Catalysing electrowinning of copper from E-waste: A critical review

Abstract

Smart technologies and digitalisation have increased the consumption of scarce metals that threaten the sustainability of intricated industries. Additionally, the growing streams of waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste) are significant hazards to public health and the environment. Thus, there is an escalating need to recover metals from e-waste for sustainable management of metal resources. Hydrometallurgical processing of e-waste, involving copper (Cu) leaching and its subsequent recovery from pregnant leach solution (PLS) via electrowinning, has emerged as an efficient strategy to close the recycling loop. Electrowinning from PLS demonstrated higher Cu recovery efficiency and operational feasibility with a lower reagent use and lesser waste generation. Nevertheless, multiple issues challenged its practical implementation, including selective recovery of Cu from PLS containing mixed metals and high energy consumption. This review (1) identifies the factors affecting Cu electrowinning from PLS; (2) evaluates the composition of lixiviants influencing Cu electrowinning; (3) appraises various catalysts developed for enhancing Cu electrodeposition; and (4) reviews coupled systems that minimised process energy consumption. From the literature review, electrocatalysts are prospective candidates for improving Cu electrowinning as they reduced the cathodic reduction overpotentials, enhanced surface reaction kinetics and increased current efficiency. Other catalysts, including bioelectrocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysts, are applicable for dilute electrolytes with further investigations required to validate their feasibility. The coupled systems, including slurry electrolysis, bioelectrochemical systems and coupled redox fuel cells, minimise process energy requirements by systematically coupling the cathodic reduction reaction with suitable anodic oxidation reactions having thermodynamically low overpotentials. Among these systems, slurry electrolysis utilising a single-step processing of e-waste is feasible for commericalisation though operational challenges must be addressed to improve its sustainability. The other systems require further studies to improve their scalability. It provides an important direction for energy-efficient Cu electrowinning from PLS, ultimately promoting a circular economy for the scarce metal resources.

Keywords: Copper electrodeposition; E-Waste; Electro-leaching; Electro-metallurgy; Metal recycling; Microbial electrochemical systems.