I'm currently processing these lovely gals. Approximately 850 grams. But I'm afraid that my record keeping has failed me and it most likely closer to 1000. For the most part all the material is the same RAM IC chips, although I'm noticing that there are some small BGA chips mixed in not many but 3 or 4. I'm hoping this doesn't mess up anything. But I have ran them thru Hcl heated then with boiling water 5 to 6 times or more. Until the water rinsed pretty clear. Then I did the HCL, heated of course, and rinse thoroughly like the last time. I then tried to incinerate them with map and it works but not economically viable. I then tried pyrolyzation and that worked. In my electric furnace But it was too small and I had to much material. I then try to combination of pyrolyzation and incineration. But at my house it was too smoky and too stinky. So I found another place where I can just use a simple regular torch. Which was more economically viable. So I incinerated them. And now I'm trying to seive them thru a kitchen strainer thingy. I have no idea what the mesh size is. But I'm trying to crush and run them thru the strainer. Which is fastly becoming an arteries task. Grind with coffee grinder sift ground with mortar and pesto a little bit put it back in the coffee grinder and do it again! Does anyone have any helpful advice? I feel like I'm forgetting something on this post so there may be follow-up posts for the information I forgot to convey or ask. I'll attach photos as well.
New ram IC chips processing?
- Thread starter Rreyes097
- Start date
Help Support Gold Refining Forum:
So I've grounded and sifted out all of this material and found that there is a lot of powder yet a lot of fibrous material and big chunks even after multiple coffee grinding grinds and another incineration. I see bits of copper mixed in probably from the BGA chips that I missed that went in there. Question if anybody can help me with would be. Do I process all of these materials separately? Per say all the chunky stuff with the copper in an AR or poor Man's AR? And the other powder in the other AR? I hope I make sense.
nickton
Well-known member
Doesn't seem to be too many answers here.
Yeah haven't heard much but they are probably tired of my posts. But I do as much research as I can before I ask for help.
The fibrous material is probably fiberglass..... some of your bonding wires will get caught up in that material. I usually grab out the big wads of it and set it aside. After my ashes are concentrated into a beaker I throw that material in and AR it with the ashes.
As far as the Cu you can use Nitric to remove the base metals or AP if you're not in a hurry.
As far as the Cu you can use Nitric to remove the base metals or AP if you're not in a hurry.
Hey thanks for the response! Very much appreciated. As it stands I grinded all materials used mortor and pestle. To pass everything thru the flour sifter thingy. whatever didn't pass thru I grinded yet again thru the coffee grinder. After the second pass and grind. I now have started the rinse! Which is taking a lot of water! And lots of rinses. Which I have concern with. Perhaps unwarranted concerns but I worry. I worry that I may be losing PMs that are getting ruined out. I mean I try to be careful and let water sit for a few minutes at the very least. But I'm using this glass pitcher for the rinses. And as you can see in the picture it has an odd shape and so I feel when pouring things may get tousled and bring up some of what I try to have settled. Or does the gold take a little more movement then I'm giving it while pouring water out of this pitcher? Either way I've saved all the ash and gunk that has managed to come out.
So what does everyone think? Do these ashes have my dear precious metals in them? Check it out the picture. Any advice on what to do with junk if precious metals are trapped in it? Also I tried my best to take out all copper pieces that I could find and put them in some warm Hcl then will probably process them with AP. Because I got the time.
Then I also have a container with lots of that fiberglass stuff fluff. Which I'll probably process the same way?
So what does everyone think? Do these ashes have my dear precious metals in them? Check it out the picture. Any advice on what to do with junk if precious metals are trapped in it? Also I tried my best to take out all copper pieces that I could find and put them in some warm Hcl then will probably process them with AP. Because I got the time.
Then I also have a container with lots of that fiberglass stuff fluff. Which I'll probably process the same way?Attachments
Last edited:
Also
Also am I reading that correctly? You process the ashes or did you mean the grounded up materials? Or are they one and the same. Either way thanks for the advice!
1. Remove solder balls with a soak in Hcl.
2. Incinerate BGA chips...break them up by hand and remove any heat spreaders that some BGA's have.
3. grind incinerated chips.... I remove any large fiberglass fluff balls (if any) at this point and save for later.
4. Rinse out as much of the lite ashy material.
5. Nitric wash to remove the base metals. BGA's don't have legs but they have Cu traces internally.
6. once the base metals have been removed add the fiberglass ball (if any) to the beaker, dissolve everything, filter and drop Au with your preferred method.
That was just the recovery, you'll still have to refine it.
I'm sure there are others that do it a little different then I do and I'm sure they will chime in.
2. Incinerate BGA chips...break them up by hand and remove any heat spreaders that some BGA's have.
3. grind incinerated chips.... I remove any large fiberglass fluff balls (if any) at this point and save for later.
