Cornell University Discovers a Way to Transform Electronic Waste Into Gold

In a groundbreaking advancement, a research team led by Cornell University has developed a method to extract gold from electronic waste and use it to convert a harmful gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), into useful materials.

The process, led by Amin Zadehnazari, involves using special compounds to capture gold from old circuit boards found in discarded electronic devices. These compounds are designed to pick up gold while leaving other metals behind, making the extraction process more efficient.

Sharing their discovery with a scientific journal named Nature Communications, the researchers say that the gold taken from electronic waste is used to help change CO2 (carbon dioxide) into useful chemicals which could help cut down on electronic waste and help the environment.

This discovery is significant because electronic waste has a high amount of gold, even more than what is found in regular gold mines. As the world is set to create a large amount of electronic waste in the future, it's really important to find ways to get the gold out of this waste.

This new way of getting gold from electronic waste is better for the environment compared to old methods because it doesn't use harsh chemicals like cyanide. Instead, it uses a process called chemical adsorption to collect the gold without using any harmful substances.

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The study was backed by the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the Cornell NMR facilities, which both get funding from the National Science Foundation. The work at Cornell University not only provides a solution for dealing with electronic waste but also demonstrates how creative ideas can address environmental issues by reusing old materials.