Summary
The UK Royal Mint has developed an innovative method to extract precious metals, particularly gold, from electronic waste such as discarded laptops and mobile phones. This sustainable and energy-efficient process claims to recover 99% of gold from printed circuit boards, and the Royal Mint plans to open a factory capable of processing 90 tonnes of circuit boards per week, potentially recovering hundreds of kilograms of gold annually. The method involves a chemical solution that dissolves and leaches gold at room temperature and is “environmentally friendly”, producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional smelting methods. The initiative aims to reduce e-waste and the environmental impact of mining for raw materials.
Other Details
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E-waste is a rapidly growing waste stream, with an estimated 50 million tonnes produced globally each year.
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Only 20% of e-waste is formally recycled, with the rest often sent to landfill or incinerated.
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The Royal Mint’s initiative is focused on sustainable recycling within the UK and reducing the need to export e-waste for processing.
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The method has the potential to recover other precious metals like palladium, silver, and copper.
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The goal is to establish a network of local e-waste suppliers and processors to encourage reuse and reduce waste miles.
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The Royal Mint aims to generate 70% of its required power from renewables, including energy produced from the waste processing.
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There is growing interest in recycling e-waste to recover valuable materials and reduce the environmental impact of mining for these resources. Innovative methods like this could drive the growth of a more circular economy for precious metals.
The most dangerous is probably the sulfuric and nitric acid. Sulfuric acid has earned its nickname “oil of vitriol.” 99% sulfuric will burn through paper in seconds. Skin and paper have a lot in common. Didn’t play much with the nitric acid, but I’ve heard it’s angry. You really only need a small amount to help the hydrochloric acid dissolve the gold. Also sulfur dioxide is hella nasty smelling.
Nitric acid is the single hardest ingredient to get. I found a seller on eBay. I think you can make nitric acid with store bought chemicals though, but I never had to do that.
Other ingredients:
Hydrochloric acid - sold as concrete cleaner Sulfuric acid - sold (diluted) as battery acid. Easy to concentrate with a condenser. Unlike HCl, you can get like 99% purity through distillation. Copper Chloride - Drop some copper into a bath of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide Sulfur Dioxide - Mix sodium metabisulfite with an acid. Sodium metabisulfite is commercially used in some food/beverage preservatives. I bought a bag of it of amazon that was marketed towards brewers. SO