Separating table TTS - From the board to gold

Gold is one of the most expensive raw materials. Many people think of valuable jewelry when they hear this term. In addition, gold is also used in large quantities in the electronics industry. This material is particularly suitable for the fine contacts of the computer chips. Many people assume that this is because gold has an extremely high conductivity. However, this is not the case. The conductivity is high, but 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 the signal transmission at the tiny contacts. For this reason, gold is an indispensable material that is used in almost all computer chips.

The traditional way of extracting gold is to mine it naturally. However, this has serious consequences for the environment. For this purpose, entire mountains are often removed, so that animals and plants lose their habitat. In addition, very toxic chemicals are used. Again and again it can be read that these escape into the environment and contaminate entire regions.

For these reasons, it is important to find alternative sources for extracting gold. The use of electrical and electronic scrap is ideal for this. The lifespan of computers, smartphones and similar devices is usually limited to a few years. Then they are disposed of. So far, however, extensive recycling has only rarely taken place. This would be very worthwhile. It is estimated that one kilo of old smartphones contains around 0.25 grams of gold. That doesn't sound like too much. However, if you consider that around 60 kg of gold ore are 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 sense both ecologically and economically, most electrical and electronic scrap still ends up in the garbage. This is because it has been very difficult to extract the gold so far. The classic method for this is a chemical extraction. Highly toxic cyanide compounds are used for this. That negates the positive effect of recycling. In addition, the degree of purity of the gold obtained is quite low, so that this process is hardly economically viable.

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

To use these separation tables for sorting, you must first separate the computer chips from the remaining components. After that, it is necessary to finely grind them. This creates tiny grains that consist of very different substances. Some of them are high in gold. With the density sorting technique it is now possible to separate these from the other substances. 

The separating table guides the fine granulate into a working sieve that is driven by an eccentric. In addition, there is a pressure fan that moves the individual grains. That separates the light from the heavy parts. The density sorting technique enables materials to be sorted according to their specific density. Since gold is significantly heavier than most other metals, this approach is extremely effective. 

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

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