# Incinerator question



## cblakely (Feb 9, 2014)

I bought several hundred pounds of cpus. I am working on them in batches of 75-100 pounds. I have broken them down by hand; popping off the metal heat spreader and then heating the pins until they fall off the fiberboard base. This process is very labor intensive, so I am thinking about an incinerator.

I am thinking about one that has a capacity of about 200 pounds or as much as 400 pounds. I want it to be safe. I will get an afterburner for it as well. 

I have read some threads where this sounds like a great idea. I also read one where the guy was doing motherboards and most did not sound in favor of it. I believe the point in that case was the volume of waste that would be produced and kick out into the air even with an afterburner.

The question is can I incinerate around a 100 pounds of cpus at a time with an afterburner and not pollute my neighborhood? Do I need to construct a sort scrubber like a water mist on the exhaust? 

Is there a better way of doing this without breaking the bank?


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## FrugalRefiner (Feb 9, 2014)

cblakely said:


> The question is can I incinerate around a 100 pounds of cpus at a time with an afterburner and not pollute my neighborhood? Do I need to construct a sort scrubber like a water mist on the exhaust?
> 
> Is there a better way of doing this without breaking the bank?


That depends on how big your bank account is. 

Incinerating 100 pounds of CPUs at a time is going to put you into a whole different class as far as fume control, and will likely put you right in the sights of every environmental agency out there. I believe the threads you referred to where many members were against a member incinerating boards were those where members thought they could cobble together some kind of makeshift incinerator from what they had laying around. Done correctly, you can definitely incinerate 100 pounds of CPUs at a time without polluting, but it's not a DIY class project, especially if your neighborhood is a residential neighborhood.

Dave


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## JHS (Feb 9, 2014)

I suggest you incinerate one cpu,to see just how
much smoke you will be dealing with.
it's a lot.
john


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## cblakely (Feb 9, 2014)

FrugalRefiner said:


> Done correctly, you can definitely incinerate 100 pounds of CPUs at a time without polluting, but it's not a DIY class project.



I have been looking at a commercially produced incinerator, with an afterburner, maybe in the 10-12k range. It would be nice if I could get off cheaper, but I want to be safe. It sounds like that would be enough to get me through.

I was hoping to be able to burn out the fiber core and then sift through the ashes for metal parts.


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## cblakely (Feb 9, 2014)

Still thinking this one over. Read a great post by Harold http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1997&p=16764&hilit=incineration#p16764

It was brought up that you should not incinerate e-scrap. Should this idea be dropped? Is there a simpler way of breaking down a large number of cpus?


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## philddreamer (Feb 9, 2014)

CB, Keep in mind when you're buying your incinerator, that it deals not only with the "smoke", but also with the acid cloud!

Phil


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## FrugalRefiner (Feb 9, 2014)

cblakely said:


> Still thinking this one over. Read a great post by Harold http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1997&p=16764&hilit=incineration#p16764
> 
> It was brought up that you should not incinerate e-scrap. Should this idea be dropped? Is there a simpler way of breaking down a large number of cpus?


I'm glad you're reading, but like I said in your other thread, you have some things jumbled up. Harold's post on incineration focuses on the process of heating solids to burn off small amounts of greases, oils and other organic compounds, drive off volatiles and oxidize problem base metals at various points in the recovery and refining process. You are talking about incinerating whole chips. When Harold said:


Harold_V said:


> I am assuming that the greatest interest here is the processing of E scrap. In that case, incineration may not be required until after the gold has been stripped.


 he's referring to the fact that most people will try to remove visible gold chemically from ewaste, and that incineration can follow whatever wet recovery method is used. Chips are a different matter. John (JHS) gave you some good advice. Incinerate one chip to see what you're dealing with.



> I have been looking at a commercially produced incinerator, with an afterburner, maybe in the 10-12k range. It would be nice if I could get off cheaper, but I want to be safe. It sounds like that would be enough to get me through.


