Money doesn't smell

Scientists propose to extract gold from the sewer:
a million people defecate $13 million a year

Geektimes, ivansychev based on Motherboard: Scientists Want to Mine Our Poop for GoldScientists from the USA have found out that sewage sewage contains rare and expensive elements, including palladium, gold, silver and other metals.

The 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 sewers of the United States. About 60% of the waste is then used as fertilizers, the rest is burned or buried. They are periodically checked for the presence of dangerous metals and other substances.

But chemists from Arizona State University checked the excrement from the sewers of 94 cities in the country and found 50 metals in them, including noble ones. The level of gold in the 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 $ 13 million in the annual budget for every million inhabitants. After processing, the waste will again go to fertilizers.

Now a team of scientists is finding out which metals are most economically feasible to extract, and which methods are better to use.

In the picture on the left – a microparticle of lead, on the right – gold (VM)

Metals are found in hair products, cosmetics and detergents. An important role is played by the people themselves: silver, gold and other metals accumulate in the body, coming with food, which then fall into the sewer.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru27.03.2015