Bioleaching of valuable metals from e-waste.

Waste PCB is a complicated and valuable electronic waste. E-waste production is increasing at a high alarming rate in industries. Now, it is more important to recycle and reuse it. WPCB contains various noble metals such as copper, nickel, aluminum, lead, zinc, etc. If these wastes are dumped in lands, it's hazardous to land. So, it is important to recycle it. There are various processes to recycle it, but not all the process are environmental friendly. In this study, we discussed about the two process namely chemical leaching and bioleaching. Chemical leaching involves the use of hydrochloric acid, malic acid and citric acid whereas the bioleaching involvbes the production of organic acid using Aspergillus niger. The main aim is to extract the valuable metals such as copper and nickel from the waste PCB. The effect of time and concentration on leaching were investigated. The characterization of the E-waste was studied and the leaching recovery percentage was found. This study also shows that comparative study between chemical leaching and bioleaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]