E-waste gold extraction

E-waste contains a large amount of precious metals such as gold. Efficient recycling can not only reduce environmental pollution, but also create considerable economic value. The following is an analysis of its key process flow and industry prospects.

Process flow

Pretreatment: Dismantle waste electronic products and separate metal and non-metal components through mechanical crushing, magnetic separation and eddy current separation.

Chemical leaching: Use environmentally friendly leaching agents (such as thiourea and thiosulfate) to dissolve gold, replacing traditional cyanide and reducing toxicity.

Purification and electrolysis: Enrich gold ions through activated carbon adsorption or solvent extraction, and then electrolyze and purify to obtain high-purity gold.

Environmental benefits

Compared with traditional gold mining, E-waste gold extraction reduces carbon emissions by more than 90% and avoids acidic wastewater pollution. Green technologies such as bioleaching further reduce the use of chemical reagents and promote the development of a circular economy.

Economic Benefits

The gold grade of electronic waste (200-500g/ton) far exceeds that of gold ore (3-5g/ton), and the recycling cost is lower. After large-scale processing, the profit margin can reach 30%-50%, and policy subsidies and fluctuations in the precious metal market bring additional benefits.

Intelligent sorting and microbial gold extraction technology will improve efficiency; the European Union, China and other countries have strengthened legislation to promote industry standardization. It is estimated that the global electronic waste recycling market will exceed US$100 billion in 2030, and gold recycling will become a key growth point.

Gold extraction from electronic waste has both environmental and commercial value, and is an important direction for sustainable resource utilization. Future technological upgrades and policy support will accelerate its industrialization process.