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Technoeconomic Assessment of Organic Halide Based Gold Recovery from Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment

Author

Listed:
  • Jamie Wordsworth

    (Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Nadia Khan

    (Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Jack Blackburn

    (Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Jason E. Camp

    (Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
    Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK)

  • Athanasios Angelis-Dimakis

    (Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

Abstract

Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide, with significant economic value due to the precious metals contained within. Currently, only a small share of the total globally produced quantity produced is treated effectively and a large amount of valuable non-renewable resources are being wasted. Moreover, the methods currently applied in industry on a large scale are not always environmentally friendly. Thus, an economically viable and environmentally friendly method that would achieve high recovery of certain elements is sought. The objective of this paper is to assess four different organic halides as leaching agents for gold recovery from WEEE. Two of them have been previously tested (namely N -bromosuccinimide, NBS, and N -chlorosuccinimide, NCS) and have shown promising results, whereas the other two are novel and were selected due to their lower toxicity levels (trichloroisocyanuric acid, TCICA, and tribromoisocyanuric acid, TBICA). Both commercially supplied pure gold powder and WEEE dust from a recycling company were used as the gold source. Results show that from a technical standpoint, the NBS is a superior solution with both substrates, reaching 61% and 99% extraction efficiency from WEEE dust and pure gold, respectively. The other three methods recorded lower recovery efficiency (with the highest value reaching 36% for NCS, 53% for TCICA and 29% for TBICA). However, taking into account the price of gold and the expenses of the extraction process, only three of the lixiviants tested (NBS, NCS and TCICA) could be potentially profitable and viable on a larger scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Jamie Wordsworth & Nadia Khan & Jack Blackburn & Jason E. Camp & Athanasios Angelis-Dimakis, 2021. "Technoeconomic Assessment of Organic Halide Based Gold Recovery from Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-12, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:10:y:2021:i:2:p:17-:d:502838
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Perrine Chancerel & Christina E.M. Meskers & Christian Hagelüken & Vera Susanne Rotter, 2009. "Assessment of Precious Metal Flows During Preprocessing of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 13(5), pages 791-810, October.
    2. Alessandro Pellis & James W. Comerford & Simone Weinberger & Georg M. Guebitz & James H. Clark & Thomas J. Farmer, 2019. "Enzymatic synthesis of lignin derivable pyridine based polyesters for the substitution of petroleum derived plastics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Borthakur, Anwesha & Govind, Madhav, 2017. "Emerging trends in consumers’ E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness: A worldwide overview with special focus on India," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 102-113.
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