Effect of Acid Leaching Pre-Treatment on Gold Extraction from Printed Circuit Boards of Spent Mobile Phones.

The effect of a preliminary acid leaching for the recovery of gold by thiourea from printed circuit boards (PCBs) of spent mobile phones, was investigated. Preliminary leaching is aimed to recover copper in the leachate that would compete with gold in the successive leaching of the residue with thiourea, thus preventing the formation of the gold-thiourea complex. Two hydrometallurgical routes were tested for the recovery of copper first, and gold after. The first one was based on a two-step leaching that utilizes sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in the preliminary leaching and then thiourea for the recovery of gold in the successive leaching: A copper and gold recovery of 81% and 79% were obtained, respectively. In the second route, nitric acid was used: 100% of copper was recovered in the leachate and 85% of gold in the thiourea successive leaching. The main operative parameters, namely thiourea and ferric sulphate concentrations, leach time, liquid-solid ratio, and temperature were studied according to a factorial plan strategy. A flowsheet of the processes was proposed, and a mass balance of both routes was obtained. Finally, qualitative considerations on the technical and economic feasibility of the different routes were made.

Leaching test procedure for assessing the compliance of the chemical and environmental requirements of hardened woody biomass fly ash cement mixtures.

The compliance of the chemical and environmental requirements for using woody biomass fly ash (WBFA) as a mineral admixture in cement-based materials was studied in terms of the use of the cement-biomass fly ash concrete where the fluids surrounding and interacting with it renew themselves over time. The study was preceded by a preliminary characterization of WBFA whose results showed that the European chemical requirements (EN 450-1, 2012) established for the reuse of coal fly ash in cement-based materials (there is no normative for WBFA) were met except for the chloride content. A blend with a quite high content of WBFA (30%) and Portland cement (70%) was prepared to test the leaching behaviour of the cement-biomass fly ash concrete. After that, cubic specimens were cast from a paste with water:solid ratio 0.5 and subsequently cured for 28 days at 20 °C. Monolith leaching tests were carried out on the specimens for heavy metals leachability, following the standard leaching test NEN 7345 that was modified to make it able to simulate an aggressive environmental context where the hardened cementitious material was supposed to be placed. The results have shown a good capacity of the cement-biomass fly ash material to immobilize the heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) present in the WBFA. Also, the extrapolated releases of these metals after 100 years were found below the limits established by the Dutch Building Materials Decree. Thus, the reuse of WBFA in cement-based materials may be considered compatible with the environmental requirements.

Evaluation of the leachability of heavy metals from cement-based materials.

A new leaching test on comminuted (0.125-2.0mm gradation) cementitious matrices, designated as Modified-Pore Water (M-PW) test, was developed to evaluate the effect of varying leachate pH (4-12.8) and/or liquid-to-solid, L/S, ratio (0.6-50 dm(3)/kg) on the availability factor, F(AV), of heavy metals. The M-PW test was applied to leaching of lead and zinc ions from ground Portland cement mortar incorporating Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator (MSWI) fly ash. Correlation of M-PW test results (F(AV)-L/S data) allowed the determination of the pore-liquid availability factor, F(AVP), at different leachate pHs. These F(AVP) values were utilized, in conjunction with a kinetic pseudo-diffusional model, to evaluate the leaching behavior of monolithic mortar specimens subjected to dynamic leaching tests (constant leachant pH 4 or 6).A good agreement was found between the effective diffusion coefficients, D(e), of lead and zinc ions calculated by such a methodological approach and those obtained from recognized microstructural models. In contrast, no satisfactory agreement was found when these D(e) values were compared with the ones calculated from the results of other availability tests on granular solid samples (NEN 7341 and AAT tests).

Reuse of cement-solidified municipal incinerator fly ash in cement mortars: physico-mechanical and leaching characteristics.

The reuse of cement-solidified Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator (MSWI) fly ash (solidified/stabilised (S/S) product) as an artificial aggregate in Portland cement mortars was investigated. The S/S product consisted of a mixture of 48 wt.% washed MSWI fly ash, 20 wt.% Portland cement and 32 wt.% water, aged for 365 days at 20 degrees C and 100% RH. Cement mortars (water/cement weight ratio=0.62) were made with Portland cement, S/S product and natural sand at three replacement levels of sand with S/S product (0%, 10% and 50% by mass). After 28 days of curing at 20 degrees C and 100% RH, the mortar specimens were characterised for their physico-mechanical (porosity, compressive strength) and leaching behaviour. No retardation in strength development, relatively high compressive strengths (up to 36 N/mm2) and low leaching rates of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) were always recorded. The leaching data from sequential leach tests on monolithic specimens were successfully elaborated with a pseudo-diffusional model including a chemical retardation factor related to the partial dissolution of contaminant.