Romanian researchers have found a way to stop old computers from filling up landfills. Since most computer equipment is toxic, not only do they take a long time to decompose, they also pollute the surrounding environment. It’s a problem that scientists in Romania and Turkey have solved, through a process that takes circuit boards and makes oil.
The scientists took the problem of old computer hardware to heart and experimented with old circuit boards for some time until they found a way to use chemical filtration, special catalysts and high temperatures in order to make new something usable.
The raw material created by the process resembles oil but could be used to make fuel, plastic or other consumer products.
In the United States in 2005, 2.63 million tons of trash were attributed to old computers and laptops, material which is coated in mercury, arsenic and lead.
William Hall, a chemical engineer at Coventry University in England did not participate in the study but is excited by the results. “It is good work,” he said. “The recycling of scrap printed circuit boards is becoming increasingly important because some of the metals they contain are becoming increasingly scarce.”
The biggest obstacle now, according to Hall, is making the process more large scale.
The research findings will be published this week in the journal “Energy & Fuels.” The research was funded by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research.
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