Taiwanese formula offers ‘green’ precious metals recovery

Taiwan – Taiwanese ‘green alchemy’ company UWin Nanotech has engineered an ‘exclusive environmental recycling technology’, namely a freshly-patented gold stripping formula. Its Full Environmental Gold method enables precious metals to be stripped from other material without involving cyanide.

According to United Nations statistics, e-scrap volumes will amount to 65.4 million tonnes by 2017. ‘If it is not effectively dealt with now, it will create a major ecological disaster in the future,’ UWin argues, adding that existing e-scrap processes can create dioxins and suspended micro-particulates, as well as toxic substances like cyanide and potassium ferricyanide.

According to United Nations statistics, e-scrap volumes will amount to 65.4 million tonnes by 2017. ′If it is not effectively dealt with now, it will create a major ecological disaster in the future,′ UWin argues, adding that existing e-scrap processes can create dioxins and suspended micro-particulates, as well as toxic substances like cyanide and potassium ferricyanide.

UWin says it can counter ′low-quality recycling methods′ through an electrolyte-based technology that effectively strips anything from gold, silver, palladium, platinum, nickel, copper, tin, aluminium, indium, titanium and stainless steel. ′Each bottle of UW-700 formula contains 600 grams of power, which can strip 70 grams of gold,′ explains UWin′s managing director Kenny Hsu. ′Furthermore, each UW-700 is priced at NT$ 4000 (roughly US$ 130) and can create NT$ 91 000 (US$ 2880) in gold stripping.′

This ′neutral and environmentally-friendly′ additive can carry out gold stripping in containers made of materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene. It will not harm the substrate, regardless of whether it is a PCB panel, a software panel, plastic, porcelain, stainless steel or silicon wafer.

′By cooking it in nitric acid, an environmentally-friendly gold with a purity of over 99.99% can be quickly extracted,′ the company states. This breakthrough holds ′substantial′ economic promise and is also of significant educational and environmental value, it is claimed. ′It can provide new ideas and inspiration to creative people and users,′ says UWin.