Recovery of copper from pre-concentrated printed circuit boards (PCBS) by catalyzed acidic leaching

This study aimed to extract copper from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) through a sequential process involving physical pre-concentration via a shaking table, followed by acid leaching. A shredder and hammer mill were utilized to fragment the various components of the PCB into particles smaller than 1 mm. The shaking table pre-concentration tests revealed that the heavy fraction exhibited a copper grade of 56.4 % with a yield of 89.6 %. Subsequent leaching of the copper concentrate, using a solution containing 1 M H2SO4 and 4 vol. % H2O2 at 50?C for two hours, resulted in a copper extraction efficiency exceeding 95 % with a solid ratio of 2 wt. %/V.