Method Recovers Metals from Electronic Waste

Inspired by nature’s work to build spiky structures in caves, engineers have developed a method to recover precious metals from electronic waste. Using controlled applications of oxygen and relatively low temperatures, the engineers say they can de-alloy a metal by slowly moving the most reactive components to the surface, where they form stalagmitelike spikes of metal oxides. That leaves the least-reactive components in a purified, liquid core surrounded by brittle metal-oxide spikes.