# Electronics pulp



## lunker (Aug 13, 2010)

After incineration of printed circuit board scrap. And the ball milling and seperation of the metallic peices. is there any real value left in the pulp?(ash?).
What values would be left behind.Silver from the solders etc? Any insights would be appreciated!
Scott


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## goldsilverpro (Aug 13, 2010)

lunker said:


> After incineration of printed circuit board scrap. And the ball milling and seperation of the metallic peices. is there any real value left in the pulp?(ash?).
> What values would be left behind.Silver from the solders etc? Any insights would be appreciated!
> Scott



Yes, there are always values in the pulps. It could be Au, Ag, Pd, Pt, etc - whatever metals were in the boards will generally be represented in the pulps in appreciable quantities.

Have you done any of this yet or, are you just considering it? In order to do this, you must end up with tonage of the bars/pulps to satisfy the refiners/smelters. What quantities will you have? If you want to keep some of this confidential, PM me.


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## lunker (Aug 13, 2010)

gsp,

As always,Thank you for the reply.I would first likr to thank all the members who have contributed to this fourm. It has been a great wealth of information and inspiration. As for the pulp. I have run a small sample(around thirty pounds ) to see how it would turn out.I milled the scrap and have seperated the two fractions. My first concern was the apparent disappearence of the gold plating from the pins. Which you reassured me that it was in fact still there. Now I am left wondering what to do next.I have around 3k lbs of clean boards. and a barn full of other stuff waitig to be stripped. My friend works at a Co that burns coatings off of automotive parts,I piggy back the scrap through there system very cost effective rates.Now that I have identified that I can process the scrap economicallly and in an environmentally responsible fashion. What do I do next?


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## skippy (Aug 13, 2010)

Lunker, I'm curious what sort of car parts the company incinerates. Is it some sort of preparation for remanufacturing? Very interesting! 
Good to have another member in the SW Ontario neighborhood!


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## Oz (Aug 14, 2010)

I will second that. 

If you have found an incineration process that is required in the automotive scrap industry you may have found a gold mine for the forum membership (pardon the pun). It would be advantageous being able to lease furnace time as long as they are in compliance with the local and federal laws including the EPA.


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## 4metals (Aug 14, 2010)

I know of at least 6 refiners who use that type of furnace to incinerate. This is the furnace that is used. http://www.pcpconline.com/controlled_pyrolysis.html

Electronics smoke with an acrid nasty smoke and the feed rates can easily overpower the pollution control devices, in this case an afterburner. For that reason the materials have to be fed slowly.

3000 pounds before burning will probably yield 500 to 1000 pounds of prepared pulp, or 1 to 2 full 55 gallon drums. That quantity may have rough time meeting some of the processing minimums so you may have to shop around.


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## lunker (Aug 14, 2010)

That is what I had suspected. As for the incineration process. I burn about 30-50 lbs at a time. The company has to meet very strict emmission guidelines and I don't want to lose my source of incineration by being greedy. It could be a accessable way for members to get access to incineration at an affordable rate.


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## rewalston (Aug 14, 2010)

lunker said:


> That is what I had suspected. As for the incineration process. I burn about 30-50 lbs at a time. The company has to meet very strict emmission guidelines and I don't want to lose my source of incineration by being greedy. It could be a accessable way for members to get access to incineration at an affordable rate.



Lunker, where abouts is this place are you taking about? And for the size you're processing what is the approx fee involved?

Rusty


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## lunker (Aug 18, 2010)

They burn parts that were powder coated or painted. I don't want to give the name of the company for risk of having them over run with people wanting stuff burnt. As far as price. Lots run about thirty to forty cents a lb.I Cherry picked parts and try not to send in junk. I only process the scrap that i feel is worth the effort.


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## 4metals (Aug 18, 2010)

That's a very reasonable rate and considering you have no capital investment, even better. Not a bad idea to keep your source under your hat either.


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