Synthesis of Copper Carbonate from Copper Waste Using the Hydrometallurgical Method

Abstract

Electronic waste in Indonesia continues to increase, electronic waste is categorized as B3 waste which can threaten the environment. Electronic waste contains metals that can berecovery namely 20% copper (Cu), 8% iron (Fe), 4% tin (Sn), 2% nickel (Ni), 2% lead (Pb), 1% zinc (Zn), 0.2% silver (Ag), 0.1% gold (Au) and 0.005% palladium (Pa). Copper can be used as a raw material for making pigments mountain blue. Pigment extraction from copper metal can be done using the hydrometallurgical method which is considered more environmentally friendly and economical. The hydrometallurgical method uses solvents in the liquid phase to dissolve copper metal from waste and convert it into the desired compound. The materials used to make mountain blue pigment are copper waste, sulfuric acid (H2SO4), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and distilled water. Meanwhile, the materials used for pigment application are Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). In this process, washing or leaching will be carried out(leaching) namely a chemical concentration process to release ore impurities from a mineral by dissolving it using certain reagents. Factors that influence the metal leaching process are temperature and acid concentration. In this experiment, the hydrometallurgical method succeeded in processing electronic waste into a blue pigment (mountain blue). The average pigment yield mountain blue in this experiment it was 1.25 grams of montain blue/gram of copper. Furthermore, the average conversion of pigment  mountain blue was 89.3%.