The Industrial Use Of Precious Metal
Besides jewelry, precious metals have many uses in industry, particularly in cutting-edge technologies.
The first other use of gold that comes to mind is dentistry, as it dates back many years. However, this use in this field is tending to diminish in the 21st century, as gold is being replaced by much less expensive composite materials.
In addition, it is widely used in electronics: computers, mobile phones, GPS, televisions, etc. In medicine as well: arthritis treatments and some medical instruments. In aeronautics: satellites, space vehicles. It is also found in nanotechnologies and even in the automotive industry.
Silver is also used in various industrial fields: photography, dentistry, water purification, medical imaging and technology, RFID chips, photovoltaic panels, electronics, plasma screens, catalysts, etc.
Platinum is found in the automotive industry (mainly in catalytic converters), the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, electronics, the petroleum industry, medicine (implants, pacemakers, and heart valves), aeronautics, etc.
Finally, Palladium is present in almost all applications of platinum since it belongs to the same family: the platinoids. It should be noted, however, that it is also found in certain musical instruments, such as transverse flutes, in blood glucose test strips, and in photography.
Precious Metals Recycling
Although precious metals are widely used in many modern technologies, they are used in infinitesimal quantities for each application, which rarely allows for recycling because their extraction is very expensive and complicated.
The same is not true for the jewelry and jewelry industry, which uses large quantities (86% of gold production), and which, on the contrary, is seeing the recycling of precious metals on a growing trend.
Several reasons are driving jewelers to recycle. First and foremost, it’s economical, but also and above all because natural resources, especially gold and silver, are being depleted.
Furthermore, gold mining in particular is an extremely polluting industry.
It requires 52,000 liters of water to extract 20 grams of gold, and causes the emission of sulfur oxide, mercury, and arsenic into the air. Recycling old gold jewelry thus makes it possible to produce new pieces without having to extract any material, while preserving the properties of this material, which are not altered by remelting.
It is therefore becoming increasingly essential to recycle these precious metals, hence the flourishing development of specialized recycling companies which resell or recycle precious metals and thus put them back into circulation.
Industrial Processes of Recycling
The recycling of these precious metals varies depending on the material and metal being reclaimed. In most cases, recycling entails the following procedures:
Collection and Sorting
The first step involves the collection and sorting of waste materials based on their type and metal content. E-waste is manually or mechanically (using AI technology) separated to isolate circuit boards or connectors that contain the precious metals.
Pre-processing
Such collected waste materials will then go through various physical treatments including crushing, shredding or thermal treatment to break them down into much smaller components. This step will improve the overall efficiency of precious metal recovery in later stages.
Chemical or Metallurgical Recovery
Several processes are used to recycle precious metals from scrap:
Pyrometallurgy: Pyrometallurgy is the high-temperature melting of materials for the purpose of extracting metals. It is effective but energy-intensive and may release toxic fumes.
Hydrometallurgy: Hydrometallurgy consists in dissolving metal into chemical solutions, often followed by selective precipitation or electrowinning to recover the precious metal. It is more precise and environmentally friendly than pyrometallurgy.
Bioleaching: New technologies use microorganisms to recover metal from waste, offering a green option. Even at developmental stages, bioleaching is an option for green recycling.
Refining and Purification
Metals are further refined to an acceptable quality for reutilization. Electrorefining or solvent extraction is used to achieve the desired purity. This final product is then inserted back into the production supply chain. In conclusion, precious metals are getting more and more recycled with new technologies. This improves sustainability in our modern world.