I doubt it. What is it designed to incinerate? The equipment needs to be designed for your feedstock.

Incineration of ewaste is a standard practice among the big boys, but you'll be hard pressed to match the process on a smaller scale. Volume is the key.

Dave


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## niteliteone (Feb 10, 2014)

You didn't mention where you are located :roll: 
If you are in the US, any incinerator application will have to be approved by the local Air Quality Board (think EPA).
Figure into your cost of the unit another $5-10 thousand for the permitting process :shock: 
Then the cost of annual renewals and inspections :shock: 

PS. You don't have enough money if you try to do it with-out permits and you get caught :shock:


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## bmgold2 (Feb 10, 2014)

Instead of buying/building an incinerator and dealing with the smoke and pollution problems I wonder if a crusher would work and probably be cheaper? My only tests on I.C. chips have been very small quantities but I did get gold into solution with just crushed chips using a mortar and pestle. For hundreds of pounds you would need a quicker and easier way to crush them but you might be able to do some more testing using just a homemade crusher like in this video. He's crushing rocks but it gives you an idea of a pretty simple hand powered crusher.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYoWKijmElI[/youtube]

Check out his other videos for more of his tests. I'd think, unless your ore was real good, you will find much more gold crushing your chips than rocks.


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## kurtak (Feb 12, 2014)

philddreamer said:


> CB, Keep in mind when you're buying your incinerator, that it deals not only with the "smoke", but also with the acid cloud!
> 
> Phil



Don't forget the bag house for fly ash

So you have incinerator X dollars + afterburner (for smoke control) X more dollars + scrubber (for acid cloud control) X more dollars + bag house (for fly ash control) X more dollars 

So X+X+X+X = XXXX dollars

Kurt


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## kurtak (Feb 12, 2014)

niteliteone said:


> You didn't mention where you are located :roll:
> If you are in the US, any incinerator application will have to be approved by the local Air Quality Board (think EPA).
> Figure into your cost of the unit another $5-10 thousand for the permitting process :shock:
> Then the cost of annual renewals and inspections :shock:
> ...



niteliteone - I have actually looked in to this & when it comes to the state/fed (DNR/EPA) permit cost it depends on the size of your operation & expected yearly discharge

You have (based on discharge) (1) very small (2) small (3) medium (4) large (5) very large

The incinerator size he is talking about would most likely be in the very small - maybe small - depending on how much he planned to run it --- If you fall under very small &/or small the permit fees are not really all that much - you are almost off the radar - they just want to know you are doing it (be permitted) & be sure your operation is up to snuff --- the real question here is will your local (town/city/county allow it in their town/city/county)

after very small & small fees & permit cost really start to go up

Kurt


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## Geo (Feb 12, 2014)

any type of incinerator is going to have a negative impact. what you want to do is find the the process with the least environmental impact and still be able to do the job. most large farms in the area i live in have large incinerators built from out of date propane tanks or chemical tanks. the operating temperature is very important along with oxygen supply. since most everything in the environment can be reduced to carbon. to be effective, you must convert the carbon to carbon dioxide. if you are very earth friendly, you can equip a catalytic converter from an automobile to the exhaust to further convert the gasses to less dangerous carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. i know its hard to think in these terms but the small amount of greenhouse gasses you produce is nothing compared to cigarette smoke. :shock: imagine all the tobacco consumed worldwide in one day piled into one pile and set on fire. people, organizations, and governments all over the earth would be screaming for someones head. because its spread over the whole earth in a days time, the effect seems less harmful. fuel efficient cars that seems to sip gas, multiply all the vehicles over the whole world by the rate of consumption and it would be like Niagara falls pouring gasoline instead of water onto a huge gas fire continuously day after day. 

what im trying to say is, you cant make an omelet without breaking eggs. you cant incinerate without making bad stuff but you can minimize the effects if you try.


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