Scientists in Armenia have developed a method of microbial processing of electronic waste, which makes it possible to extract metals from them without harmful emissions and polluting the environment.
Narine Vardanyan, Doctor of Biological Sciences, head of Metal Bioleaching Laboratory of "ArmBiotechnology" SPC of NAS RA said in her interview with "Ankakh" that the processing of electronic waste is one of the new serious challenges facing humanity. "Decommissioned electrical and electronic waste make up the largest and fastest growing share of municipal waste. In order to make the essence of the problem clear, I should mention that in 2021 the global production of electronic waste made up 40 million tons, it is expected that the amount of waste will reach 60 million tons in 2022,” she said.
E-waste poses a great problem for the environment. they contain quite a large amount of heavy metals, and environmental pollution with heavy metals is a serious threat to ecosystems and living organisms." Vardanyan notes that electronic waste is also a rich secondary source for precious and rare metals.
She noted that microbial extraction of metals is effective even in the case of poor ore and mine waste, which are currently the main target of extraction of metals around the world. Obtaining metals by the method of microbial decomposition is used on a production scale in such countries as China, Canada, Bulgaria, Russia, Spain, Chile, AAU. 20-30 percent of the world's copper production is obtained by microbial method. Unfortunately, being a country rich in mineral resources, the mentioned newest technologies are not yet applied in Armenia. The reason is the lack of a complete chain of copper production in Armenia. Armenia continues to be a country that exports copper concentrate.
"The environment is ecologically safe and requires little investment. The first small steps of our farmers in the direction of using the microbial decomposition method were successful, but it was local in nature and the possibilities of large-scale application are not yet visible. Meanwhile, if there is a will and desire, Armenia can also export copper instead of copper concentrate, which is economically more profitable while avoiding negative consequences on the surrounding environment," she outlined.
July 08, 2022 at 12:58