Manis Kumar Jha

Thiosulfate leaching of gold from waste mobile phones

The present communication deals with the leaching of gold from the printed circuit boards (PCBs) of waste mobile phones using an effective and less hazardous system, i.e., a copper-ammonia-thiosulfate solution, as an alternative to the conventional and toxic cyanide leaching of gold. The influence of thiosulfate, ammonia and copper sulfate concentrations on the leaching of gold from PCBs of waste mobile phones was investigated. Gold extraction was found to be enhanced with solutions containing 15-20 mM cupric, 0.1-0.14 M thiosulfate, and 0.2-0.3 M ammonia. Similar trends were obtained for the leaching of gold from two different types of scraps and PCBs of waste mobile phones. From the scrap samples, 98% of the gold was leached out using a solution containing 20 mM copper, 0.12 M thiosulfate and 0.2 M ammonia. Similarly, the leaching of gold from the PCBs samples was also found to be good, but it was lower than that of scrap samples in similar experimental conditions. In this case, only 90% of the gold was leached, even with a contact time of 10h. The obtained data will be useful for the development of processes for the recycling of gold from waste mobile phones.

Adsorption of copper from the sulphate solution of low copper contents using the cationic resin Amberlite IR 120.

In view of the increasing importance of the waste processing and recycling to meet the strict environmental regulations, the present investigation reports an adsorption process using the cationic exchanger Amberlite IR 120 for the recovery/removal of copper from the synthetic sulphate solution containing copper <or=0.7 mg/mL similar to the CMP waste effluent of electronic industry. Various process parameters, viz. contact time, solution pH, resin dose, and acid concentration of eluant were investigated for the adsorption of copper from the effluents. The 99.99% copper was found to be adsorbed from the sulphate solution containing copper 0.3-0.7 mg/mL of solution (feed pH 5) at A/R ratio 100 and eq. pH 2.5 in contact time 14 min. The mechanism for the adsorption of copper was found to follow Langmuir isotherm and second order rate. From the loaded organic, copper was eluted effectively by 1.8M sulphuric acid at A/R ratio 25. The raffinate obtained after the recovery copper could be disposed safely without affecting the environment.

SOLVENT EXTRACTION OF ZINC FROM CHLORIDE SOLUTIONS

ABSTRACT Solvent extraction gains importance in the hydrometallurgical processing of ores, and in concentration and even processing of secondaries, due to development of new organic extractants which selectively extract metals from complex leach solutions. Organic solvents selectively extract the desired metals leaving other constituents in the aqueous raffinate, or sometimes minor impurities are extracted to purify the leach solution for further processing and metal recovery. In the present paper, a review has been made for the extraction and separation of zinc from the chloride solution using various organic reagents viz. acidic, basic and solvating. The paper highlights the extraction of zinc from complex chloride solution containing different impurities, in particular kinetics and mechanism of extraction, species formed in the organic phase, stripping of zinc from the organic phase etc.

Adsorption of gold(III) from waste rinse water of semiconductor manufacturing industries using Amberlite XAD-7HP resin

Advanced hydrometallurgical separation processes are gaining significant importance for the recovery of gold from the aqueous solutions viz. leach liquor of waste electronics, plating material solutions, and waste wash water from electronic industries. In the present investigation, gold adsorption from the waste rinse water of semiconductor manufacturing industries is reported using Amberlite XAD-7HP. For experimental purposes, chloride waste rinse water that contained primarily Au (281 mg/ L) with trace amounts of Cu, Ni, Zn, Sn etc was used. Batch studies were carried out to optimize various process parameters, including contact time, acidity of solution, and resin dosage for the adsorption of gold from the above waste effluent. Adsorption of 92.25% gold was found from the waste solution within a contact time of 30 minutes at an aqueous to resin (A/R) ratio of 25 mL/g and an equilibrium pH of 0.63. In optimal conditions, the loading capacity of resin for gold was observed to be 58.82 mg of gold/g of resin. The gold adsorption phenomena were confirmed by the comparative FT-IR spectroscopic characterization studies of fresh resin and gold loaded resin. Elution tests were carried out for the elution of gold from the gold loaded resin using various ratio mixtures of acetone and 1.0 M HCl. An elution efficiency of 96.96% gold was achieved at an acetone-to-acid ratio of 9. In this condition, gold-enriched solution containing 7,240 mg gold/ L was obtained. The maximum elution of gold was found to be 99.33% using pure acetone in a contact time of 30 minutes. The data obtained will be useful to simulate the continuous gold adsorption process within a column.

