<
https://www.science.org/content/article/electric-jolt-salvages-valuable-metals-waste>
"As chemists scramble to find ways to reclaim valuable metals from industrial
waste and discarded electronics, one team has found a solution that sounds a
little like magic: Zap the trash with flashes of electric heat.
Rare earth elements (REEs) present an environmental paradox. On one hand, these
dozen or so metals, such as yttrium and neodymium, are vital components of wind
turbines and solar panels, and cheap sources of REEs could give those green
technologies a huge boost. On the other, mining REEs causes billions of dollars
of environmental damage each year. Because the elements occur in low
concentrations, mining companies have to chew through tons upon tons of ore,
stripping and gutting landscapes. Moreover, REEs are often mixed with
radioactive elements, and extracting them creates low-level nuclear waste.
Old electronics and other industrial waste, in contrast, are rich in REEs. But
existing recycling methods are inefficient and expensive, and require corrosive
chemicals such as concentrated hydrochloric acid. For every environmental
problem that REEs could solve, they seemingly introduce two more.
The new process could help break that logjam. Today in
Science Advances, a
team led by organic chemist James Tour of Rice University reports using pulses
of electrical heat to make it easier to extract REEs from industrial waste. The
technique is roughly twice as efficient as current methods and uses far more
benign chemicals."
Via Reasons to be Cheerful March 2, 2022:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/colorado-river-water-exchange-us-mexico/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
