Refining Pentium Pro with AR

[kadriver]

Good stuff here Metaphor, thanks for posting those photos. I don't usually refine computer scrap because the yields are so low and I don't have time because the jewelers keep me so busy - just like Harold said they would.

But I did want to make a video that shows how to do it because computer scrap videos are so popular right now. Eventually, when it sinks in that you can't make any money with computer scrap (unless you get it for free) then the fervor will die down.

There is a guy on eBay who wants $350 for 10 Pentium Pro CPUs. I bought my 12 Pentium Pro CPUs for about $23 each including shipping. Yet there is only about $10 or $12 worth of gold in each one. I paid twice what they are worth but I did it so I could make a video, NOT to make a profit.

Everybody thinks there is much gold in computer scrap, but this just isn't true.

I plan to use the 12 CPUs to make my video. I've done MLCC with hot HCl boils to remove the ferrous metals, then dissolve the gold in hot AR and they came out great. I'm going to make a video using that process.

Please note that this is not going to be THE WAY to process these CPUs, but rather a way to do it. I've seen Barrenrelms Video on YouTube using HCl and peroxide to lift the gold foils, but it didn't show the complete process, just part of it.

I believe that folks want to see the whole process, watching just part of a process is frustrating! I hope to make a video (if I can pull it off) of the ENTIRE PROCESS start to finish.

There seems to be an unwritten rule that refining processes are top secret and must be guarded to prevent others from learning the "secrets of refining". In the end I wish to be remembered as one who chose to help others learn rather than one who hid my knowledge so I could gain more than my fellows.

kadriver

 

[kadriver]

I've got some pentium pro CPUs on the way - about 10. When they get here I'll make a detailed video showing how to recover the gold, then how to refine it to high purity.

The ferrous metals MUST be removed first with straight hydrochloric acid boils. The foils can then be easily dissolved with AR with the ceramic still in the beaker. Hydrochloric acid by itself should not dissolve the gold, but hot hydrochloric acid will dissolve the ferrous metals.

I believe that it is the presence of any ferrous metals that is causing the problem here. Hot hydrochloric acid should be the remedy.

This will be my first attemp at recovering and refining gold from Pentium Pro CPUs. Should be interesting!

kadriver

I feel you should do some more research and refine your process.

Barren, you've already done all the research, why don't you just set me straight here and share what you know so I can get it right? Help me out brother!

I think the hot HCl will do the trick based on my experience with the MLCCs. I guess the question is; is there ferrous metals in the Pentium Pro CPUs or not?

At any rate, using hot HCl boils to try and clean out the base metals before using AR should work. If it does, then I guess you could say that I invented a new process for recovering and refining gold from Pentium Pro CPUs.

Thank you!

kadriver

 

[Metaphore]

Anyone know what that coating on the glass is?

 

[Barren Realms 007]

I've got some pentium pro CPUs on the way - about 10. When they get here I'll make a detailed video showing how to recover the gold, then how to refine it to high purity.

The ferrous metals MUST be removed first with straight hydrochloric acid boils. The foils can then be easily dissolved with AR with the ceramic still in the beaker. Hydrochloric acid by itself should not dissolve the gold, but hot hydrochloric acid will dissolve the ferrous metals.

I believe that it is the presence of any ferrous metals that is causing the problem here. Hot hydrochloric acid should be the remedy.

This will be my first attemp at recovering and refining gold from Pentium Pro CPUs. Should be interesting!

kadriver

I feel you should do some more research and refine your process.

Barren, you've already done all the research, why don't you just set me straight here and share what you know so I can get it right? Help me out brother!

I think the hot HCl will do the trick based on my experience with the MLCCs. I guess the question is; is there ferrous metals in the Pentium Pro CPUs or not?

At any rate, using hot HCl boils to try and clean out the base metals before using AR should work. If it does, then I guess you could say that I invented a new process for recovering and refining gold from Pentium Pro CPUs.

Thank you!

kadriver

That's not a problem. The best way for you to process them is the break them up into small pieces. Run them in nitric to remove the base metals till the copper/tungsten heat sink separates from the ceramic. Siphon off the solution. Wash the parts and the gold then run them in AR. You can look at the copper/tungsten heat sinks and make sure that they are clean and separate them and the ceramic bodies from the gold and run the gold in AR. Make sure the silicone dies are separated during the run in nitric or you can remove them with heat before you run them in nitric. You can remove the copper/tungsten heat sinks with heat but it takes a lot of heat to do it.

 

[kadriver]

Anyone know what that coating on the glass is?

