Scientists Extract Gold from E-Waste in 20 Minutes, Revolutionizing Recycling

• Chinese scientists developed a technique to extract gold from e-waste in under 20 minutes at room temperature.
• The method, developed by Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion and South China University of Technology, is highly cost-effective.
• Over 98.2% of gold was successfully extracted from old mobile phone CPUs and appliance PCBs.
• This new process avoids toxic chemicals like cyanide, using a simple aqueous solution of potassium peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and potassium chloride (KCl).
• The metals themselves act as catalysts, generating reactive oxidants that dissolve gold, making separation easy; up to 93.4% palladium recovery is also possible.

Why It Matters: A new, cost-effective, and eco-friendly method extracts gold from e-waste in minutes, revolutionizing recycling.