Breakthrough in Nanotechnology: Efficient Copper Recovery from Waste Printed Circuit Boards

Strategic Insights -

Researchers from the Shandong University of Science and Technology have made significant progress in developing an eco-friendly and high-efficiency method for recovering copper from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). This innovative approach utilizes a malic acid leaching system to extract copper, achieving a leaching rate of 95.21% under optimal conditions. The study's findings have been published in the journal Chemical Engineering Journal, a leading publication in the field of chemical engineering.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research team, led by Xiang-nan Zhu, has developed a malic acid leaching system to recover copper from WPCBs, achieving a maximum leaching rate of 95.21% under optimal conditions.
  • The study investigated key leaching parameters, including malic acid concentration, leaching temperature, and particle size, to evaluate their impact on copper leaching efficiency.
  • The team elucidated the underlying leaching mechanism of copper through leaching kinetics and residue characterization, revealing a mixture of diffusion and chemical reaction controls the leaching process.
  • The research demonstrates the effectiveness of the liquid phase reduction method in preparing dispersed particles and high-purity micro-nano copper powders.
  • The study's outcomes have implications for the efficient recovery of copper resources from waste printed circuit boards, reducing environmental pollution and the demand for primary copper production.

Statistics:

  • 95.21%: Maximum leaching rate of copper achieved under optimal conditions.
  • 32.72-39.71 kJ/mol: Activation energies for the leaching process of copper in copper concentrates of different grain sizes.
  • 100-2000 nm: Sizes of micro-nano copper particles produced through the liquid phase reduction method.
  • 2025: Year in which the research was published.
  • 523: Volume number of the journal issue in which the study was published.

Sources:

  • VerticalNews, "Fresh Data on Nanotechnology: Nano-Copper Reported by Shandong University of Science and Technology" (2025)
  • Xiang-nan Zhu et al., "An Innovative and Clean Strategy To Recover Copper Resources From Waste Printed Circuit Boards: Malic Acid Leaching and Micro-nano Copper Preparation" (2025), Chemical Engineering Journal, 523.
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province, Project of Shandong Province Higher Educational Youth Innovation Science and Technology Program.