This gel is then dried, and formed into a sponge. Then, it acts as a natural filter, able to extract gold from electronic waste.
Using the above method, researchers successfully extracted metal parts from 20 old computer motherboards, and created a gold nugget with a mass of approximately 500 mg.
Analysis shows that the nugget is composed mainly of pure gold (90.8% by weight), copper (10.9%) and nickel (0.018%). Thus, its purity corresponds to 21 or 22 karat gold.
According to calculations, using milk whey to create gold filtration membranes can return 50 USD for every USD spent (Photo: Newatlas).
In their published paper, the researchers demonstrated the possibility of this method being put into practice. It even exceeded all expectations in terms of profits.
Specifically, the total cost to obtain 1g of gold from electronic waste is 50 times lower than the value of the recovered gold, including the cost of purchasing original materials, as well as the cost of energy consumption for the whole thing. progress.
So according to calculations, this method can refund 50 USD for every USD spent. “It’s super profitable,” the scientists exclaimed.
Besides financial benefits, this method is also supported by environmental activists. That’s because the carbon emissions generated during the gold recovery process are significantly lower than using conventional activated carbon.
However, the downside of this method is the ability to replicate the model. Because whey is an animal-derived protein, the protein sponge mentioned in the study would likely cause more damage to the ecosystem than activated carbon.
So researchers are now exploring whether they can turn to plant-based proteins, such as pea and potato proteins, and then use them instead of whey. Are not.
If the method is applied successfully, this could be a turning point for the world’s e-waste mining industry, as well as solving the environmental problem by limiting the need to use activated carbon.