# Platinum in Modern H/D Platters



## scrapper ben (Sep 12, 2017)

Hi Guys, I'm eWaste Ben on youtube.

I don't ever post video's of mine here as it's not my thing to promote.
I guess some of you have come across my video's over time but this one I just put up has had mixed reactions.

As we know there's little to no platinum in many hard drive platters, But..
Are our results current?
Modern hard drive platters from about 2008 have changed somewhat, so whilst most data available is correct, it's based on older hard drives and not modern types in use today like 240 gb and above, it mat well be 320gb and above but i'm quite convinced platinum is used in H/D Platters from 2008 onward.

I have some data on the depth profile in terms of elemental atomic percentages of laptop h/d platters and new aluminium based platters, these results are being currently used to promote the sale of the Thermo Scientific K-Alpha X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer that was used to scan modern hard drive platters.

I also realise that we as backyard refiners don't have technologies like the umicors of the world so our recovery rates are substantially different, which is why I promote stockpiling of PM recovery items until we can not only recover the major PM but can get everything at a lower cost, we're just a few years behind large refiners but we're getting there and within 5-10 years we will have a much more efficient method I believe.

Anyway, I apologise if this video is not wanted here or if it bores the hell out of you but I would love to hear from some of the more respected members here, opinions on this subject and if possible if you can conduct some tests yourself on Modern H/D's, say 320gb and above to confirm that some platinum is recoverable even at backyard levels today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ys3CPjTfWQ


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## jason_recliner (Sep 12, 2017)

Hi Ben. You seem remarkably similar to another member, "WEEE Ben". Are you he?


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## scrapper ben (Sep 12, 2017)

Yep that was my original username but lost the login details after new pc.
your in Melb' too, have we ever met?
I get scrappers coming over all the time so I forget who has been here.


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## Topher_osAUrus (Sep 12, 2017)

How many kilos do you think it would take to get a gram, with thickness in the nano range?

And how many gallons of waste would it take?

I think its one of those -spending dollars to chase pennies-, things.

But, Im a pessimist when it comes to escrap, (what do I know, anyways  )


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## g_axelsson (Sep 12, 2017)

Do you have a link to that paper or could you write down the layer thickness and the atomic percentages of the layers?

10 nm isn't very thick and if it is only a fraction precious metal then it will take a whole lot of disks to get a visible result.

For some back of the envelope calculations...
One platter in a 3.5" drive is about 8 cm in diameter and 100 cm2 = 0.01 m2 surface area. (Two sides, hole in the middle, less than 3.5" in diameter)
20 nm = 2*10-8 m so the volume of the layer is 2*10-10 m3
Density of platinum is close to 20.000 kg/m3
If the layer was pure platinum we would have 2*10-10 * 2*104 kg = 4*10-6 kg = 4 mg Pt per platter.

So... 250 platters per gram of platinum, but then we have the atomic percentage of the layer so to compensate for nickel and chromium we need even more platters per gram.

Unless I have made an error somewhere my view is still that the aluminium is worth more than the platinum for hard drive platters. And even for the glass ones it would be hard to recover the platinum economically.

Göran


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## cosmetal (Sep 12, 2017)

Ben,

I have always enjoyed your videos. 

But, the question that I have is do you. or anyone else on GRF, have any idea how much progress SSDs (solid state drives) have made at replacing standard platter-based HDDs :?: 

If the SSDs will kill off the HDDs, is interest in nm PM recovery from platters fruitful? 

James


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## cosmetal (Sep 12, 2017)

With credit to [email protected]

James


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## g_axelsson (Sep 12, 2017)

Thanks,a lot faster than watching 35 minutes of that video.  

So... 20% atomic percentage.

The density of cobalt and nickel is 8.9 and atomic weight around 60.
The density of platinum is 21.45 and atomic weight around 195.

So (195*20+60*80)/195 % = 45% of the weight of the magnetic layer is due to platinum.
But the density of the alloy is a lot less than platinum. So after some in depth calculations the surface should have a density of 12 g/cm3 instead of 20 g/cm3. That gives a weight of the surface layer of a platter at 2.4 mg and 45% of that is 1.1 mg.

