How To Extract Platinum From Catalytic Converter

Last updated on August 14th, 2022 at 04:50 pm

The valuables in catalytic converters are found in their honeycomb-like tubes. These tubes are coated with palladium, platinum, and rhodium. When you look at these three metals, platinum is the most sought-after and expensive because of its industrial and commercial value.

Platinum, among the precious metals in cat converters, is more valuable than gold and silver. Platinum almost has the same density as gold and has the same ductile and malleable properties as gold. Platinum is also as resistant to corrosion as gold.

But what made platinum different is its rarity. The availability ratio of platinum to gold is about 1:15. What this means is that for every 15 gold available, there’s only 1 platinum. This also means it’s challenging to acquire a lot of it because it will take about 10 tons of raw platinum ore before you can come up with a single ounce of pure platinum.

Apart from its rarity, it is also admired because of its simplistic silvery beauty. Platinum is also more rigid than gold and silver as it has the highest melting point amongst the three metals. Platinum also has hypoallergenic properties that make it a safe choice for jewelry.

However, what drives platinum’s demand is its industrial use. Its high electric conductivity and catalyst properties are used in many applications and machines. One good thing about it is that one-third of all platinum production goes to the automobile industry.

Does Catalytic Converter Has Platinum

Yes, every catalytic converter has about 3-7 grams of platinum. However, this depends on the manufacturer and model. The three-way cat converter used in patrol cars minimizes the CO to hydrocarbons and NOx to nitrogen elements.

However, other transition elements can catalyze oxidation reactions too, but platinum has several benefits, which include:

The platinum melting point is very high.
Platinum’s interactions with poisons such as sulfur compounds are limited to the mental surface.
Platinum is recyclable, and this means that it can efficiently be recycled.

Why Is There Platinum In Catalytic Converters

Platinum is a silvery chemical element and a member of the six transition compounds in group viii found in the periodic table. Platinum belongs to a group of platinum metals: osmium, rhodium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, and iridium.

Platinum plays a major role in catalytic converters; it oxidizes carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons. It is very effective under oxygen-excessive conditions, making it the best option for diesel engines.

It also works as a catalyst, as it collects oxygen atoms (O), and allows them to bind with the toxic carbon monoxide (CO), which helps in creating the less harmful carbon dioxide (CO2).

Platinum has the symbol Pt and an atomic number of seventy-eight with an atomic weight of 195.09. Platinum is a weighty, soft, precious, malleable, and silver-white metal with a high melting point.

Can You Extract Platinum From A Catalytic Converter?

Yes, it is possible to extract platinum from a catalytic converter, but for this to happen, the cat converter must be entirely removed from your vehicle. Many cat converters are bolted onto a car’s exhaust system using a series of threaded bolts. So this means that to extract platinum from a catalytic converter, this series of threaded bolts must be loosened.

Which Cars Have Platinum Catalytic Converters?

As we know, cat converters are very valuable due to their precious metals, such as platinum, rhodium, and palladium. These metals increase the scrap’s monetary value of cat converters, which is why junkyards are willing to pay huge bucks for your old car.

But which cars have a platinum catalytic converter? Research has shown that the cars below have the most platinum catalytic converter:

Ferrari F430 valued at $4,500 per catalytic converter
Lamborghini Aventador valued at $3,700 per catalytic converter
Dodge Ram 2500 valued at $4,100
Ford F250 valued at $3,300
Ford Mustang valued at $1,800

This list simply means that someone who wants to sell their old car has to be aware of its value. So in case you want to know the value of platinum in your catalytic converters, just look up the price in this post or go and ask around in any scrap yard close to you to see what they offer you.

Why Are Platinum In Catalytic Converter Extracted

Platinum has become very expensive due to its precious metal, which is priced by weight. The reason for being so expensive is that platinum is heavier or denser than gold. Averagely, every catalytic converter has about 3-7 grams of platinum, though it varies based on manufacturer and model.

Another reason why platinum in catalytic converters is extracted is that it is more valuable than gold since it is tough to find the metal. Additionally, the platinum extraction process is more expensive than other metals. This is due to its higher melting point, which makes its extraction very expensive because of the high amount of energy needed to extract it.

Additionally, platinum has increased because of a higher demand for heavy-duty Chinese vehicles, increasing its value daily.

Another reason why platinum in the catalytic converter is extracted is that the price of platinum today varies based on the metric units used. It costs about $1028 per ounce, $33050 per kilogram, and $33 per gram.

How Much Is The Platinum In A Catalytic Converter Worth

Platinum in a catalytic converter is worth about $1028 per ounce, $33050 per kilogram, and $33 per gram. It accounts for about 0.03% of the catalytic converter’s weight. Though the price of platinum currently varies based on the metric units used.

Which Catalytic Converter Has The Most Platinum

Platinum has become very expensive due to its precious metal, which is priced by weight. The reason for being so expensive is that platinum is heavier or denser than gold. So the cat converter that has the most platinum is Dodge Ram 2500, Ferrari F430, Ford F250, Lamborghini Aventador, and the Ford Mustang.

