This study presents an environmentally-friendly and efficient method for recovering gold from e-waste leachate using an alginate-derived pyrocarbon sorbent. The sorbent demonstrates exceptional performance, with a high gold recovery capacity of 2829.7 mg g⁻¹, over 99.5% efficiency, remarkable selectivity (Kd ~ 3.1 × 10⁸ mL g⁻¹), and strong resistance to interference from other metal ions. The pyrocarbon's aromatic structures serve as electron sources, enabling the hydroxylation process that generates electrons and phenolic hydroxyls for gold ion reduction. A "stepwise" nucleation mechanism was identified, where gold ions are reduced as intermediate gold-chlorine clusters, lowering energy barriers from 1.08 to -21.84 eV. Technoeconomic analysis shows the process is economically viable, with an input-output ratio of 1370%. The sorbent can recover 23.96 karats of gold from real-world CPU leachates without the need for organic reagents. The study highlights the potential of pyrocarbon as a sustainable and cost-effective sorbent for gold recovery, contributing to a circular economy and environmental sustainability. The pyrocarbon's unique properties, including its high conductivity and surface functionality, enable efficient gold reduction through electron transfer. The study also reveals the mechanism of gold recovery, showing that the unsaturated aromatic structures of pyrocarbon transfer delocalized π-electrons for gold reduction. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the pyrocarbon-based sorbent in recovering gold from e-waste leachates, with high purity and selectivity. The study provides a practical and sustainable approach for gold recovery from e-waste, with significant economic and environmental benefits.This study presents an environmentally-friendly and efficient method for recovering gold from e-waste leachate using an alginate-derived pyrocarbon sorbent. The sorbent demonstrates exceptional performance, with a high gold recovery capacity of 2829.7 mg g⁻¹, over 99.5% efficiency, remarkable selectivity (Kd ~ 3.1 × 10⁸ mL g⁻¹), and strong resistance to interference from other metal ions. The pyrocarbon's aromatic structures serve as electron sources, enabling the hydroxylation process that generates electrons and phenolic hydroxyls for gold ion reduction. A "stepwise" nucleation mechanism was identified, where gold ions are reduced as intermediate gold-chlorine clusters, lowering energy barriers from 1.08 to -21.84 eV. Technoeconomic analysis shows the process is economically viable, with an input-output ratio of 1370%. The sorbent can recover 23.96 karats of gold from real-world CPU leachates without the need for organic reagents. The study highlights the potential of pyrocarbon as a sustainable and cost-effective sorbent for gold recovery, contributing to a circular economy and environmental sustainability. The pyrocarbon's unique properties, including its high conductivity and surface functionality, enable efficient gold reduction through electron transfer. The study also reveals the mechanism of gold recovery, showing that the unsaturated aromatic structures of pyrocarbon transfer delocalized π-electrons for gold reduction. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the pyrocarbon-based sorbent in recovering gold from e-waste leachates, with high purity and selectivity. The study provides a practical and sustainable approach for gold recovery from e-waste, with significant economic and environmental benefits.