Recovery of copper from waste printed circuit boards by suspension electrolysis

Copper was recovered from waste printed circuit board using suspension electrolysis technique in this paper. The relationships between the current efficiency, copper products purity, copper products morphology and the electrolytic conditions have been studied. When copper ion concentration was 50 g/L, sulfuric acid concentration was 90 g/L and the current density was 1.0 A/dm(2), current efficiency of electrolysis is improved effectively. With setting the stirring device outside the anode basket, high purity of copper is obtained when the concentration of chloride ion is 30 mg/L, concentration of copper is 40g/L and the current density is 1.0 A/dm(2). Smooth and compact copper is obtained when the concentration of gelatin and thiourea are 5 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively.