Scientists have found a way to remove gold from old phones

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Lerato Khumalo

Humanity produced approximately 62 million tons of electronic waste in 2022. This amount is large enough to fill the 1.5 million garbage truck. Moreover, this figure is expected to increase to 82 million tons in 2030. These wastes include devices containing valuable metals such as old laptops and mobile phones. However, only a quarter of these wastes is correctly recycled.

Scientists have developed a new technique that could be a solution to this problem. According to the study published in Nature Sustainability Magazine, the developed method can make gold extraction from both electronic wastes and ore more secure and environmentally friendly.

Alternative to harmful chemicals

It is an indispensable metal for modern sectors such as gold, technology, chemistry and space industry. However, it causes serious environmental problems such as gold mining, forestization and toxic chemical use. Cyanide, which is widely used in large -scale mining, threatens wildlife; The mercury used in small -scale mining is a great danger for both miners and nature. Small -scale gold mining is known as the largest source of mercury pollution in the world.

Researchers have developed a new method that can be used instead of cyanide and mercury. This method contains a tricloroizocyanuric acid -based chemical, which is generally used for water treatment and pool cleaning. This chemical, activated with salt water, converts the gold into a water -soluble form.

A special polymer absorbent developed

In order to recover the gold from the water, a special polymer -based absormer of sulfur was developed. This polymer, which is produced using sulfur accumulated as abundant waste in the oil industry, can only be separated from other metals by targeting gold.

The method was successfully tested in subtraction of gold from ore, old computer circuitous cards and scientific wastes. In addition, the recyclable of both the chemical and the polymer used makes this technique sustainable for the environment. Thanks to a special process activated with light, polymer can be recycled and reused after collecting gold.

Researchers are now planning to apply this method in small -scale mines. The aim is to help the small -scale miners who provide millions of livelihoods using mercury to produce gold with a safer method. Likewise, it will be possible to safely recycling the increasing amount of e-Atık.