Literature Review of Hydrometallurgical Recycling of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

Hao Cui and Corby G Anderso

Abstract

This study provides an up-to-date review of recycling of printed circuit boards (PCBs), specifically in hydrometallurgical treatment. Waste printed circuit boards, which are rich in base and precious metals, are the essential component of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. From the economic and environmental perspectives, the efficient recycling of PCBs is of importance. For the extraction of metals from PCBs, a large amount of work has been done to establish an environmentally friendly and economic way to recover metals from PCBs based on physical, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes. Among those processes, hydrometallurgy is a promising treatment due to its low capital cost, high selectivity and lower environmental impact. This review emphasizes the recycling of PCBs by physical and hydrometallurgical treatments.