Title: Electrochemical recovery of copper from the waste computer printed circuit board

Authors: Jayashree Mohanty; Puspita Biswal; Subhashree Subhasmita Mishra; Tamasa Rani Das Mohapatra

Addresses: Department of Chemistry, C.V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-752054, India ' Department of Chemistry, C.V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-752054, India ' Department of Chemistry, C.V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-752054, India ' Department of Chemistry, C.V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-752054, India

Abstract: The present study reports the direct utilisation of waste computer printed circuit board (PCB) piece for copper recovery through an electrochemical route, that involves simultaneous electrochemical dissolution and deposition of copper from the waste compute PCB piece in an acidic electrolyte (1 M H₂SO₄). The PCB piece was used as anode and a stainless steel (SS) plate was used as cathode during electrolysis. In order to make the PCB piece conducting it was clamped to the graphite plate during electrolysis. Electrolysis was conducted at a cell potential of 1.8 V. In order to know the effect of electrolyte on the said electrochemical process, different quantities of 1 M sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) solutions were added to the acid electrolyte during electrolysis. The results showed a significant effect on various electrochemical parameters such as current density, current efficiency etc. due to addition of Na₂SO₄ solution to the acidic electrolyte.

Keywords: electrochemical; copper; waste computer PCB.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2025.143562

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2025 Vol.13 No.1, pp.1 - 11

Received: 05 Jan 2023
Accepted: 21 Nov 2023
Published online: 30 Dec 2024 *

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