Resource recycling of superalloys and hydrometallurgical challenges

Superalloys are high melting temperature, excellent creep resistance, anti-corrosive, and oxidation resistant alloys; they are predominantly used in gas turbines of aircraft engines and power plants. Today, a series of superalloys is available according to their composition and applications. The tough nature of superalloys makes it difficult to recycle them after they are formed; this increases the demand and shortage of the energy-critical elements that are their raw materials and makes their processing one of the most demanding form of recycling today. A few processes are available, and some of these unique recycling systems are in use; however, a lack of data and/or information exists for two reasons: (i) scrap recycling is most frequently performed by superalloy manufacturers themselves (not always by the same unit) by recharging them into molten charges, and (ii) the recycler does not want to produce business for their rivals. This article presents an overview of the processes investigated to recycle superalloys, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. The available processes are not very technologically or economically feasible; therefore, further efforts are necessary to explore these processes and to make a value-added product by recycling superalloys rather than just re-melting them. Considering the continuously increasing number of alloyed elements in advanced superalloys, this paper also notes to the challenges associated with hydrometallurgical recycling of superalloys and the need for future studies on this topic.Graphical Abstract

Leaching studies for tin recovery from waste e-scrap

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are the most essential components of all electrical and electronic equipments, which contain noteworthy quantity of metals, some of which are toxic to life and all of which are valuable resources. Therefore, recycling of PCBs is necessary for the safe disposal/utilization of these metals. Present paper is a part of developing Indo-Korean recycling technique consists of organic swelling pre-treatment technique for the liberation of thin layer of metallic sheet and the treatment of epoxy resin to remove/recover toxic soldering material. To optimize the parameters required for recovery of tin from waste PCBs, initially the bench scale studies were carried out using fresh solder (containing 52.6% Sn and 47.3% Pb) varying the acid concentration, temperature, mixing time and pulp density. The experimental data indicate that 95.79% of tin was leached out from solder material using 5.5M HCl at fixed pulp density 50 g/L and temperature 90°C in mixing time 165 min. Kinetic studies followed the chemical reaction controlled dense constant size cylindrical particles with activation energy of 117.68 kJ/mol. However, 97.79% of tin was found to be leached out from solder materials of liberated swelled epoxy resin using 4.5M HCl at 90°C, mixing time 60 min and pulp density 50 g/L. From the leach liquor of solder materials of epoxy resin, the precipitate of sodium stannate as value added product was obtained at pH 1.9. The Pb from the leach residue was removed by using 0.1M nitric acid at 90°C in mixing time 45 min and pulp density 10g/L. The metal free epoxy resin could be disposed-of safely/used as filling material without affecting the environment.

Review on the Processes for the Recovery of Rare Earth Metals (REMs) from Secondary Resources

Treatment of secondary/waste to recover rare earth metals (REMs) is gaining importance due to its increasing global demand, lack of availability of high grade natural resources and huge generation of secondaries. Present paper reports the critical review on available processes for recovery of REMs from secondaries viz. manufacturing scraps, e-waste, industrial residues such as red mud, fly ash, waste water, etc. Hydrometallurgical processes with combination of Beneficiation/Pyro-/Electro techniques are discussed to recover REMs effectively. The recommended processes require less energy to deliver high purity yield which is one step towards green environment. Salient findings on various methods are reported with recommendations which will be helpful to researchers working in the area of REMs extraction.

Recovery of Manganese from Scrap Batteries of Mobile Phones

Present work is focused on the recovery of Mn as a value added product from the leach liquor of scrap lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) of mobile phones by the method of precipitation. The LIBs were crushed and beneficiated by wet scrubbing method to separate cathodic material, plastic and metallic parts. The cathodic material was found to contain 11.3% Mn, 10% Co, 2.4% Cu and 2.4% Li. The cathodic material was processed for leaching under the optimized condition developed by our group at CSIR-NML. Solvent extraction method was used to extract acid using organic extractant Tris(2-ethylhexyl)amine (TEHA) in order to reduce the consumption of alkali required during precipitation studies. The acid free leach liquor was subjected to purification for removal of Fe, Li, Cu and Co as precipitate at different pH. Systematic precipitation studies were carried in batch and continuous mode to recover Mn as Mn(OH)2 at pH ~10 which was further roasted at 450 °C for 4 h to get pure Mn3O4.

Commercial Processes for the Extraction of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)

Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) play a significant role in the manufacturing of catalysts, super alloys, electronics, space materials, biomedical equipments, jewellery, etc. due to their excellent electrical and thermal conductivity as well as chemical resistivity. The rising demand of PGMs in industrial applications and their limited natural resources have laid emphasis on the development of feasible and eco-friendly processes for the extraction of these metals from different sources to meet their future requirements. Present review reports commercial processes based on pyro-/hydro- and hybrid techniques to recover PGMs from various resources. The salient findings on different processes used for recovery of PGMs have been reviewed with respect to various methodologies and objectives.

Processes developed for the separation of europium (Eu) from various resources

Europium (Eu), one of the most significant rare earth (RE) elements, has wide applications as functional material in phosphor production, majorly used in fluorescent lamps, computer monitors, televisions etc. Eu is one of the three divalent lanthanides (along with Yb and Sm) having a reduction potential higher than −2 V. This possibility of Eu reduction is attributed to a relatively stable half-filled 4f7 electronic configuration, thus providing a high stabilization energy and selective recovery. But the Eu recuperation from natural minerals is either accompanied with other REs or Eu is recovered as a group of light REs. Selective recovery of Eu has sparked the progress for its reutilization through recycling of secondary resources. The perspectives of reclaiming Eu as a value added product from various sources using different pyro-hydro or hybrid techniques are discussed. The systematic research and salient findings on methods, viz., reduction, leaching, solvent extraction, as well as combined methods scaled-up to commercial scale to recover Eu, are also reported with recommendations. Thus, this comparative as well as summarized review hopes to help researchers to develop feasible processes for Eu recovery.