Copper recovery from waste printed circuit boards using pyrite as the bioleaching substrate.

Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) can be bioleached for Cu recovery, but lack of substrate for the bioleaching culture. In this study, using pyrite as a bacterial substrate for bioleaching WPCBs and recovering Cu was explored. The results showed that the WPCBs bioleaching using pyrite as the bacterial substrate was feasible. Mechanical crushing was a suitable WPCBs pretreatment method. The optimal WPCBs and pyrite pulp densities were respectively found to be 1.25% (w/v) and 1.0% (w/v), and the suitable nitrogen source ratio ((NH4)2SO4: (NH4)2HPO4) was deemed as 2 g/L: 2 g/L, achieving a Cu2+ leaching efficiency of 95.60 ± 1.57% in 14 d. Copper in the bioleaching solution can be directly recovery via electrodeposition. The Cu recovery efficiency in 60 min was up to 92.19 ± 1.35% under the optimal condition that the initial Cu2+ concentration and pH were respectively set at 7.34 g/L and 2.75, and the current density was set at 200 A/m2. Copper was found as the dominant metal in the cathode deposits, existing in the form of Cu and Cu2O. This work provided a novel approach for bioleaching WPCBs and recovering Cu.

Biogas utilization without desulfurization pretreatment in a bioelectrochemical system.

Utilizing biogas as a fuel for heating and power generation usually requires desulfurization pretreatment. In this study, the biogas utilization without desulfurization pretreatment in a bioelectrochemical system (BES) was explored. The results showed that the biogas-fueled BES was successfully started up within 36 d and the presence of hydrogen sulfide promoted both methane consumption and electricity generation. The optimal performance (i.e., a methane consumption of 0.523 ± 0.004 mmol/d, a peak voltage of 577 ± 1 mV, a coulomb production of 37.86 ± 0.43C/d, a coulombic efficiency of 9.37 ± 0.06 % and the maximum power density of 2.070 W/m3) was obtained under bicarbonate buffer solution and 40 °C conditions. The addition of 1 mg/L sulfide and 5 mg/L L-cysteine facilitated methane consumption and electricity generation. In the anode biofilm, the dominant bacteria were Sulfurivermis, unclassified_o__Ignavibacteriales and Lentimicrobium, while Methanobacterium, Methanosarcina and Methanothrix were the predominant archaea. Besides, the metagenomics profiles reveal that anaerobic methane oxidation and electricity generation were closely related to sulfur metabolism. These findings provide a novel approach for utilizing biogas without desulfurization pretreatment.

Role of Melt Plasticizing Temperature in Morphology and Properties of PE100 Pipes Prepared by a Rotational Shear System.

To increase the maximum internal pressure that a polyethylene (PE) pipe can withstand, a novel rotational shear system (RSS) was constructed in this study to fabricate PE pipes with enhanced hoop strength by applying hoop shear on the pipes using a rotational mandrel. The microstructure and morphology with the influences of melt plasticizing temperature on PE pipes processing under rotational shear were investigated indirectly using small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS/WAXD) measurements. In the SAXS patterns, equatorial streaks and meridional scattering peaks were clearly observed in all three samples prepared at different melt plasticizing temperatures, 215, 235, and 255 °C. Their presence indicated that shish-kebab crystals form in rotational shear. Compared to those at the low melt temperature, the increase in the melt temperature enhanced the amount and the dimensions of shish formed. However, the shish also relaxed faster at the high melt temperature. This behavior was attributed to the enhancement of the molecular chain's athletic ability. The hoop tensile strength and the heat resistance of the pipes peaked at the melt plasticizing temperature of 235 °C, 75.2 MPa, 102.4 °C, up 1 MPa, 0.2 °C (compared to the 215 °C) and 7.8 MPa, 3.2 °C (compared to the 255 °C). The axial strength increased with an increase of melt plasticizing temperature. However, the increase of melt plasticizing temperature worsens the inherent good tensile toughness of PE100 pipes as the axial elongation at break decreases.