Going for gold in e-waste 電子垃圾變黃金

本集內容

學習要點

有關 “chemical processes（化學過程）” 的詞匯

邊看邊答

What does the Royal Mint do?

文字稿

How do you turn electronic waste like this into gold?

如何把這樣的電子垃圾變成黃金？

The Royal Mint, whose job it is to make coins for the UK, has found a way to do exactly that. First, they take the electronic components from laptops and phones and place them in a secret solution.

英國皇傢鑄幣廠負責為英國鑄造硬幣，他們找到瞭一種方法可以 “點石成金”。首先，要從筆記本電腦和手機中取出電子零部件，放入一種神秘溶液中。

The chemicals extract what’s inside and produce this brown powder. It’s then heated for 30 minutes at more than 1,000 degrees Celsius. The end result is pure gold!

這種化學物質會提取裡面的東西，從而產生這種棕色粉末。然後，在超過1000攝氏度的溫度下加熱30分鐘。最終結果是純金！

Matthew James, Head of R&D, The Royal Mint
We’re hoping to recover all of the metals on the board. Primarily gold to start with, but we are looking at copper, nickel, tin, particularly tin, and some silver.

馬修·詹姆斯英國皇傢鑄幣廠研發負責人
“我們希望能收回電路板上的所有金屬。一開始主要是黃金，但我們也收銅、鎳、錫，尤其是錫，還有些銀。”

More than 50 million tonnes of e-waste, that’s waste from old electronics products, is produced worldwide each year. But only 20% is recycled.

全世界每年產生5000多萬噸電子垃圾，電子垃圾是來自廢舊電子產品的垃圾。但隻有20%被回收利用。

Experts believe that as much as 7% of the world’s gold may be contained in e-waste. And by extracting it, that gold can be used for coins like these.

專傢認為，電子垃圾中可能含有多達世界上7%的黃金。提取出的黃金可以用來鑄造這樣的硬幣。