Glassy Powder Derived from Waste Printed Circuit Boards for Methylene Blue Adsorption

Year: 2024

Authors: Javaid S., Zanoletti A., Serpe A., Bontempi E., Alessandri I., Vassalini I.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Brescia, Dept Informat Engn, Sustainable Chem & Mat Lab, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; Univ Brescia, Dept Mech & Ind Engn, Chem Technol Lab, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; Res Unit Brescia, Unit Natl Interuniv Consortium Mat Sci & Technol I, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; Dept Civil & Environm Engn & Architecture DICAAR, INSTM Unit, Via Marengo 2, I-09123 Cagliari, Italy; Natl Res Council Italy, Inst Environm Geol & Geoengn CNR IGAG, Via Marengo 2, I-09123 Cagliari, Italy; CNR, Res Unit Brescia, CNR INO, Natl Inst Opt, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy.

Abstract: Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world and Europe is classified as the first producer in terms of per capita amount. To reduce the environmental impact of e-waste, it is important to recycle it. This work shows the possibility of reusing glassy substrates, derived from the MW-assisted acidic leaching of Waste Printed Circuit Boards (WPCBs), as an adsorbent material. The results revealed an excellent adsorption capability against methylene blue (MB; aqueous solutions in the concentration range 10-5 M-2 x 10-5 M, at pH = 7.5). Comparisons were performed with reference samples such as activated carbons (ACs), the adsorbent mostly used at the industrial level; untreated PCB samples; and ground glass slides. The obtained results show that MW-treated WPCB powder outperformed both ground glass and ground untreated PCBs in MB adsorption, almost matching AC adsorption. The use of this new adsorbent obtained through the valorization of e-waste offers advantages not only in terms of cost but also in terms of environmental sustainability.

Journal/Review: MOLECULES

Volume: 29 (2)      Pages from: 400-1  to: 400-12

More Information: The authors thank Leonardo Lauri for the SEM analysis and Serena Ducoli for assisting during DLS measurements. Graphical abstract and Figure 3a were created with BioRender.com, accessed on 10 January 2024.
KeyWords: methylene blue; adsorption; e-waste; recycling; printed circuit boards; glass fibers; water remediation
DOI: 10.3390/molecules29020400

Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here