Millions in gold, silver in your crap.

[wmenorr67]

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/02/01/in-your-city-sewage-millions-in-gold-silver/?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obinsite

How much heat would it take to separate the metals from the sludge and how big of a furnace would it take?  Seems to me it shouldn't be too difficult or relatively expensive to do the extraction.

[Scout26]

So there are still YUPPIES drinking Goldschlager?

[charby]

So there are still YUPPIES drinking Goldschlager?

I never seen any Yuppies drinking Goldschlager, it was always a bunch of under 25 year olds doing shots and after shots of it.

[charby]

I remember a National Geographic Magazine article from back in the mid 1980's about all the gold that gets flushed down the sewer, mostly from labels on bottles.

[MechAg94]

I remember a National Geographic Magazine article from back in the mid 1980's about all the gold that gets flushed down the sewer, mostly from labels on bottles.

Why would bottle labels end up in the sewer instead of the landfill?

I figure one day someone will come up with an affordable way to recycle landfill trash for scrap metal and other stuff.  If the prices for materials get higher, that may help the affordability issue.

[lupinus]

Fascinating

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

There are bajillions of tons of gold and silver dissolved in seawater, too.  It can be extracted, just not profitably.  I assume extracting dissolved metals from sewage presents the same sort of problems.

[charby]

Why would bottle labels end up in the sewer instead of the landfill?

I figure one day someone will come up with an affordable way to recycle landfill trash for scrap metal and other stuff.  If the prices for materials get higher, that may help the affordability issue.

I think that was back from people repurposed glass bottles, they would wash the paper labels off in the sink. Some of the printing had gold in it.

This was back when peanut butter still came in glass jars.

[AJ Dual]

There are bajillions of tons of gold and silver dissolved in seawater, too.  It can be extracted, just not profitably.  I assume extracting dissolved metals from sewage presents the same sort of problems.

My guess is the sewage has a significantly higher concentration due to human activity and industry over natural erosion.

Yet another reason for cheap ubiquitous nuclear.

[HankB]

There are bajillions of tons of gold and silver dissolved in seawater, too.  It can be extracted, just not profitably.  I assume extracting dissolved metals from sewage presents the same sort of problems.

There's about 20 megatons of gold in them thar oceans - have at it, boys!

[Scout26]

There's about 20 megatons of gold in them thar oceans - have at it, boys!

I think we're going to need a a bigger boat....

[freakazoid]

I think that was back from people repurposed glass bottles, they would wash the paper labels off in the sink. Some of the printing had gold in it.

This was back when peanut butter still came in glass jars.

What was the gold used for?

Wonder how much gold and silver is in all the electronics that get tossed and how much you would need to make a profit getting it out.

[Scout26]

Which is why most end up in third-world crapholes,  where the lack of enviromental laws, rules, and regs allow the very nasty methods needed to extract the precious metals to happen.

[freakazoid]

Which is why most end up in third-world crapholes,  where the lack of enviromental laws, rules, and regs allow the very nasty methods needed to extract the precious metals to happen.

The electronics, or poop?

[Scout26]

Yes.

 

[charby]

What was the gold used for?

Gold/silver leaf used in the labels of products.

Some of you guys are freaking youngsters.

[freakazoid]

Gold/silver leaf used in the labels of products.

Some of you guys are freaking youngsters.

That's some fancy product label.

[charby]

That's some fancy product label.

Remember gold is very malleable and can be pounded into sheets thinner than a human hair that contain really cheap amounts of gold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_leaf

[Triphammer]

Beyond that, until mid 77, gold was $20 an ounce. Certainly affordable as high end pigment.

[MechAg94]

Beyond that, until mid 77, gold was $20 an ounce. Certainly affordable as high end pigment.

Yeah, but $20 was a huge amount in today's dollars. 

[Triphammer]

I dunno. Bread, milk, rent, paycheck has gone up 3 - 500%. Minimum wage was $2.50 or so . Golds up 6500%