Recovery of Nitric Acid and Valuable Metals from Spent Nitric Etching Solutions of Printed Circuit Board

A study has been made on the recovery of nitric acid and valuable metals such as Cu, Sn, Pb from the spent nitric etching solutions. The nitric acid was extracted effectively by TBP but the heavy metals such as Fe, Cu, Sn, Pb were not extracted by TBP from the spent nitric etching solutions. From the experimental results, 95% of nitric acid in spent etching solution was extracted at O:A ratio of 3:1 with five stage by 60% TBP and 98% of nitric acid was stripped from the loaded organic phase at O:A ratio of 1:1 with four stages by distilled water. After extracting nitric acid, Cu was recovered as a metal by electrowinning effectively and Sn was successfully removed by precipitation method by adjusting the pH of raffinate solution. Finally, Pb was recovered by cementation with iron scrap at $65^{\circ}C$. Parameters controlling the cementation process, such as temperature, pH and the effect of the additives were investigated.