Old computers to be turned into fuel

The boom in computers and the high turnover of equipment in the last decade has created a massive environmental headache around the world. The circuit boards in computers contain high levels of pollutants such as heavy metals that can potentially harm humans.

A group of Romanian and Turkish researchers have come to the rescue and developed an ingenious way to recycle printed circuit boards into environment friendly raw materials. The process involves exposing the boards to a combination of high temperatures, catalysts, and chemical filtration.  The processing method, removes almost all the toxic substances, resulting in oils that can be safely used as fuel or raw materials which in turn could be used in fuel, plastic, and other useful consumer products.

With the price of petrol reaching ridiculous levels and the rapid turn over of computer equipment this news can’t come at a better time.

Read all about the recycling process. You need to be warned, it isn't exactly light reading.