As the digital age accelerates, the world is facing a mounting challenge: electronic waste. Driven by rapid advancements in AI and internet-based technologies, discarded phones, laptops, and other devices are piling up at an alarming rate.
According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor (GEM), e-waste is growing five times faster than it is being properly recycled. In 2022 alone, a record 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated-an 82% increase since 2010. This volume is expected to rise another 32%, reaching 82 million tonnes by 2030. The discarded devices not only contribute to environmental harm but also represent billions of dollars in lost rare and valuable resources. Shockingly, just 1% of global rare earth element demand is currently met through e-waste recycling.However, scientists have now developed a promising solution. A new, safe, and sustainable method for extracting gold from electronic waste has been published in Nature Sustainability. The technique offers a cleaner alternative to current practices and could also reduce the health and environmental risks linked to small-scale gold mining.
The authors of the study offer insight into the method. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Gold Dissolution – Gold is first dissolved using trichloroisocyanuric acid, which is activated by a halide catalyst to oxidize gold from e-waste materials.
Step 2: Gold Binding – A specially developed polysulfide polymer sorbent is introduced to selectively bind the dissolved gold from the leach solution.
Step 3: Gold Recovery – The gold is then recovered in high purity by either pyrolyzing or depolymerizing the polymer that captured it.
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