Irapuato, Gto., September 5, 2019.- Gold, nickel, palladium and platinum are metals present in cell phones that can be melted and sold again. Through a treatment called solvolysis cell phones are removed from plastic to recover metals, noted the researcher of the University of Guanajuato (UG) Dr. Lorena Eugenia Sánchez Cadena.

In giving the conference "Cell Phone Recycling" in the Division of Life Sciences, the professor opined that instead of cell phones becoming contaminated in municipal dumps, it is preferable to give them a second use by recovering their metals.

In countries like China or the United States users can change their cell phone every 6 months or before the year, but it is appropriate to consider recycling to be economically profitable and a good method is solvolysis which means "solvent-mediated rupture". It is a nucleophilic substitution where the solvent serves as an attacking reagent.

The invited guest to give this talk to university students of the Irapuato headquarters, is professor of the Engineering Division of the University of Guanajuato, Campus Guanajuato, has a PhD in Process and Materials Engineering, specializing in polymers, from the Ecole Centrale Paris. She belongs to the National System of Researchers and its research lines are chemical recycling of crisscrossed polymers and absorption processes for water sanitation.

Regarding metals in cell phones, platinum and palladium have exceeded the price of gold and silver. Palladium is mainly used to manufacture catalytic converters, located in the exhaust system of cars.

Platinum is malleable and acid-resistant, in nature it is a small and normally alloyed with other metals is used specially to manufacture laboratory instruments, jewelry, usually alloyed with gold, electrical components, for fillings dental and as a catalyst.

Of nickel, approximately 65% of that metal is used in the manufacture of austenitic stainless steel and another 12% in nickel superalloys. The remainder is distributed among other alloys for rechargeable batteries, catalysis, coinage, metal coatings and cast iron.

It should be noted that in Mexico there is a Special Waste Management Plan of the National Telecommunications Association.

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