The rapid growth of information technology and industrialization are the key components for the development of electronic equipment, and their inevitable role in human day-to-day life has an important stint in the generation of electronic waste (e-waste). This waste has far-reaching environmental and health consequences. One such e-waste printed circuit board (PCB) contains significant amounts of valuable heavy metals such as copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), and others that can be extracted through various metallurgical routes. Recovery and recycle of heavy metal ions is a major challenge to prevent environmental contamination. The present study discusses the current e-waste scenario, health impacts and treatment methods in detail, and also presents experimental results of recovery of heavy metals from printed circuit boards (PCBs) by leaching using aqua regia (HCI + HNO3 and HCI + H2SO4). Under varying conditions such as specified conditions of 80°C, 0.05 mm of thickness, 3 hrs of contacttime, 80rpm shaking speed, and concentration of PCB sample of 0.5 g ml−1, it results in the composition of extracted heavy metal ions in such a way that 97.59% of copper, 96.59% of lead, 94.66% of tin, and 96.64% of zinc, respectively. The recovery of heavy metal ions from PCBs has an important leading contribution in electronic waste management and the result shows a higher rate.

The recent advancements in technology play a pivotal role in mankind’s life and have a significant stint in the generation of E-waste. The present investigation focuses on the recovery of heavy metals from Printed Circuit boards (PCBs) by applying two efficient techniques viz., leaching and adsorption. A combination of leaching and adsorption is a novel and productive approach to recovering heavy metals from like PCBs. After the phases of chemical leaching, the solution was recovered through adsorption and is eco-friendly. The process is carried out to increase the separation rate, reduce the time spent and reach the limits of incineration and pyrolysis methods. Adsorption provides the recovery of heavy metals with respect to the required adsorbent since it is a surface phenomenon. The optimum condition of process variables was found through response surface methodology (RSM). The maximum recovery of copper ions (97.33%) was obtained at the optimum operating conditions such as adsorbent size of 0.04 mm, adsorbent dosage of 3.5 gm L−1 and the temperature of 80°C with 0.845 desirability. This investigation was found to be an eco-friendly way to recover copper ions and does not cause any environmental issues.

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