Scientists Figure Out How to Get Silver Using Cooking Oil | Headline USA

Mind you, you won’t be able to use your phone ever again.

But you’ll have silver!

Researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä have discovered a way to recover silver from electronic waste using cooking oil.

This is an important discovery given the tight silver supply.

According to the researchers, when heated slightly, olive oil, sunflower oil, or other cooking oil mixed in a solution of hydrogen peroxide dissolves silver from old circuit boards and other e-waste. The silver is then pulled out in solid form using ethyl acetate.

Scientists say the process is much more environmentally friendly because it doesn’t require toxic industrial solvents, and they call it a “sustainable, scalable method.”

The secret to the process is the fatty acids in the cooking oil.

According to Fox News, researchers used computer modeling to study how fatty acids interact with silver ions. The method targets silver and leaves other metals behind. Scientists say the process stabilizes the silver and allows for easy recovery using “light and simple solvents.”

“In testing, even silver-coated keyboard connectors were cleanly processed into pure elemental silver powder using this system.”

As a bonus, the recovery materials can be reused, eliminating chemical waste and holding down costs.

Researchers say the discovery could lead to the development of safe do-it-yourself silver recycling kits you can use at home.

However, don’t imagine that you’re going to get rich pulling the silver out of that baggie of old phones sitting in your junk drawer. Your phone generally contains less than 0.35 grams of silver.

However, if you have a lot of old electronics, those fractions of a gram add up. According to the Silver Institute, about 193.9 million troy ounces of silver were recycled last year.

You will find silver in virtually every electronic device, from phones to computers to televisions. However, only about 20 percent of that silver is currently recovered through recycling.

If the process can be scaled up, it could provide additional silver for a market suffering from extremely tight supply.

Mine output has flatlined in recent years. Silver mine output peaked in 2016 at 900 million ounces. Up until last year, silver production had dropped by an average of 1.4 percent each year. In 2024, mine output grew by a modest 2 percent.

Meanwhile, industrial demand has surged, setting a record for the fourth consecutive year.

Demand outstripped the silver supply for the fourth consecutive year in 2024. The structural market deficit came in at 148.9 million ounces. That drove the four-year market shortfall to 678 million ounces, the equivalent of 10 months of mining supply in 2024.