Sofia Martinez
Gold is a precious metal that is often found in electronic waste (or e-waste) such as old phones, laptops, and cameras. Due to its excellent conductive properties and resistance to rust and corrosion, gold is a common component of electronic circuit boards. Extracting gold from e-waste is a complicated process that requires safety gear, chemical expertise, and access to various chemistry equipment. However, with the right tools and knowledge, it is possible to separate gold from plastic in e-waste and refine it into a pure form.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Gold-containing materials | Computer processors, old telephone wiring, gold tooth crowns, jewelry, circuit boards, etc. |
| Protective gear | Face mask, safety glasses, industrial gloves, protective clothing, boots, goggles |
| Chemicals | Nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, muriatic acid, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, sea salt, sodium bicarbonate, urea, sodium bisulphite |
| Tools | Glass or plastic container, clay bowl, blow torch, Buchner funnel filter, fine wire mesh strainer, beaker, magnet, coffee pot |
| Process | Break circuit board into smaller pieces, pour into container, add acid, stir, filter, heat, melt, chip gold out, soak, stir, sieve, separate gold foils, rinse |
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What You'll Learn
Using a salt, vinegar, and peroxide solution
To separate gold from plastic using a salt, vinegar, and peroxide solution, you will need to follow these steps:
First, identify the gold-coloured components on the electronic parts and strip away the surrounding plastic. You should have more gold-coloured components than plastic to extract a sizeable amount of gold. Break the parts into small bits that can fit into a beaker. Clean the computer parts under running water to remove any dust or residual plastic, then air-dry them before proceeding.
Next, prepare the stripping solution. Add sea salt to the beaker, pour in vinegar, and stir until the salt dissolves. Vinegar and salt form a powerful yet non-corrosive stripping solution needed to extract the tiny gold particles.
Slowly pour the stripping solution over the electronic parts in the beaker, ensuring that all the components are fully submerged. Then, carefully add hydrogen peroxide. Cover the beaker and let the solution bubble for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, check on your experiment and give the solution a stir. You may notice that the solution has turned light blue, and you will start to see tiny gold foils floating around. Allow the solution to bubble for another 48 hours, stirring every couple of hours to increase the quantity of gold foils.
Finally, it is time to separate the gold. Place a fine wire mesh strainer over a bucket and pour the solution through the strainer, leaving the computer parts at the bottom of the beaker. Discard the electronic parts once you have removed as much gold as possible. Transfer the gold foils to a clean bucket containing distilled water each time you sieve, and continue until you have extracted most of the gold.
As an optional step, you can prepare a buffer mixture of vinegar and sea salt to protect the gold foils from direct contact with bleach and heat when converting them into gold particles. Mix 120 ml of white vinegar with four tablespoons of sea salt and stir until the salt dissolves. Ensure that the solution remains slightly acidic, ideally with a pH of 4.5 to 5.
This method provides an inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way to recycle gold from electronic components without the use of dangerous acids.
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With a coffee filter
Gold recovery from electronic devices involves several steps and can be done without the use of chemicals. The process is time-intensive but can yield gold with a high level of purity.
Firstly, identify the gold-coloured components within the electronic parts and strip away the surrounding plastic. It is important to have more gold than plastic to obtain a sizeable amount of gold. Next, break the parts into small bits that can fit inside a beaker. Clean these pieces under running water to remove any dust or residual plastic and allow them to air-dry.
To create a non-corrosive stripping solution to etch out the gold particles, add sea salt to a beaker, pour in vinegar, and stir until the salt dissolves. Submerge the gold pieces in this solution and let it bubble for 48 hours, stirring occasionally. The solution will thicken, and you will notice an increase in gold foils.
Now, you can separate the gold from the solution. Place a coffee filter on the opening of a funnel beaker and pour the solution through it. The gold will be caught in the filter, and the barren solution can be set aside. Transfer the gold foils to a melting dish and apply heat with a propane torch. The filter will burn, but continue heating the foil residues until they solidify into a small golden ball. Allow this ball to cool, and you can then weigh your gold.
To improve the quality of the gold, add sulfuric acid before evaporating the solution containing the gold foils.
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Through burning
Burning is an effective way to separate gold from plastic, especially when dealing with electronic waste. This method involves applying high heat to burn off plastic components, leaving behind the desired metal. It is a process that has been used since the Bronze Age and is still commonly employed today.
To separate gold from plastic through burning, you will need to take the following steps:
First, collect any gold-containing materials, such as old electronic devices, jewellery, or computer processors. Ensure that the items you are working with contain more gold than plastic to make the process worthwhile.
