Japanese boffins invent way to turn WEEE into gold

If adopted in the UK, it could turn the WEEE (the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) into a source of profit, instead of a pain in the assets.

Gold, platinum and other precious metals are currently being chucked into skips all over the developed world. The precious metals are used in components for PCs, mobile phones and other electronic goods with remarkably short life cycles. But recovering these valuable minerals has never been cost effective, so there are currently bezillions of micro sized gold nuggets hidden in refuse tips and landfill sites.

According to Nikkei.net, a joint group from the Tokyo Institute of Technology led by associate professor Kenji Takeshita and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has devised a way to shorten the selective extraction of gold from components.

The process involves dissolving the metals from old electronic products in acid, extracting the precious metals into a second liquid and then recovering them using plant-derived tannin.

By using a sulphide-type diamide as the extracting agent, the group is able to extract 50 per cent of the gold from the acid solution in a tenth of the normal time and virtually all of the palladium in no time at all. The new agent works selectively to extract the gold and palladium, leaving metals like iron and copper behind in the solution.

Takeshita is also working on a new technology using ultraviolet light to alter the molecular structure of precious metals for their recovery. He said the new extraction procedure could play a role in the research and development of this technology.

"Microsoft Vista could encourage millions more PC users to upgrade and dump their old machines," warns Tony Roberts, CEO of recycling charity www.ComputerAid.org. He wants us to donate old PCs to Africa, to help raise IT literacy in Kenya.

Or does he just want to get his hands on our gold? The fiend.

Before the WEEE directive, which forced us to rethink our disposal strategies, millions of old machines were irresponsibly dumped. There's gold in them thar landfills. Gold! µ