Sorption of gold from electronic waste solutions by a commercial sorbent

Abstract

In this work, sorption of gold from electronic waste solutions using a commercial sorbent, Lewatit TP 214, was investigated. The effects of the different parameters on gold sorption (%) were studied in detail. Sorbent dosage, contact time, temperature, and solution pH were selected as sorption parameters. Additionally, the gold sorption by Lewatit TP 214 is a diffusion-controlled process with activation energies of 12.28 kJ/mol. The thermodynamic values such as ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS° were calculated by experimentally obtained results. The reaction was spontaneous and endothermic. The gold sorption capacity for the sorbent was 100.1 mg gold per gram. XRD patterns revealed that the gold was in its metallic form. The results indicated that Lewatit TP 214 can be effectively used for the sorption of gold from waste solution.