Scientists propose to extract gold from sewage: a million people defecate with $ 13 million a year

Scientists from the United States found that sewage impurities contain rare and expensive elements, including palladium, gold, silver and other metals. Income from the extraction of these metals will bring $ 13 million per year for every million residents of the city.







Every year, seven million tons of solid matter of biological origin passes through the US sewer. About 60% of the waste is then used as fertilizer, the rest is burned or instilled. Periodically they are checked for the presence of hazardous metals and other substances.



But chemists from the University of Arizona checked the excreta from sewers in 94 cities in the country and found 50 metals in them, including precious metals. The level of gold in sewage corresponds to the minimum level of deposits of gold-bearing rocks that are suitable for processing. For the extraction of metals, you can use the usual methods of processing raw materials by ore companies - in this case, the city can receive in the annual budget $ 13 million for every million inhabitants. After processing, the waste will again be fertilized.

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Now a team of scientists is figuring out which metals are most economically sound from an economic point of view, and which ways are best to use.



Metals are found in hair products, cosmetics and detergents. An important role is played by the people themselves: silver, gold and other metals that come with food accumulate in the body and then enter the sewage system.