4. Rinse out as much of the lite ashy material.
5. Nitric wash to remove the base metals. BGA's don't have legs but they have Cu traces internally.
6. once the base metals have been removed add the fiberglass ball (if any) to the beaker, dissolve everything, filter and drop Au with your preferred method.
That was just the recovery, you'll still have to refine it.
I'm sure there are others that do it a little different then I do and I'm sure they will chime in.
There are no PGMs in any of the chips I have heard of.Hey thanks for the response! Very much appreciated. As it stands I grinded all materials used mortor and pestle. To pass everything thru the flour sifter thingy. whatever didn't pass thru I grinded yet again thru the coffee grinder. After the second pass and grind. I now have started the rinse! Which is taking a lot of water! And lots of rinses. Which I have concern with. Perhaps unwarranted concerns but I worry. I worry that I may be losing PGMs that are getting ruined out. I mean I try to be careful and let water sit for a few minutes at the very least. But I'm using this glass pitcher for the rinses. And as you can see in the picture it has an odd shape and so I feel when pouring things may get tousled and bring up some of what I try to have settled. Or does the gold take a little more movement then I'm giving it while pouring water out of this pitcher? Either way I've saved all the ash and gunk that has managed to come out.
So what does everyone think? Do these ashes have my dear precious metals in them? Check it out the picture. Any advice on what to do with junk if precious metals are trapped in it? Also I tried my best to take out all copper pieces that I could find and put them in some warm Hcl then will probably process them with AP. Because I got the time.
Maybe in some old Soviet stuff or other rare military/space stuff, but besides that, your precious metal will be Gold and maybe a tiny bit of Silver.
It may be prudent to re incinerate before leaching to make sure it is absolutely carbon free.
Edit to add:
If we expand to MLCCs, there are Pd and Ag in some older units, but they don't need incinerating.
Last edited:
I'm sorry I didn't mean to write PGMs I meant precious metals (PMs) Such as gold and silver. How much silver do you think is in there? About a kilo is it worth recovering? If so when should I try that process before I do the AR I assume?
Last edited:
Before you dissolve any PMs you need to be sure all the carbon is burnt off or gone.
Carbon will grab some/most of your PMs when it is dissolved.
The carbon? I'm sorry but what exactly is considered carbon? The plastics?
You have pyrolized and incinerated them, right?
Then all plastic/epoxy and non ceramic packing of the chips will carbonize during pyrolizing. Most of it will during the incineration with air, turn into ash. But some will remain and needs a secondary incineration after concentrating.
A very simplified explanation:
Plastic molecules consist mainly of hydrogen and carbon.
During pyrolysis (strong heating without oxygen supply - covered vessel), the molecules break apart. The hydrogen vaporizes and burns as soon as it leaves the container.
The carbon remains.
In the next step, the carbon is burned with the supply of air (oxygen) - open vessel.
This step is called incineration.
If the carbon was not burned completely and you dissolve the metals with acids, some of the metal atoms (especially the gold) will get trapped in the carbon and will be difficult to free again.
Oh well then yes I've incinerated them. And did some pyrolyzation. But probably didn't do it completely because I was under the impression that incineration was key. But Its too late to worry about that at this point. Well, kinda. But I have attached a photo of the ash cake that has come out of rinsing this material. That much Ash and whatnot seems to be a lot. And I feel that there's a good chance precious metals are within it.
Attachments
If you didn't treated this stuff with any chemicals, you can start again like it's a pile of ICs. If you already used hydrochloric acid or nitric acid on this stuff, you must be much more careful otherwise you may vaporize some values.
I have used hydrochloric acid to clean them up. But after doing that I rinsed with boiling distilled water three times or four times.
Your material is looking dark. Hard to say if it's fully incinerated.
I would incinerate it again, grind it again and dissolve the gold and the remaining copper in AR. AP will do it also, but it will take much more time to dissolve the gold.
I would incinerate it again, grind it again and dissolve the gold and the remaining copper in AR. AP will do it also, but it will take much more time to dissolve the gold.
When I seen videos on incineration I did notice that the material was white. But it seemed no matter what I did mine didn't get that white. I mean it got white, but stopped at only and the edges. And I've reincinerated them once over already. But I may have to do it after all. Because I have a ton of rinse water that I'm not sure contains anything of value or not. Plus the stuff I've been rinsing and even the fluff. Do you think the gold will settle off that rinse water and I can perhaps siphon it off? Also do you think I lost much thru vapor?
This is not neither pyrolized nor incinerated. Pyrolizing is done to decompose dangerous organic compounds by heating them without oxygen, and burning them off in the "after burner"
Incineration is heating them to burn off the carbon residues as CO2, it needs to be red hot for quite some time.
The ashes after is a loose white grayish powder that runs loose as long as it is not moist.
