RAM recycling

[Rreyes097]

So pyrolizing is heating in pot or pan and incineration is direct flame? And you're suggesting to do both? Am I correct? Because I've never incinerated or pyrolized anything yet. But looks like I'm going to try it. I'm using a 200 gram test batch. I have about 800 grams total. Of just ic chips without legs. I just need a sieve. And I'll be in business.

 

[MicheleM]

I have an engraver. But I'm not really following you on the rest. But I found a thread that has all the quantity findings as well as process. It says to put in HCL to boil x3. Then incinerate. It did not specifically say to sieve. But in the other methods it was done so I'm assuming it was done in this method then AR and drop gold as normal. But when it comes to incinerating am I just literally hitting it with the torch or am I cooking it in a pan till it becomes white ash?

For that kind of RAM chips you know exactly where the gold wires are placed inside the chip so you can remove exactly that part with the engraver, without destroy the entire chip. For your amount of chips HCl and boil is not necessary: you can remove the tin balls manually (and reuse them to make stannous chloride), but again my point of view is to create less acid waste possible. If you want speed , go for HCl or CuCl2 to remove tin , pyrolyze/incinerate , panning, and then HCl + strong oxidizer to get gold in solution

 

[Rreyes097]

So your advice is to not boil in HCL but still use it? That or copper chloride 2. Correct? And remove the solder balls manually? How so? Is that what you use the engraver for? The pic is what I'm working with. Just these specifically.

 

[MicheleM]

In the picture I see different kind of chips: the RAM bga that I was talking about are those with one "stripe" of black epoxy in the middle of the chip (gold is there and I remove only that stripe with the engraver, so very small amount of pulverized material from which i pan the Au), tin balls are at left and right and I remove them with a chisel or a knife, 50 grams of that RAM are more or less 250 pieces and I spent almost 45 minutes to remove the balls manually. Anyway if you have mixed BGA chips , as I saw, I suggest go with incineration method, you can still remove manually the tin balls if you have time and do not want too much acid waste

 

[Martijn]

Found the thread i was talking about.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threa...-ic-chips-flatpacks-and-bga.22951/post-301204
Pyrolyzing is heating without oxygen, to turn all combustible material into gas/smoke and carbon. This smoke needs to be burned properly to avoid toxic smoke into your lungs or the air.
Incineration is done with air turning the carbon into ash which you can pan out.
Study it very good before attempting anything. And try one chip first before burning a whole batch at once. Increase the amount as you build up experience.

 

[orvi]

wet ashing works, but it is just very very dangerous process. hot sulfuric acid do bad, very bad things to anything what is holding water. like your skin, eyes, face etc... you end up with few liters of acidic organic/carbon sludge. many underestimates the hazards of this waste and directly pour it down the drain. organics could be very harmful to you and the enviroment, so to NOT CREATE TOXIC WASTE is the best way how one could go.
and incineration could be done properly in manner, that only carbon dioxide and water vapour goes to the enviroment. no smoke, no fumes, no smell you need high temperatures, plenty of oxygen and plenty of time for the fumes to burn properly.
two stage furnance with afterburner and air support is advisable. you could go also for the pyrolysis methods. from point of simplicity, burning the stuff directly in the flame with plenty of air supported win.
you should try small sample of the chips (say 50 g) in the setup you elaborate, to see if it is working or not.

also, be aware that old stuff could contain toxic metals like cadmium or beryllium. cadmium oxide is volatile at the incineration temperatures, beryllium dust could be present. this isnt fun, it could easily kill you, besides of contaminating whole area with cadmium or beryllium ashes. modern electronics still contain lead. lead oxide also vaporizes, altough not that badly as CdO.
i also have a batch of very old IC chips, many from 70ties, 80s... very good gold content but i still dont have the courage and equipment needed to do it safely and properly. searching for some indirect methods, which dont involve burning/heating the stuff. grinding/leaching, grinding/sluicing etc.
anyway, with modern stuff, i will go directly to incineration without any doubt.
be safe

 

[Geo]

So your advice is to not boil in HCL but still use it? That or copper chloride 2. Correct? And remove the solder balls manually? How so? Is that what you use the engraver for? The pic is what I'm working with. Just these specifically.

BGA ram chips needs only be incinerated, milled, (sluice, gold wheel, blue bowl) gravity separation and leaching in AR. No real base metal to speak of.

 

[Rreyes097]

I don't know what gold wheel and blue bowl is. And it needs all that?

 

[MicheleM]

I don't know what gold wheel and blue bowl is. And it needs all that?

You have to separate gold from lighter ashes, there are different "instruments" that (almost all based on gravity separation) can do the job, try to use the search function

 

[Martijn]

Gravity separation of bonding wires in water. Add a touch of dish soap to the water just to break surface tension, (carefull not to make soap bubbles) or you'll be floating wires out of the sluice/blue bowl/gold wheel/ pan.

 

[swaminair]

Great stuff by forum members.Experience speaks.Thanks a lot.

 

[netgeek3]

My $.02 worth:

We process tons of memory modules and the folks here who have said there's more gold in the chips are definitely right. The ratios vary based on memory type (IC vs SDRAM vs DDR, etc), but without a doubt, you are losing a great deal of the value by processing only the fingers. It does take work to process the chips (less for BGAs) but it is well worth it, especially if you start to put a fair amount of them together. Separate your different RAM types and you will simplify your work. Incineration/pulverization/gravity separation/chemical processing - that's the ticket. Pyrolization prior to incineration will help ensure a more thorough conversion of the epoxy to ash, but that's up to you.