufacturing for copper recovery from waste printed circuit boards. Master’s Thesis. University of Cape Town.
»	Dissertation: Maharaj, D. (2022). Exploration of the thiosulphate process for the dissolution of gold from electronic waste and its recovery through ion-exchange. Master’s Thesis. University of Cape Town.
»	Publication: Moyo, T., Sadan, Z., Lötter, A. and Petersen, J. (2022). Barriers to recycling e-waste within a changing legal environment in South Africa. S Afr J Sci. 118.
»	Publication: Moyo, T., Jimenez, FO., Prestele, MP., Kondo, T. and Petersen, J. (2022). Evaluating pre-treatment methods to maximise copper recovery from printed circuit boards. J. Metall. Mater. Sci., 64 (1/2): 1-15.
»	Dissertation: Prestele, M.P. (2020). Assessment of a shredding technology of waste printed circuit boards in preparation for ammonia-based copper leaching. Master’s dissertation. Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
»	Presentation: Kondo, T. (2020). Copper recovery from waste printed circuit boards. Next Generation Resources Conference, 2020.
»	Presentation: Maharaj, D. (2020). Exploration of the thiosulphate process for the dissolution of gold and its recovery via ion-exchange. Next Generation Resources Conference, 2020.