Have you ever wondered what happens to your computer when it’s recycled? Tossing your old computer within the trash may help to scale back clutter, but are often problematic for a variety of reasons, like filling up landfills and risking data breaches. this does not mean you’ve got to use your computer as a super-sized paperweight, though. you’re right if you think that your old computer isn’t worth much, but the magic of recycling is that once you combine many components that aren’t worth much on their own, you’ll create something valuable enough to measure a second or maybe third life.
You may already know that recycling is that the best (and most responsible) thanks to eliminating your old computer equipment. What you’ll not know is how it works and therefore the interesting uses for the materials that come from recycling your old computer.
Nearly every part of your computer is often recycled, including glass, plastic, metal, AND circuit board components. for instance, your computer’s circuit card contains silver and copper, and therefore the microprocessor is laced with gold. this is not just to form your circuit card look pretty. These metals are good at conducting electrical signals, and also happen to be in relatively short supply worldwide. When computers are recycled, these metals are sent to a plant to be extracted, processed, and refined, then used again in new applications.
“Walkthrough the process of demanufacturing a server to prepare a computer for recycling. Liquid Technology is a leading recycler of e-waste and computer hard”
The amount of metal during a single computer is small, paper-thin, difficult to extract, and not of much value. But if you’re ready to recycle many thousands of computers at a time, and found out an efficient and safe process for automating the extraction of those metals, then it starts to form sense economically to mix and reuse these metals.
What Actually Happens to Your Old Computer When it’s Recycled
First, the outer casings are begun, and therefore the cables are unplugged. Microprocessors are removed. a bit like they sound, microprocessors are very small but don’t let their size fool you. they’re actually the simplest computer part to recycle since the sole metal contained in them is (a very bit of) gold. a mixture of acid and aqua fortis is employed to separate the gold from the ceramics. Hundreds at a time are dissolved during a large barrel. What remains is pure gold. The extracted gold is then melted into gold bullion. Pretty cool, huh?
What are often through with the Metals in Your Computer? In the next step, the plate is run through another bath where a plate attracts the silver forming it into crystals. After the second bath, the plate contains nothing but gold. Gold plates are often melted down and shaped into different forms that have a spread of uses. for instance, they will be pinched into smaller plates which will become dental crowns. What once carried information around a computer’s memory will shortly find a range in someone’s mouth.
Gold plates also can be wont to make “gold salt”, which adds a touch of “seasoning” to the pc manufacturing process. Seriously, though, gold salt really is employed within the manufacturing of computers. to make gold salt crystals from gold plates, they need to use cyanide, which is very poisonous. The engineer makes sure that the container is sealed very tightly during the method. This salt might not be so good for fish and chips, but it’s excellent for computer chips. A bucket of gold salt features a value of just about $60,000. the number of computers needed to form one bucket of gold salt, though, probable numbers within the thousands.
Other uses for gold plates include gold rods treated within the furnace. They’re compressed and twisted into a coil, which is then transformed into fine wire utilized in computer circuitry. Another industry that features a huge demand for gold is that the space industry. Satellites and vehicles like spacecraft use gold in their engines. Everyone knows gold may be valuable, but who would have thought that it might have numerous industrial uses? Reusing reclaimed gold and other precious metals means there’s less mining that has got to be done. Recycling is additionally less expensive than mining, therefore having a positive effect on the economy, also the environment.
Companies that replace computers frequently – like hospitals, universities, and insurance companies – have a good greater responsibility than individuals to make sure their computers are recycled appropriately. For this reason, many environmentally-conscience companies develop long-term relationships with trustworthy recycling companies which will responsibly manage large-volume drop-offs on a daily basis. Companies that affect confidential or proprietary data got to be especially careful to settle on a recycling partner which will assure their data is kept secure, then completely wiped from existence during the recycling process, while also ensuring all the reusable parts of their computers are put to optimal use.
PC Dreams Group is an authorized provider in Electronics Recycling, a Certified Recycler. We will provide you with peace of mind that you simply are removing your organization’s electronic waste safely and responsibly. All electronic waste is recycled in a Certified facility.
