Metal whispering: Finding a better way to recover precious metals from electronic waste
E-Mail IMAGE: New technology developed by Iowa State engineers uses heat and oxidation to recover pure and precious metals from electronic waste. It works in two ways -- it can bring the... view more Credit: Photo courtesy of Martin Thuo/Iowa State University. AMES, Iowa - Inspired by nature's work to build spiky structures in caves, engineers at Iowa State University have developed technology capable of recovering pure and precious metals from the alloys in our old phones and other electrical waste. Using controlled applications of oxygen and relatively low temperatures, the engi...