Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper

Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska 2022, vol. 24, pp. 371-382

Maciej Wędrychowicz¹ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Andrzej Piotrowicz¹, Izabela Gabryelewicz¹ , Patryk Krupa¹  , Oliwia Okoniewska¹, Petr Besta² , Andrea Samolejová² 

	1. University of Zielona Góra, Poland  2. VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic
	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

This article presents the methods of processing gold-plated pins from, among others, used computer equipment and discusses the results of own research on the recovered metal. Due to the relatively small structure of the pins and the fact that the gold layer is only a few microns thick, recovering gold from them constitutes a significant challenge. On the other hand, gold is a precious metal which enables the collective removal of other metals to obtain pure gold. The suggested method involves compacting the gold-plated pins into an anode form and carrying out the electro-refining process. Metals such as copper, tin and iron pass into the anode sludge from which they can be extracted or serve as a commercial intermediate to be sold to smelter plants. The anode sludge was melted in the flame of an oxy-acetylene torch in a graphite crucible by adding borax. As a result of the melting, several metallic precipitates were obtained, which were then hot-incorporated into a sample with a diameter of 30 mm and a height of 12 mm. Eventually, a pure gold alloy sample was obtained containing Cu 40.69%, Sn 9.61% and Au 48.58%.

gold electrorefining, e-waste, gold recovery

AMA Style
Wędrychowicz M, Piotrowicz A, Gabryelewicz I, Stryjski R, Krupa P, Okoniewska O, Besta P, Samolejová A. Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper. Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska. 2022; 24. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

ACM Style
Wędrychowicz, M., Piotrowicz, A., Gabryelewicz, I., Stryjski, R., Krupa, P., Okoniewska, O., Besta, P., Samolejová, A. 2022. Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper. Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska. 24. DOI:https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

ACS Style
Wędrychowicz, M.; Piotrowicz, A.; Gabryelewicz, I.; Stryjski, R.; Krupa, P.; Okoniewska, O.; Besta, P.; Samolejová, A. Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska 2022, 24, 371-382. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

APA Style
Wędrychowicz, M., Piotrowicz, A., Gabryelewicz, I., Stryjski, R., Krupa, P., Okoniewska, O., Besta, P., Samolejová, A. (2022). Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper. Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska, 24, 371-382. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

ABNT Style
WĘDRYCHOWICZ, M.; PIOTROWICZ, A.; GABRYELEWICZ, I.; STRYJSKI, R.; KRUPA, P.; OKONIEWSKA, O.; BESTA, P.; SAMOLEJOVÁ, A. Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper. Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska, v. 24, p. 371-382, 2022. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

Chicago Style
Wędrychowicz, Maciej, Piotrowicz, Andrzej, Gabryelewicz, Izabela, Stryjski, Roman, Krupa, Patryk, Okoniewska, Oliwia, Besta, Petr, Samolejová, Andrea. 2022. "Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper". Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska 24, 371-382. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

Harvard Style
Wędrychowicz, M., Piotrowicz, A., Gabryelewicz, I., Stryjski, R., Krupa, P., Okoniewska, O., Besta, P., Samolejová, A. (2022) "Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper", Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska, 24, pp. 371-382. doi:https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026

IEEE Style
M. Wędrychowicz, A. Piotrowicz, I. Gabryelewicz, R. Stryjski, P. Krupa, O. Okoniewska, P. Besta, A. Samolejová, "Recycling of Gold From Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment by Electrorefining of Copper", RoczOchrSrod, vol 24, pp. 371-382. https://doi.org/10.54740/ros.2022.026