Gold from the Sea
goldfever.com
================================================
second article:
Technology' to extract gold from sea water
A Chennai-based scientist, Joy Prakash Agarwala, has claimed that he has developed a technology that can extract gold from sea water, at a much lower cost than the present market rate.
Sea water contains 10 parts per million (PPM) of gold, which can be extracted by ``carrier mediated transport through immobilised liquid membrane (ILM) technology,'' says Dr. Agarwala, who has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering.
He claims that his extracted samples were analysed by the Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, but refuses to share the exact technology and the materials used for the ILM or the carrier, as they are yet to be patented. The technology, when perfected, will have great implications as gold can be extracted from sea at the cost of Rs. 2300 per 10 gm., he claims. ``The seas contain about six billion tonnes of gold.''
After getting his B. Tech degree in 1982 from IIT, Kharagpur, Dr. Agarwala did his post graduation and Ph.D from Colorado. Since then, he has been working on projects to remove lead content from drinking water in the U.S and reduce arsenic from drinking water in West Bengal. That was when he began perfecting the ILM and carrier transport methods. In 1998, at the Colorado Government's invitation, he explored the possibilities of extracting gold from the (old mines) in Colorado, when he found gold in Colorado River. ``The technology that is nearing perfection can extract gold or even uranium from the sea,'' according to him. "The carrier and membranes should be changed to suit the application.'' He is seeking the Indian Government's help to set up a pilot plant for demonstrating the technology.
Dr. Agarwala is under ``enormous pressure and inducements'' from certain agencies and countries to ``sell'' the technology, he says. ``But, I am clear that India should hold the patent from this technology.''
Chemical engineering scientists and academics here say it is theoretically possible to extract gold ions from sea water. Recovery of dissolved gold from solutions has been tried successfully with some other methods in laboratory conditions.
The idea of using liquid membranes for separating gold ions from sea water appeals to the experts at IIT, Madras, though the practical application at a pilot project/plant levels has not yet been tried. Of course, the scientists feel the technology, which Prof. Agarwala claims to have developed, needs to be validated.
An IIT professor, who works on membrane technology, wonders about the cost-effectiveness of the technology. As gold material itself is precious, the technology may be commercially viable, subject, of course, to validation.
A random check of the worldwide web shows that the use of immobilised liquid membranes, along with the use of carriers, can recognise specific molecules and separate them from solutions. Liquid membranes can be used for waste-water treatment and recovery of metals from solutions. A Canadian university website, which provides some details on ocean chemistry, says small amounts of manganese, lead, gold, iron and iodine are available in sea water.
hinduonnet.com |
