Copper Leaching Behavior from Waste Printed Circuit Board in Ammoniacal Alkaline Solution

A novel energy-saving hydrometallurgical recovery process for copper from electronic scrap employing the Cu(I)-ammine complex has been presented on the basis of a thermodynamic consideration. In order to experimentally explore the feasibility of the leaching stage in this process, the copper leaching behavior from a printed circuit board (PCB) in ammoniacal alkaline solutions has been investigated under a nitrogen atmosphere. Copper in PCB was oxidized by Cu(II) to form Cu(I)-ammine complex ions. The leaching reaction can be expressed as: Cu+Cu(NH3)42+=2Cu(NH3)2+. The Cu(II)-ammine complex significantly enhanced the leaching rate, while the Cu(I)-ammine complex slightly depressed it. Crushing of the PCB effectively enhanced the leaching rate, because the exposed metallic copper area is increased by the crushing. The effect of temperature on the leaching rate was insignificant. Consequently, the feasibility of the leaching stage in the proposed copper recovery process has been experimentally confirmed.