Dissolving an unknown Polymer

[Rchrygy]

Hi,
I was just wondering if there is anyone who has any knowledge of dissolving a very hard polymer (which unfortunately I have no MSDS). I have tried burning (creates a big mess plus the fumes are seriously toxic).tried piranha just touches the outer layer. The only thing which will dissolve it is acetone but it has to be soaked for a min of 6 months then it it jelly like . I have attached a photo of one type. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have you tried incineration.......outside of course?

 

[Martijn]

I

Hi,
I was just wondering if there is anyone who has any knowledge of dissolving a very hard polymer (which unfortunately I have no MSDS). I have tried burning (creates a big mess plus the fumes are seriously toxic).tried piranha just touches the outer layer. The only thing which will dissolve it is acetone but it has to be soaked for a min of 6 months then it it jelly like . I have attached a photo of one type. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you have an old oven or a heatgun, you could try putting it on a coarse metal mesh and slowly raising the temperature to make the plastic melt off and drip through the mesh.
Leaving the parts on the mesh.
You could put the mesh on an oven tray with water to catch the molten plastic.
180 degrees C should make it soft enough to start melting without burning. Most plastics melt around 200 C.

 

[the leprechaun]

I have been as you say "hook blade it" but it is a very slow way of doing it and I have a lot to do.
I have sent it for refining in the past ( with no polymer) and the XRF result is very close to the end result from refining . My problem is the refiners I use will not process it with the polymer attached.

 

[the leprechaun]

Martin sometimes the obvious is right in front of you and you do not see it. The next time I am in the Netherlands I will buy you as much beer as you can consume just tried it with the heat gun and it works a treat no smell no fumes. I just need a system to scale it up now.

 

[andu]

I refuse to believe any polymer will resist mr hammer. Oh heat gun worked? Sweet .

 

[the leprechaun]

Yes it did indeed and a sweet result photo attached, thanks to that Flying Dutch Man Martijn and I have the perfect old desoldering workstation for doing it very happy with the end result. Now to find a new worker for this job is the next problem. PM me Martijn with your address and I will send you a few grams if you would like some. Once again many thanks to all who sent suggestions.

​

 

[Jbeddo]

Mek

 

[andu]

How much of that could you have that you want a worker?

 

[kurtak]

How much of that could you have that you want a worker?

He (the OP) already answered that in one of his other posts --------

I have probably 100kg clean metal with wire as in the second photo I posted.I have few hundred kg to process and maybe 20kg like in the first photo I posted. Of the 20kg to process this photo shows the best case where the previous photo showed worst case.

Per the bold print = a few hundred kilos

Kurt

 

[the leprechaun]

In

Out of interest did you get the Pd/Ir over Ti from an XRF?

Sorry for the late reply. Initially yes I got the reading from an XRF, to confirm it I sent a sample for assay and believe it or not one of the few times the XRF was correct.

 

[RichardSukhoi]

I know this is an old post but wanted to throw in anyway:
A few things I’ve seen work on mystery encapsulates are Formic acid, methylene chloride, household paint strippers and paint brush cleaners such as “diglauconate”, benzyl alcohol, citrus terpine, and other proprietary. The least expensive caustic is lime as used to alter clay by road and driveway persons (25 kg bag perhaps $10). My favorite is ozone ashing but it’s very slow so it’s more appropriate for final cleaning. For example if wet chemistry has left a layer of organic mess.
I’m so curious what these items were! My guess is satellite electrical ground contacts. I say that as the inner diameter seems to have spring fingers and the odd choice of platinum and iridium on top of titanium.

 

[Ronei]

I had a similar issue with a tough polymer once. I tried acetone, but like you, it took forever to get anywhere. I found that mixing acetone with a bit of MEK helped speed things up a lot. Just be really careful with the fumes—they can be pretty harsh. Working in a well-ventilated space is key. You might also want to reach out to industrial solvent suppliers; they might have a solution for this type of material.

 

[Martijn]

Yes it did indeed and a sweet result photo attached, thanks to that Flying Dutch Man Martijn and I have the perfect old desoldering workstation for doing it very happy with the end result. Now to find a new worker for this job is the next problem. PM me Martijn with your address and I will send you a few grams if you would like some. Once again many thanks to all who sent suggestions.

​

As this post was on the day we welcomed our first grandchild to this world, I clearly missed it, but great to hear my suggestion worked well!
You're always welcome to meet up and have a beer whenever you are in the Zeeland province, but I don't need any of that material, as i, like you, only deal with Au and Ag. I have some Au and plenty Ag to play with and make jewelry, so keep your hard earned pm's for yourself.

Happy to help!

 

[Martijn]

Mek

That was a very short advice, are there any downsides to using Butanone for your health or in hydrometallurgy in general? Dangerous effects with certain acids and or salts to be avoided?
Any advice on how to safely dispose of the waste (dissolved polymers)

my point: when you advice someone, warn them of the dangers please...
Some are obvious like "carefull, molten plastic is hot", but solvents are a different subject imo.

From the MSDS: https://www.pure-chemical.com/msds/Methyl ethyl ketone.pdf
MATERIALS TO AVOID: Strong oxidizers, it does not say why. maybe it goes boom!