IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 03 Special Issue: 07 | May-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 94 A TECHNICAL METHOD OF EXTRACTION OF GOLD FROM E- WASTE: A MULTI-SENSOR BASED METHOD USING MICROCONTROLLER Rohini N. Hongal 1 , Roopa G. Sunagad 2 , Shruti A. Gombi 3 , Rohankumar Patil 4 , K.Bhat 5 1 Student, Department of E & CE, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Karnataka, India 2 Student, Department of E & CE, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Karnataka, India 3 Student, Department of E & CE, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Karnataka, India 4 Student, Department of E & CE, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Karnataka, India 5 Faculty, Department of IT, Basaveshwar Engineering College, Karnataka, India Abstract The disposal of e-wastes into the environment is hazardous as they contain chemicals. The conventional methods of disposing these e- wastes are irrelevant and have adverse effect on the environmental conditions which is a threat to life. The objective of this paper is to describe the recycling of e-wastes and extraction of valuable metals like gold and silver from it. The aquaregia solution based method of extraction is the oldest and conventional method. The steps and procedures that are followed and practiced are to be done manually which seems to be quite risky as it is a chemical process. But the aquaregia solution method of extraction can be ea sily automated for precise and faster extraction. The intension of our paper is to propose an idea of an automation system for the recovery of gold from E-waste. This system for gold recovery is solely controlled by the microcontroller. There is use of several types of sensors, which are in turn act as input providers to the microcontroller, in order to control the whole process. There is great advantage if it is implemented practically. It can create a sort of industrial solution as e-waste is global problem. A new trend in the recycling industry will be created which will be a revolutionary step. The only thing is that the initial investment will be quite more. But once implemented it can be used for long terms and for cost effectiveness. Keywords: E- waste, Aquaregia, microcontroller, signal conditioning, solenoid valve, end point. --------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION The advancement of technology and the industrial revolution changed the world’s life-style rapidly. The improvements and advances in the field of electronics was so rigorous that a common man has became able to have more number of electronic gadgets increased, later the greatest disadvantage of e-toys was its waste disposal and its management which is challenge during these decades. Now the days of conventional PCs are gone. These are the days of tablets and laptops. And particularly in the electronics domain a device validates to a maximum of two years from the day it has released to the market. Hence the e-waste generated is found to be enormous that poses a problem to the life and environment [1],[2]. E- waste refers to the waste materials borne out of the electronic- gadgets. The disposal of e-wastes into the environment is hazardous as they contain chemicals. The conventional methods of disposing these e-wastes are irrelevant and have adverse effect on the environmental conditions which is a threat to life. The objective of this paper is to describe the recycling of e-wastes like PCBs [3], [4], batteries, SIM cards, mother boards etc and extraction of valuable metals like gold and silver from it [5]. Nowadays the management of e-waste is a biggest headache in developed and developing countries like Japan, Germany, and America and even in India too. So, in this context proper management and recycling of e-waste is necessary. The methods that are known: Lime Sulphur Synthetic Solution (LSSS) [6], Electrolytic process, aquaregia solution [7] method and metallurgical recovery processes [8], [9]. Among these methods the aquaregia solution method of extraction is the oldest and conventional method which is widely practiced everywhere to extract scrap gold, the chemicals used here are easily available and are of reasonable cost. The microcontroller [10] based extraction of gold from e- waste system consists of a microcontroller, various sensors for end point detection, efficient signal conditioning, actuators and many final control elements. The process is divided into three stages and each stage is microcontroller controlled for the efficient and automated mechanism. This system can be further improvised and other precious metals like platinum and silver can be extracted with necessary modifications in detection and control.