Article: Aerogel used in gold recovery of E-waste

[CrystAG]

Good afternoon all,

The below is an article as per the title which i thought was interesting. Could a moderater determine if this is in the correct area of the forum or remove the thread if not appropriate?

https://cen.acs.org/environment/rec...el-recovers-gold-from-e-waste/102/web/2024/02

 

[Martijn]

Welcomect

Good afternoon all,

The below is an article as per the title which i thought was interesting. Could a moderater determine if this is in the correct area of the forum or remove the thread if not appropriate?

https://cen.acs.org/environment/rec...el-recovers-gold-from-e-waste/102/web/2024/02

Welcome to the forum.
That is very interesting. Sounds like the new environmentally friendly way to recover precious metals.
It is stated that the aerogel has a selective affinity for gold before base metals, so a second leach could recover base metals, maybe even in a specific order.

Back to reading about it!

 

[Martijn]

Read some more, it's not an oxidizer for gold? But a substitute for activated carbon to selectively catch gold in solution.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Read some more, it's not an oxidizer for gold? But a substitute for activated carbon to selectively catch gold in solution.

Yes that was quite clear, but depending on price and the post processing neded it may be interesting any way.

 

[Martijn]

Yes that was quite clear, but depending on price and the post processing neded it may be interesting any way.

Maybe a good substitute for that carbon cloth in a river idea.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Maybe a good substitute for that carbon cloth in a river idea.

Maybe not, this one will float

 

[Shark]

It was really exciting to find this nugget in the ashes,” Peydayesh recalls. The nugget was about 91% gold, which corresponds to about 21 to 22 karats.

Sounds like it needs more research if they wish to compete with known standards. But they did say they put “computer motherboards” straight into AR. Curious as to how they cleaned up the remaining acids as well.

 

[GoIdman]

Sounds like it needs more research if they wish to compete with known standards. But they did say they put “computer motherboards” straight into AR. Curious as to how they cleaned up the remaining acids as well.

The problem in this case is that there is not a full cycle which is based on this material. You still need acids, you still need second refining to go higher on purity and so on.
So then what is the point of this material? If it captures gold, then traces of the acids will also be on the surface or locked in the pores, I dont think it is a good idea to burn metal bearing acids and so on.
Interesting article however, I am curios wheter there will be a full process developed around this material or it will just be integrated into existing procedures.

Pete

 

[CrystAG]

Good point Pete.
The in depth paper - : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202310642
Appears to compare its use / benefits versus activated charcoal as a collector.
Its a bit heavy going for my head on a monday morning.