Smelting Platinum

Smelting Platinum from catalytic converter beads using various collector metals and fluxes to determine the best recovery of PGM.

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Complete Smelting Kits:

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[johndaniel]

I work at an oil refinery as a chemist, we use platinum catalyst in at least three units. We use 5N sulfuric to dissolve the alumina substrate for testing. The platinum is not in a recoverable metallic state, you probably have to reduce it in solution before it is recoverable.

[gizmo]

Those convection currents are absolutely mesmerizing, like watching the sun

[ChrisCVW]

4:06 every British viewer immediately and reflexively shouts back at their device “YOU’RE an intermediate slag”, even if they were doing something else and barely listening.

[billizzard]

Great video! I can watch you melt stuff all day. I am using an impact mill to grind up ore that I find around from local mine tailings. What I have learned so far... I need to learn a lot more. Thanks! Look forward to more lessons.

[jasong]

Great video now you need to send the bucket of remaining beads over to sreetips to put the stuff to the acid test

[deethamoon]

Thank you for the sacrifice . And the education. Borax has my confidence now.

[chrissaucier]

Them beads might have already been processed through a leaching system ? I've seen people get skunked buying catt ceramic that had been leached already

[kouroshjavanbakht]

Hey Jason
Thanks for another awesome video. I highly advise you chemically dissolve that silver button, most of your Platinum is in that silver.
Since the percentage of Platinum is below 25% it will dissolve along silver in dilute nitric acid, but solution turns orange yellow.

Platinum also shows if you assay that silver bead.

The reason for loss of silver during smelting is due to massive amount of borax which can oxidize some of that silver.

Also make sure you use silver fine powder, silver is the best collector metals.

Thanks
KJ

[ZENMASTERME]

Your videos are always informative and very educational! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. 👍🏾

[darkunicorn]

I think these beads were already leeched of any value of metal.

[nevilledraper]

Watching you put so much effort into such experiments and use different mixes throughout to find best extraction methods it really surprises me you haven't invested in or borrow an XRF machine to find the exact % and type of precious metals you recover. Regardless, I still enjoy watching as every video teaches me something. Keep it up mate.

[johnarchuleta]

Jason you’re still the MAN! Great video.

[purduephotog]

I'm sure you're aware but you don't need a lot of Platinum to do catalysis, and most vendors will minimize. You'll want as much surface area and as thin of a layer as possible. We worked on plating depositing copper into nano-pores inside of carbon, and then placing Platinum on top of that.
We're talking tiny, tiny, TINY amounts. Anyone that needs a TON of platinum to do reactions isn't doing it right- so you may really have to look at chemical dissolution instead of decomposition.

It has been years since I did this work to produce OLEDs. I've got to imagine the industry has gotten stingier since then.... actually, sigh, nearly 2 decades at this point. I feel old.

[louwclaassens]

Nice vid. Glad to see some techniques from the literature you got. Yes I agree that Borax would be the better flux for Alumina. We use Lithium Tetraborate for the fusion of oxide ores for X-Ray analysis. I completely forgot to suggest the Borax as a flux to you.

[shaneyork]

It's cool to watch the learning process with you!
Have a GREAT Day!!

[coreymerrill]

I guess those beads are used as catalysts in chemistry experiments too. I know the idea is to increase surface area by making nano particles and embedding them onto the surface of a sphere...a shape that is all surface area.
I know it sounds dumb, but seriously you gotta try concentrating and smelting road dirt. Its so loaded with pgms, i get platinum in every pan i sample. All i need for a prerequisit is a very old, but very busy road. The more traffic the better...i used to want to keep this to myself .Codydon of cody's lab figured his area that he tested was just over an ounce per ton...all i am waiting for myself is to have the money to get what i need to process the stuff.

[richardrobertson]

The ceramic beads probably have the same melting temperature as the ceramic crucible.

[DaylightDisinfectant]

I’m crying watching you melt that beautiful silver bar.

[KazzArie]

Would aqua regia not work? Instead of smelting, pulverize and separate chemically.

[ohio_dino]

If i had pure platinum what do i buy to melt it down ? I want to make one gram bars