Recovery of Metal from PCP

The correct way to do this is to grind up the PCBs, and then dissolve out the metals with aqua regia (3 parts concentrated hydrochloric acid to 1 part concentrated nitric acid). The solution is then purified, first by filtration, and then by a ligand. Finally, cyanide is used to separate the gold from the other metals in solution.

Hi,

the economic way is to build a melting oven that can be heated to 1100°C and that accepts near 100 to 1000Kg.

Load it with 80% copper and 20% PCBs.

Organics will burn away - so you will need a powerful control of exhausted toxics.

Glass will melt and prevent the metals from oxidation.

Metals will dissolve in molten copper, cast and reprocessed in copper (galvanic) refinery.

There will also the precious metals and nickel be extracted from the anode slug.

If you think about small scale: no generally accepted way existing. Aqua -regia is more costly than the materials worth you will get and dangers of poisoning yourself and others will stop anybody soon.

Small scale gold and copper extraction is possible by boiling in an chloride-nitrate solution.

Search the SciAm archives for the way the INCA-Indians used.

RHABE

A few of these furnaces are still in use in the Cero Rico vicinty of Bolivia. If one can acclimatize to the Alto Plano elevation (chewing coca helps as does drinking the tea) the people would be happy to show how it's done. Chemical plating is also done there.

One word of caution.......contrary to what the Bolivians believe the coca tea is not allowed to be imported.

Best of the New Year Rhabe

Cheapest method may be anodic dissolution of the metals. This will leave the plastic intact which may have some use.

Greetings to all in 2010..

All approaches have merit..I'd like to suggest another approach...Place the part(s) in a slurry of sand/water(or other suitable media) filled container of appropriate size..Grind it using a mortar pestal approach...Put the residue into a a large enough centrifuge(there's a company in Waterloo region that makes them to order if you have sufficient capital) and spin a suitable aliquot of this ground sample....collecting the seperated layers..Analyze the contents and then grind again perhaps using quartz sand or even clay or metal filings as the abrasive..Eventually a relative purity of different materials will be achieved..In my minds eye you could,again if you have sufficient capital to pay for the centrifuge...power consumption..etc..have a fairly decent seperation based on mass/gravity differences..Whether or not this would yield pure elements i really don't know...if the goal is to make money bigger would be better...Whatever... it would be fun to try...

Regards,Marty Wolf

I think...Likely you do too...