Next, break the items into small pieces. This step is important as it increases the surface area, making the subsequent steps more effective. Place these small pieces into a suitable container, such as a glass or metal bowl.
Before burning, it is essential to take safety precautions. Wear protective gear, including gloves, eye protection, and a face mask, to shield yourself from toxic fumes and any flying debris. Work in a well-ventilated area or outdoors if possible.
Now, you can begin the burning process. Sprinkle the broken pieces with gasoline or another flammable substance, and ignite them using a suitable heat source, such as a blow torch or burner. Ensure that your heat source can reach temperatures above the melting point of gold (1063 °C).
As the pieces burn, use steel tweezers to turn them regularly. Continue this process until the pieces are almost charred. Then, turn off the heat source and allow the items to cool down. It is important not to let them cool completely, as the plastic may harden again, making separation more difficult.
Finally, break off and separate any remaining pieces of plastic attached to the gold parts. This step should be easier now that the burning process has made the materials more brittle. You can use protective gloves to safely break apart the components and manually separate the gold from the plastic.
It is important to note that burning may not be the most efficient method for separating gold from plastic in all scenarios. Other techniques, such as chemical separation using acids, are also commonly used. Additionally, always exercise caution when working with high temperatures and flammable materials.
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Using nitric acid
Nitric acid is a highly corrosive substance that can be absorbed through the skin and cause nitric acid poisoning. It is important to take safety precautions when handling nitric acid, such as wearing rubber gloves, safety goggles, and a rubber splash apron. The process should be carried out in a well-ventilated area or outdoors to avoid inhaling the corrosive fumes.
To separate gold from plastic using nitric acid, you will first need to create aqua regia, a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. This mixture is named for its ability to melt gold. For every ounce of gold, you will need a beaker with a 300 mL capacity. Add 30 mL of nitric acid and 120 mL of hydrochloric acid to the beaker containing the gold. This will initiate the dissolving process.
It is important to note that the acid reacts slowly at first. After a few minutes, the acid will become very hot and generate corrosive fumes. Wait for at least one hour after the fumes have dissipated before pouring off or filtering the acid. If possible, wait overnight to ensure the gold is completely dissolved. Use a Buchner filter funnel to filter out any particles, as they can contaminate your gold. The acid should be clear and emerald green, if it is murky or cloudy, it may contain particles and should be refiltered.
To neutralize the nitric acid, create a urea and water solution by boiling a quart of water and mixing it with one pound of urea. Slowly add this mixture to the acid until the chemical reaction stops. This will cause the acid to foam, so be careful not to add the mixture too quickly. The pH level of the acid will rise from 0.1 to 1.0, neutralizing the nitric acid but not the hydrochloric acid.
Finally, add a precipitant, such as sodium bisulfite, to the acid solution. This will cause the gold to separate and form brown particles at the bottom of the container. This substance is pure gold and can be extracted by pouring off the acid and filtering and rinsing it with distilled water.
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Melting and cooling
However, simply melting gold with other materials may not effectively separate them. This is because when metals are melted together, one metal can dissolve into the other, changing their melting points and forming an alloy. For example, when soldering gold-plated copper pins, the solder can dissolve some gold into it at around 700°F. Therefore, melting and cooling gold with other metals may result in the formation of alloys rather than the separation of the individual metals.
To effectively separate gold from other materials, such as plastic, additional steps and techniques are often required. One approach is to use a process called cupellation, which involves melting gold flakes in a clay bowl with borax. After heating and melting the gold, it is allowed to cool and solidify, forming a bead of gold. This process helps to purify the gold by removing impurities and separating it from other materials, such as plastic.
It is important to note that melting and cooling gold requires proper safety equipment and expertise. The process involves high temperatures and chemicals that can be dangerous if not handled correctly. Therefore, it is recommended to have the appropriate knowledge, experience, and tools before attempting to melt and cool gold for separation.
Overall, while melting and cooling can be a part of the process of separating gold from plastic, it is often combined with other techniques and requires careful consideration of the specific materials involved and their properties.
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Frequently asked questions
Safety measures include wearing protective gloves, a face mask, safety glasses, and industrial gloves.
The process involves using a mixture of sea salt, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide or muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide. The gold-plated parts are submerged in the mixture for a week, and gold foils are separated from the solution.
The process involves burning off the gold using high temperatures. This method is energy-intensive, expensive, and releases toxic gases.
Cupellation is a process where ores or alloyed metals are treated under high temperatures to separate noble metals like gold and silver from base metals.
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan have proposed a solution of acetic acid and an oxidant. This non-toxic technique dissolves the gold stripped from circuits, leaving other metals intact.
