Scientists have developed a safe method for extracting the precious metal. It replaces toxic reagents and is suitable for recycling electronic waste.
Traditional Extraction Methods gold cause serious harm to the environment. They use cyanide salts and metallic mercury, which are dangerous to nature and humans.
Flinders University specialists have proposed a fundamentally new solution. The eco-friendly technology they developed consists of two main stages. First, gold is extracted using oxidative dissolution, which uses trichloroisocyanuric acid and a special catalyst. The valuable metal is then selectively bound with a special polysulfide polymer sorbent.
The resulting raw material can be effectively restored by pyrolysis or through depolymerization of the sorbent. It is important that the technique was successfully tested not only on ores, but also on gold-containing waste.
This opens up new opportunities for industry. You can now recycle your old electronics, reducing the amount of hazardous waste. Thus, the technology solves two problems: it reduces the harm from mining and gives a second life to waste.
The introduction of this technology marks an important step towards sustainable development. She demonstrates that gold mining can be effective and at the same time safe for the planet.
The material was prepared with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science as part of the Decade of Science and Technology.
Source: geonews.ru
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