900 platters per g platinum then... at 23g (grabbed a random one) aluminium we are talking about 1 gram of platinum in 21.3 kg aluminium.
At my scrap yard I can sell the platters as aluminium scrap at 70% of the platinum value. That might seem like a bad deal but there is no way I could recover the platinum from the platters at 30% cost for chemicals alone, not taking any considerations for my work or waste treatment.

Göran


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## g_axelsson (Sep 12, 2017)

cosmetal said:


> But, the question that I have is do you. or anyone else on GRF, have any idea how much progress SSDs (solid state drives) have made at replacing standard platter-based HDDs :?:


It's a judgment case... look for your self. I believe that in the end the SSD will win, it's just a question of how long it will take.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/275336/global-shipment-figures-for-hard-disk-drives-from-4th-quarter-2010/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/531530/worldwide-ssd-unit-shipments-by-quarter/

It's still 3:1 for HDD to SSD, but the trend is obvious and investments in HDD will decline and then the end is near.

Göran


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## jason_recliner (Sep 14, 2017)

scrapper ben said:


> Yep that was my original username but lost the login details after new pc.
> your in Melb' too, have we ever met?
> I get scrappers coming over all the time so I forget who has been here.


Not yet. I'm from o'er the other side. But I've seen your stash in videos. I would find repurposed homes for a good amount of it.
Welcome back in, Ben.


On the HDD vs SSD subject, I can only speak for myself but I just will not buy a HDD for a primary OS drive anymore. The value in speed difference far exceeds the rapidly decreasing cost margin. The exception is for in-production servers, but then we're talking SAS combined with decent RAID controllers and irrelevant boot time.
Also, HDD for large capacity storage is a separate issue, for example my media centre is still a 40G SSD (I was an early adopter) and 3TB HDD for the content.


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## Rougemillenial (Feb 6, 2018)

g_axelsson said:


> Do you have a link to that paper or could you write down the layer thickness and the atomic percentages of the layers?
> 
> 10 nm isn't very thick and if it is only a fraction precious metal then it will take a whole lot of disks to get a visible result.
> 
> ...


 because this is a surface coating, wouldn’t it be possible to use say a sand blaster to essentially grind the coating off while retaining the aluminum for scrap value. Then eventually once the blasting medium, usually alumina, it’s saturated, it could be leached right?


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## Rougemillenial (Feb 6, 2018)

g_axelsson said:


> cosmetal said:
> 
> 
> > But, the question that I have is do you. or anyone else on GRF, have any idea how much progress SSDs (solid state drives) have made at replacing standard platter-based HDDs :?:
> ...


It highly depends honestly. The most likely outcome I think is a hybrid system as unfortunately the SSD although having its perks has drawbacks that can only be reasonably rectified by also having some HDDS as well.


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## g_axelsson (Feb 6, 2018)

Rougemillenial said:


> because this is a surface coating, wouldn’t it be possible to use say a sand blaster to essentially grind the coating off while retaining the aluminum for scrap value. Then eventually once the blasting medium, usually alumina, it’s saturated, it could be leached right?


Of course it can be done, but is it worth it?

Göran


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## goldsilverpro (Feb 7, 2018)

You might take a look at this thread
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=14608&p=146892&hilit=hard+drive+disk+cobalt#p146892

That thread started out on another topic, but ended up discussing platinum on discs. There's probably more info there than on any other thread, as I recall.


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## Rougemillenial (Feb 8, 2018)

goldsilverpro said:


> You might take a lot at this thread
> http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=14608&p=146892&hilit=hard+drive+disk+cobalt#p146892
> 
> That thread started out on another topic, but ended up discussing platinum on discs. There's probably more info there than on any other thread, as I recall.


quite interesting. Thx for the reference. Granted, the only reason why it would be worth it would be purely to destroy the data by turning the magnetic alloy into a powder. In other words, it would be useful so you can be open to a wider market. The bit of PGM’s would just be the icing on the cake really since you’re main profit would be from the very fact that doing this will be able to destroy the data and thus more people will use you to dispose of e-waste instead of throwing their stuff into landfill.


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