Australian-developed “microfactories” are recycling copper from technology.
The world first microfactories come as researchers in China and Australia showed extracting metals from technology is far more financially viable than it has been in the past.
Using data from 8 Chinese recycling plants the research team calculated the cost of recovering gold and copper from recycled televisions. They found recovering the metals was 13 times cheaper than mining and processing virgin ore.
The team said this showed just what could be achieved globally, pointing out that a tonne of mobile phones (about 6000) contains tens of thousands of dollars worth of precious metals, including 130 kg of copper, 340 g of gold and 140 g of palladium.
Now Australian technology hopes to turn those findings into reality with the launch of the world’s 1st metals recovery ‘microfactory’. The modular system can be installed in an area as small as 50 square metres as it converts old phones and computers into materials for reuse.
This means e-waste recycling facilities can be conveniently transported to the waste site, cutting down on transport and logistical costs.
The United Nations says close to 50 million tonnes of gadgets and electronic appliances will be discarded this year as people keep upgrading. But of the 44.7 tonnes of global ‘e-waste’ in 2016, only 20% ended up being recycled.
More information
Microfactories: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/world-first-e-waste-microfactory-launches-unsw
Metal recovery research: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b04909