How To Process Platinum From Catalytic Converters

If you want to process platinum from catalytic converters, you must take off your vehicle’s converter. Cat converters are bolted onto your car exhaust system with threaded bolts. This means that they have to be loosened and then taken off the bolts with a simple socket wrench allowing you to take off the catalytic converter from a vehicle and process the platinum.

You can cut off the metal attachments that link a catalytic converter to a vehicle’s exhaust system, allowing you to pull off the cat converter quickly.

It must be removed from the converter to process the platinum coating on the cat.

You can do this by simply turning up the cat converter lengthwise and pounding on one end with a blunt instrument till the cat pieces begin to fall out of the lower, open end of the converter.

Easiest Way To Extract Platinum From Catalytic Converter

Some people wonder, what’s the easiest way to extract platinum from a catalytic converter? Note that you can melt platinum out by grinding (this requires silicon carbide or diamonds) the honeycomb (which is made of aluminum oxide) to a fine powder and then heat it above 1768.3 °C.

But please do not expect to get very much platinum after this. Be aware that a $750 cat converter will have substantially less than $75 worth of platinum.

How To Extract platinum From Catalytic Converters

There are two ways to extract from catalytic converters.

First, you can melt the cat converter once you have a blast furnace, and the method you will use to collect it from the bottom of the furnace is challenging.
Secondly, you can use the electrictroisis method. You charge the dissected cat converter and place it on a metal rod.
But you are required to submerge the exposed internals in hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, and then the metals will be transferred to the metal rod through the electrolysis process.

How Much Platinum Can Be Recovered From A Catalytic Converter?

Platinum is becoming very expensive because of its precious metal, which is priced by weight. One of the reasons for becoming so expensive is because platinum is heavier or denser than gold. Averagely, the platinum that can be recovered from a catalytic converter is about 3-7 grams; this can vary based on manufacturer and model.

How To Extract Platinum From Catalytic Converter

For those who intend to have a piece of this precious metal, there are several ways how to extract platinum from a catalytic converter. Though sometimes, the assistance of a certified professional would be more beneficial to you than doing it yourself. But if you still want to extract it yourself, then you can follow this procedure:

Take off the cat converter, which you will find under the vehicle’s chassis. Make use of a chop saw or flame cutter to take it off or you can unscrew the bolts using a socket wrench.
Make use of a flame cutter or cutting torch to split open the cat converter. Ensure to use heavy industrial gloves and goggle to protect yourself.
Now expose the ceramic honeycomb and get it out of the case.
You can still make use of a flat head screwdriver in prying out some of the platinum coatings.
After extracting platinum, you can averagely get about 3-7 grams of it from your cat converter.
It’s time to sell your platinum to junkyards.

Indeed, dismantling the cat converter to extract platinum can be quite exhaustive, but it’s also very rewarding as platinum can be rare to find and is a valuable metal. Platinum that comes from trucks has more value than the regular ones in cars.

Where To Sell Platinum From Catalytic Converters

If you can sell your gold and silver, you can still sell platinum in several ways. However, the most common way is to junkyards which you can find around you stay. To sell your platinum from catalytic converters, contact the following companies:

1. BR Metals

BR Metals is an industry leader specializing in Platinum Group Metals (PGM) recycling. They are one of Asia’s largest processors of end-of-life cat converters. They were established in 2009 to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to deep-earth mining. This company extracts over 80,000 troy ounces of PGM every year from spent materials such as cat converters, spark plugs, diesel particulate filters (DPF), oxygen sensors, automotive electronic control units, and industrial catalysts and returns it to the circular economy.

2. PGM Recovery Systems, Inc.

This company was established in 2010 with four partners. One of them is metallurgists, two engineers, and the last is a 4th generation nonferrous metal processor with more than 100 years of combined experience.

How Much Rhodium Is In A Catalytic Converter In Grams?

Rhodium is a catalytic converter depending on the car’s make, model, and engine. However, the average quantity of rhodium you will find in a cat converter is about 1-2 grams, while the average weight of a cat converter is around 1.2 kg or 2.2 pounds.

As you know, Rhodium has a very high price; it is about $290 per gram. However, this price would depend on the quality of the metal.

How Much Gold Is In A Catalytic Converter

Over the years, cat converter theft has drastically increased because of the increasing value of metals found in cat converters. The number of metals in the catalytic converter may vary depending on the make, manufacturer, and model. This is the reason each cat converter has different prices. But how much gold is in a catalytic converter? Catalytic converters contain no gold but other metals such as platinum, rhodium, and palladium. This palladium is a precious metal that is more valuable than gold.

Conclusion

Platinum is more admired for its simplistic silvery beauty, and it is said to be more challenging than gold and silver since it has the highest melting point amongst other metals in cat converters. Platinum also has hypoallergenic properties, which makes it a safe choice for jewelry.

The reason why platinum is extracted from the catalytic converter is that the price of platinum is currently placed at about $1028 per ounce, $33050 per kilogram, and $33 per gram.