Focus on U.S. investment immigration and U.S. technology development: Every year, governments around the world destroy approximately 150,000 tons of cash due to damaged bills or the accumulation of human oils, known as sebum, during circulation. To address this issue, American scientists have constructed a special cleaning chamber that uses supercritical carbon dioxide to clean dirty U.S. dollars, pounds, rupees, rubles, and renminbi.
The Los Angeles Times reported that every year, governments around the world destroy approximately 150,000 tons of cash due to damaged bills or the accumulation of human oils, known as sebum, during circulation.
As sebum reacts with oxygen in the air, bills begin to yellow, increasing the likelihood of being withdrawn from circulation and destroyed by central banks. Although old bills can be replaced due to damage, 60%-80% of bills are removed from circulation due to being soiled.
A recent research report published in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry indicates that effectively cleaning bills can reduce the global annual cost of replacing currency, which is now approaching $10 billion.
Chemist Nabil Rahmand and physicist Andrei Smuk wrote in the report: "The annual replacement volume of U.S. currency ranges from 7 billion to 11 billion notes, while globally it approaches 150 billion notes, with a significant portion of the increase in the past decade coming from the People's Republic of China." Both scientists hold management positions at the currency authentication company—Spectra Systems Corporation.
According to them, in the United States, the cost of printing a new one-dollar bill is 5.5 cents, while the cost of printing a new one-hundred-dollar bill is approximately 12.6 cents. The average cost of replacing 1,000 bills worldwide is about $65.
The two scientists stated: "In addition to replacing unfit currency, central banks around the world must dispose of nearly 150,000 tons of shredded bills. Although this waste does not contain hazardous levels of toxic substances, it still poses a significant environmental risk."