The University of Edinburgh has licensed a gold and copper recovery process that it says enables cleaner extraction of high‑value metals from e‑waste.
The Gold Copper Diamide Extraction (GCDE) process uses organic compounds to selectively extract metals from discarded electronics.
Developed by Professor Jason Love and Professor Carole Morrison in the School of Chemistry, and commercialised with support from Edinburgh Innovations, the process has been licenced to mineral processing company Lithium Universe.
E‑waste is one of the world’s fastest-growing hazardous waste streams; however, only around 20% is recycled using environmentally sound methods.
Traditional e‑waste processing relies on furnace smelting above 1,200°C or aggressive leaching, both energy‑intensive and polluting.
The GCDE process instead uses low‑temperature hydrometallurgy and small, reusable organic ligands to target metals in sequence, under mild conditions and avoiding cyanide, mercury and organic solvent extraction.
Under an exclusive worldwide licence, Lithium Universe will deploy and sub-license the technology globally as part of its expanding precious metals recycling strategy.
Dr Susan Bodie, Director of Innovation Development and Licensing at Edinburgh Innovations, commented: “This breakthrough from the University of Edinburgh reinforces the strategic expansion of our Precious Metals Recycling Division into high-value recovery technologies.”
“By integrating selective metal recovery with sustainable processing, Lithium Universe Limited strengthens its competitive position in circular-economy solutions for gold, silver, and copper recovery.”
