Study of the Recovery and Purification of Copper from the Recycling of Motherboard Waste and Its Application for Nanoparticle Synthesis

Metals can be reused from different residues as an alternative for the synthesis of nanoparticles. This can add value to the recycling process through the reuse of raw materials, the mitigation of contamination to the environment and human health, and the amount of waste to be discarded/treated, representing an economic, social, and environmental opportunity. Thus, this study proposed a complete route to recover and purify Cu from motherboard waste. A solution with more than 97% Cu was recovered from the scrap through a two-step leaching process, and subsequently, batch tests were realized with resin M4194 and S950 for the purification process. After this, the pH, temperature, and type of resin values were chosen for the next steps of purification. A system composed of three fixed-bed columns (using M4195 resin, flow rate of 1.50 BV h(-1), 30 cm bed height, pH 0.5, and at 298 K) was proposed. Thus, at the end of the recycling process, pure Cu precursor solution (> 99.40%) can be obtained with about 80% of the initial Cu mass. Nanoparticles were synthesized using eluted liquor as a precursor and ascorbic acid as a reducer and stabilizer, forming spherical particles with an average diameter of 160 nm.