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Recovery of critical metals from leach solution of electronic waste using magnetite electrospun carbon nanofibres composite

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Abstract

Scarcity in mining and geo-political direction diverts attention toward critical metal recycling. Gallium (Ga), indium (In) and germanium (Ge) are among the critical metals that consume approximately 80% of world mining in the innovative production of electrical and electronic equipment. The fast obsolescing rate generates a large amount of electronic waste, which is now seen as a secondary reservoir for critical metals. These metal resources need to be dealt with with effective recycling capabilities. Based on solid-phase extraction, magnetic nano-hydrometallurgy is opening a new area of metallic contents recovery in conventional hydrometallurgy. In the present work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based electrospun nanofibres were synthesized and carbonized at 800 °C in an inert environment. After surface oxidation, carbon nanofibres were decorated with magnetite particles through co-precipitation. The saturation magnetization value (Ms = 23.6 emu/g) confirms high loading of magnetite particles. The selected critical metal ions are freely present in an aqueous solution at pH 1 to 3; thus, highest removal efficiency was observed at pH 2. Pseudo-second-order kinetics confirm the chemical/charge interaction between sorbent and sorbate ions. Maximum sorption capacity calculated through Langmuir isotherm was 226, 191 and 171 mg/g for Ge(IV), Ga(III) and In(III) metal ions, respectively. The RL value (0 < RL < 1) indicates favourable sorption process. The sorbed target metal ions were collectively eluted using 1 mol/L hydrochloric acid. The preconcentration factor was calculated at 1080 for Ge(IV) and In(III) while 1260 for Ga(III). The method was validated with 5 µg/mL spiked multi-element standards and applied to multiple acid-leached electronic waste samples like PCBs, waste LCD panels and solar panels. Recoveries in the range of 96.2% for Ga(III), 95.6% for In(III) and 97.4% for Ge(IV) in the presence of diverse ions indicate the suitability of the proposed method for target metal ions even in a complex matrix.

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Abbreviations

CMs:

Critical metals

e waste:

Electronic waste

ESCNFs:

Electrospun carbon nanofibres

M-ESCNFs:

Magnetic electrospun carbon nanofibres

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

FESEM:

Field emission scanning electron microscope

ICP-OES:

Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer

LED:

Light-emitting diodes

LCD:

Liquid crystal display

LOD:

Limit of detection

MSPE:

Magnetic solid-phase extraction

Ms:

Saturation magnetization

PAN:

Polyacrylonitrile

PCBs:

Printed circuit boards

PMs:

Precious metals

PWBs:

Printed wire board

SPE:

Solid-phase extraction

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

VSM:

Vibrating sample magnetometer

WEEE:

Waste electrical and electronic equipment

XRD:

X-ray diffraction analysis

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    Aamir Iqbal, M. Rasul Jan & Jasmin Shah

  2. NINVAST, NCP Complex Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Aamir Iqbal & Bahroz Rashid

  3. Department of Physics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    Bahroz Rashid

Authors
  1. Aamir Iqbal
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  2. M. Rasul Jan
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  3. Jasmin Shah
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  4. Bahroz Rashid
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Contributions

Jasmin Shah contributed to the conception and design of the experiment. Aamir Iqbal conducted the experiments and wrote the text of the manuscript. Bahroz Rashid performed the FTIR, TGA, XRD, and VSM analysis. M. Rasul Jan was involved in the writing, review and editing of the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jasmin Shah.

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Iqbal, A., Jan, M.R., Shah, J. et al. Recovery of critical metals from leach solution of electronic waste using magnetite electrospun carbon nanofibres composite. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 88763–88778 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21843-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21843-1

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