SEPARATING TABLE TTS - FROM THE BOARD TO GOLD

Gold is one of the most expensive raw materials. Many people first think of valuable jewellery when they hear the term. However, gold is also used in large quantities in the electronics industry. This material is particularly suitable for the fine contacts of computer chips. Many people assume that this is because gold has an extremely high conductivity. However, this is not the case. Although the conductivity is high, it is lower than that of copper or silver. The decisive advantage is that gold is extremely resistant to oxidation. With other materials, an oxide layer quickly forms, which impairs signal transmission at the tiny contacts. For this reason, gold is an indispensable material that is used in almost all computer chips.

The traditional method of extracting gold is to mine it in the wild. However, this has serious consequences for the environment. Entire mountains are often removed for this purpose, meaning that animals and plants lose their habitat. In addition, very toxic chemicals are used. Time and again, we read that these leach into the environment and contaminate entire areas.

For these reasons, it is important to find alternative sources for the extraction of gold. The use of electrical and electronic waste is a good option here. The lifespan of computers, smartphones and similar devices is usually limited to a few years. After that, they are disposed of. So far, however, comprehensive recycling has rarely taken place. Yet this would be very worthwhile. It is estimated that one kilo of old smartphones contains around 0.25 grams of gold. That may not sound like much. However, if you consider that around 60 kg of gold ore is required for the same amount, it becomes clear that recycling can also be financially worthwhile. If these are pure computer chips that have already been sorted, the yield is even higher.

Although the extraction of gold from old computer chips would make both ecological and economic sense, most electrical and electronic waste still ends up as rubbish. This is because it has been very difficult to extract the gold to date. The classic method for this is chemical extraction. Highly toxic cyanide compounds are used for this. This cancels out the positive effect of recycling. In addition, the purity of the extracted gold is very low, meaning that this process is hardly economically viable.

With the TTS sorting table from TRENNSO-TECHNIK^® however, you have another alternative for recycling electronic waste. If you use these sorting tables to sort e-waste, you benefit from the fact that this is a purely mechanical process. This means that no toxic chemicals are required. This technology therefore contributes to environmental protection. 

To use these separation tables for sorting, you must first separate the computer chips from the other components. It is then necessary to finely crush them. This produces tiny grains consisting of very different materials. Some of them have a high gold content. With the density sorting technique, it is now possible to separate these from the other materials. 

The separating table feeds the fine granulate into a working sieve, which is driven by an eccentric. There is also a pressurised fan that moves the individual granules. This separates the light from the heavy particles. The density sorting technology makes it possible to sort materials according to their specific density. As gold is significantly heavier than most other metals, this procedure is extremely effective.

Sorting with the TTS sorting table is economical and environmentally friendly. The gold is not completely pure, as most contacts are only gold-plated. This is why the individual grains contain different metals even when finely crushed. However, as the gold layer is normally quite thick, excellent results can still be achieved in this way.