A new method to transform e-waste into valuable materials has been developed by Cornell

Recent reports have shown that a constantly growing pile of electronic waste, has the potential to cause a large environmental challenge. Right now an estimated fifty million tons of electronics are discarded on an annual basis and only 20% of this is effectively recycled.

Whilst a rapid advancement of technology has resulted in shorter lifespans for a lot of technology and therefore a build up in e-waste. Improper disposal of electronic equipment, means that valuable resources such as gold, silver and rare earth elements are lost, plus toxic substances like lead and mercury are released into the environment.

In the past it has been exceedingly difficult to extract these materials, however a new method has been created by the researchers at Cornell University. This innovative and forward-thinking method has the potential to recover gold from discarded electronics and is also able to re-purpose and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to operate, this method uses advanced materials called vinyl-linked covalent organic frameworks (VCOFs) and it provides a way to extract important materials, without the use of hazardous chemicals.

Through the use of the VCOFs, the researchers were able to selectively capture 99.9% of gold from the circuits boards, whilst simultaneously avoiding contamination with other metals such as nickel and copper. Not only are these ground breaking results, but the precision and safety of this technique also highlight a large step forwards when it comes to sustainability in e-waste recycling. Furthermore, the new technique also depicts the important relationship between e-waste and the push towards achieving a circular economy, which can be created through conserving energy, as well as by creating jobs within the recycling industry.

Along with the benefits already depicted about this process, other benefits of this new method are shown in the way it allows the recovered precious metal to go on to function as a catalyst in converting carbon dioxide into a variety of useful organic chemicals. Further to this, the process also reduces CO2 emission and produces materials which are able to go not use in various industrial applications.