Researchers have discovered a new technique that can help develop methods to extract precious metals and save about 300 tons of gold used in electronics annually.
The researchers believe that electrical waste contains up to 7% of the world's total gold, including mobile phones, televisions and computers.
Gold extraction from mobile phones is not a new phenomenon, as companies have been doing this for years, but current methods are inefficient and can be hazardous to health because of the use of toxic chemicals.
Prof. Jason Luv, who led the study, said: "Toxic chemicals are used in gold extraction processes such as cyanide and mercury, and residual waste after gold recovery often contains toxic metals such as lead."
So researchers from the University of Edinburgh developed a new extraction method that does not use these toxic chemicals and can have potential economic and social benefits. The method involves putting electrical circuit boards in a mild acid in order to dissolve the metal parts. An oil liquid containing a chemical compound is then added to extract the gold from it. Researchers hope that this method improves the methods of recovering gold from e-waste.
Source: Daily Mail