Sustainable gold extraction from ore and electronic waste

Gold is recognized as playing an essential role in the global economy and is widely applied across various industrial technologies. At present, the supply of gold is primarily derived through mining processes in which toxic substances such as cyanide salts and mercury metal are employed, resulting in significant environmental pollution. To enhance the overall sustainability of gold production, extraction approaches that do not utilize cyanide or mercury are required.

In this study, an alternative method for gold leaching and recovery from ore and electronic waste was developed. Initially, trichloroisocyanuric acid, activated by a halide catalyst, was used to oxidatively dissolve gold metal from both ore and electronic waste. Subsequently, a polysulfide polymer sorbent was applied to selectively bind gold from the resulting leachate. High-purity gold was then recovered by pyrolysis or depolymerization of the sorbent.

The efficacy of this method in extracting gold was validated using samples of ore, electronic waste, and other gold-containing waste materials. Overall, a viable and more environmentally sustainable approach to gold production from both primary and secondary resources was demonstrated.

• Mann, M
• Nicholls, T
• Patel, H
• Lisboa, L
• Pople, J
• Pham, L
• Worthington, M
• Smith, M
• Yin, Y
• Andersson, G
• Gibson, C
• Esdaile, L
• Lenehan, C
• Coote, M
• Jia, Z
• Chalker, J

• College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia

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