Millions of tons of electronic waste (e-waste) are collected every year around the world, which also contains gold, but now with the help of graphene, gold can be extracted in an environmentally friendly way. Previously, this task was difficult and time-consuming. Gold is commonly used in electronic head-cutters and processors, but no suitable method of extracting it has been found until now. In this regard, Manchester University, Tsinghua University and Chinese Academy of Sciences have jointly discovered an efficient method of extracting gold from electrical waste from graphene.
It first collects electrical waste and dissolves it in a solution. A thin layer of graphene oxide is then applied, after which gold begins to deposit on its surface. According to experts, just one gram of graphene can distill 95% of gold from one part per billion and collect it in one place.
Importantly, it does not allow other metals in the solution to accumulate. If the graphene layer is finally burned away, what remains is pure gold. In this way the gold can be collected easily instead of going to waste. Although this is an electrochemical process, the magic of graphene is very useful. On the other hand, large amounts of gold can be reclaimed by reclamation.