| Title |
Eco-friendly electrowinning for metals recovery from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) / |
| Authors |
Cesiulis, Henrikas ; Tintaru, Natalia |
| DOI |
10.3390/coatings13030574 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Coatings.. Basel : MDPI. 2023, vol. 13, iss. 3, art. no. 574, p. [1-11].. eISSN 2079-6412 |
| Keywords [eng] |
electrical and electronic waste ; electrowinning ; leaching ; noble metals ; recycling ; tin |
| Abstract [eng] |
The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been intensely increasing over the recent decades. In this view, the efficient recovery of metals from WEEE will allow a secure supply of raw materials and will contribute to a circular economy. Among many factors currently affecting the contribution of recycling, is the lack of suitable technologies for WEEE treatment in an environmentally friendly way. Current trends in eco-friendly technologies applied for gold, silver, copper, and tin recovery by electrowinning are reviewed in this paper. In addition, a case study on the perspectives of tin electrowinning has been evaluated. Tin can be present in rather high quantities in WEEE; moreover, its price is about three times higher than that for copper. The electrorecovery of tin has been carried out in cooperation with JSC “Elektronikos perdirbimo technologijos”. The eco-friendly process based on electrowinning from citric acid-containing leachates is elaborated. The citrate-based solutions have been chosen because citric acid is considered to be an environmentally friendly component. A high deposition rate and current efficiency have been achieved at a deposition potential −0.85 V at 60 °C. However, additional steps would be beneficial to diminish the interference of metals present in the scraps, such as Pb(II) and Cu(II), on tin electrorecovery. |
| Published |
Basel : MDPI |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2023 |
| CC license |
|
