Scientists use whey protein sponges to extract gold from computer parts, like motherboards — the process is 50X less expensive than the cost of gold and eco-friendly July 21, 2024 by Leo A byproduct of dairy has been found to be exceptionally good at extracting precious metals from electronic circuit boards. Source: Scientists use whey protein sponges to extract gold from computer parts, like motherboards — the process is 50X less expensive than the cost of gold and eco-friendly Pretty cool.