Ricerc@Sapienza

The effect of a preliminary acid leaching for the recovery of gold by thiourea from printed circuit boards (PCBs) of spent mobile phones, was investigated. Preliminary leaching is aimed to recover copper in the leachate that would compete with gold in the successive leaching of the residue with thiourea, thus preventing the formation of the gold-thiourea complex. Two hydrometallurgical routes were tested for the recovery of copper first, and gold after.

Photovoltaic (PV) technology configures as a competitive technological alternative to convert solar radiation into electricity, and it is expected to provide a fundamental contribution to the transition from traditional fossil fuels to economies based on renewable energy. This technology has been applied since the 1980s, with the first significant installation dating back to the early 1990s. Si-crystalline (mono and poly) panels represent the most consolidated PV technology and have dominated the PV market over the past decades, with 92% of the PV market share.