Sewage could be a source of valuable metals and critical elements
Monday, March 23, 2015 - 05:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Poop could be a goldmine—literally. Surprisingly, treated solid waste contains gold, silver and other metals, as well as rare elements such as palladium and vanadium that are used in electronics and alloys. Now researchers are looking at identifying the metals that are getting flushed and how they can be recovered. This could decrease the need for mining and reduce the unwanted release of metals into the environment.