Rashidat Oladele
Claim: Old milk is used to extract gold/metal from E-Waste.
An online article in the New Scientist, available at www.newscientist.com , elicited public awareness and raised curiosity about the old milk phenomenon.
The article titled, “Old milk can be used to extract gold and other metals from e-waste,” described how to use an aerogel formed from old milk to remove gold deposits from electronic waste, including used computer motherboards and other electronic garbage.
The article that supports the notion that it is plausible is available in the link:
The claim was subjected to a fact-check by NatureNews, Africa’s authoritative news publication, which is dedicated to accurate reporting to stop the spread of fake news, particularly among users of social media.
Findings: Using the Google search tool, NatureFact, the fact-checking arm of NatureNews, investigated the claims based on the available papers and studies.
These include the following links:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U6FWD-s0bik
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277406345_Gold_biorecovery_from_e- waste_An_improved_strategy_through_spent_medium_leaching_with_pH_modification
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.202310642
It was found that Aerogel, which is produced from old milk and contains extract from the protein rather than just milk components, is used to absorb gold along with other materials.
Verdict: It is true that the aerogel gotten from old milk can be used to extract gold and other metals.
