Gold to Be Extracted from Old Phones and Laptops! Scientists Discover a New Method — Here’s How
How to Extract Gold from Old Phones: In 2022, around 62 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide—enough to fill more than 1.5 million trucks. This e-waste includes old laptops and phones that contain precious metals like gold.
Today, people are producing more electronic waste than ever. In 2022, the world generated around 62 million tonnes of e-waste—an 82% increase since 2010. By 2030, it is estimated to reach 82 million tonnes. Much of this waste includes outdated laptops and smartphones that hold valuable materials such as gold. Unfortunately, less than a quarter of this waste is properly collected and recycled. However, scientists have now discovered a new technique to safely extract gold from e-waste.
This innovative method is detailed in a recent paper published in Nature Sustainability. It has the potential to make small-scale gold mining safer for both humans and the environment.
Rising Demand for Gold and the Harmful Effects of Traditional Mining
Gold plays a vital role in many sectors, including electronics, chemicals, and aerospace. But while demand for gold continues to rise, traditional mining poses severe environmental threats. Large-scale mining relies heavily on toxic chemicals like cyanide to extract gold from ore. Even when cyanide is treated after use, it can still harm wildlife. Additionally, tailing dams—used to store toxic mining waste—pose a major risk to ecosystems.
Small-scale gold mining often involves the use of mercury, which binds with gold to form a dense alloy. The mixture is then heated, releasing mercury vapor and leaving behind the gold. This practice is the leading source of mercury pollution globally. Mercury emissions are harmful to both miners and the environment. As a result, there is a growing need for safer, eco-friendly gold extraction methods.
Scientists Develop a Safer Alternative
A team of researchers has created a new method to extract gold from ore and e-waste without using mercury or cyanide. Their goal was to offer a safer and more sustainable option for gold recovery. While various mercury- and cyanide-free techniques have been developed in the past, many have limitations—such as slow processing, low recovery rates, high costs, and poor scalability. Some also fail to address the entire recycling and waste management process.
What Is the New Technology?
The newly developed method focuses on sustainability throughout the entire gold extraction, recovery, and purification process. It uses a common and inexpensive chemical called trichloroisocyanuric acid, typically used for water purification and pool chlorination. When combined with salt water, this chemical reacts with gold and converts it into a water-soluble form.
To retrieve the gold from the solution, the researchers developed a special polymer sorbent that is rich in sulfur. This polymer, made using elemental sulfur (a byproduct of the petroleum industry), selectively absorbs gold—even when other metals are present in the solution.
This technique has been successfully tested on raw ore, old computer circuit boards, and laboratory waste. Importantly, the team also created ways to regenerate and recycle both the leaching chemical and the polymer sorbent, making the process more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.