It's probably some kind of salt, especially if it's been on heat and allowed to concentrate.

See if you can get a chunk out with a plastic picnic spoon.

Put some in a test tube and add some solvents to see what, if anything, will dissolve it.

Add a few drops of water, and then in another tube add a few drops of HCl.

If it dissolves then you can just hydrate to dissolve the salt then decant to recover your gold foils.

kadriver

 

[Metaphore]

It's been going 5 days now, so new plan...

Decanted and filtered the solution then tested with SnO2

I've had some experience with this.
I got real confused - the stannous test was NEGATIVE.
How could this be? The Gold foils were gone, dissolved by the Aqua regia, yet there was no gold in solution?
It turns out that the iron from the spring steel was cementing the gold out of solution as fast as it dissolved.
That brown powder in the filter that I THOUGHT was dirt was really the gold that had been cemented out by the pieces of steel! Good thing I save all my filters.
kadriver

Based on the SnO2 test of the decanted solution, I'll assume that I'm experiencing the recursive reaction kadriver described.

Here my new plan:

Assumption 1:
The powder in the filter and coating the beaker and chip fragments is gold.

Assumption 2
Most Fe and Cu have been decanted and won't cause a repeat of the problem.

The plan
Wash as much gold off the beaker and chips as possible, cover with HCL, heat and start adding HNO3.

The solution and rinse water I'll boil down and process with SMB.

Comments, criticisms, suggestions before I start?

 

[kadriver]

Thanks Barren.

 

[Metaphore]

Anyone know what that coating on the glass is?

It's probably some kind of salt, especially if it's been on heat and allowed to concentrate.
See if you can get a chunk out with a plastic picnic spoon.
Put some in a test tube and add some solvents to see what, if anything, will dissolve it.
Add a few drops of water, and then in another tube add a few drops of HCl.
If it dissolves then you can just hydrate to dissolve the salt then decant to recover your gold foils.
kadriver

Thanks! I'll do this first.

 

[Anonymous]

Ammonia will dissolve that yellowy mess that is caked on your glass. A lot of it is silver Chloride.

 

[Metaphore]

Tried water, HCL, HN03, NH3 and AR. Heated each. Results below (water produced no reaction and I ran out of free beakers).



HCL and HN03 show no reaction.

So, new plan is Ammonia bath, then filter left over gold powder?

 

[Metaphore]

Ammonia will dissolve that yellowy mess that is caked on your glass. A lot of it is silver Chloride.

Indeed it did. If I do an ammonia bath in that beaker, I'm assuming the remnants of HCL on the chips will cause some gold to go into the ammonia solution as well. How can I get as much value out of this mess as possible?

 

[resabed01]

I suggest focusing on getting the gold first. Gold is roughly $38 a gram and silver is $0.50 a gram. At this point don't chase the silver. Accumulate any silver chloride you run across and when you have enough, process it later.

 

[Metaphore]

There is a guy on eBay who wants $350 for 10 Pentium Pro CPUs. I bought my 12 Pentium Pro CPUs for about $23 each including shipping. Yet there is only about $10 or $12 worth of gold in each one. I paid twice what they are worth but I did it so I could make a video, NOT to make a profit.
kadriver

I'm in absolute agreement about prices on eBay. In my case, I bought 30 of these for about $20 apiece. For me, it's not profit either, I'm doing this for the learning process and the fun.

I'm only using half my Pentium Pros for this. Maybe I can film the next batch too.

 

[Barren Realms 007]

Thanks Barren.

No problem, anytime. :mrgreen:

 

[Anonymous]

Ammonia will dissolve that yellowy mess that is caked on your glass. A lot of it is silver Chloride.

Indeed it did. If I do an ammonia bath in that beaker, I'm assuming the remnants of HCL on the chips will cause some gold to go into the ammonia solution as well. How can I get as much value out of this mess as possible?

The ammonia will neutralise any remaining traces of HCl in that coating. If there is any particulate gold in that coating my understanding is that it will remain behind. You can take the resulting solution and precipitate any silver Chloride back out of it using some more HCl. As such you're not really complicating things you are merely separating things by doing this. It doesn't take much ammonia to do this either.

Edit: This is actually the only way I use ammonia in my lab.

 

[kadriver]

Here's a short video that shows at least part of these CPUs are magnetic and therefore contain ferrous metals. No matter what anyone says, these ferrous metals are best removed with hot HCl boils first before any AR is introduced into the process.

Metaphor, take a strong magnet in a towel or cloth so you don't break the beaker and see if any of the material in the beaker is attracted to the magnet. If yes then there is iron present and that will cause problems - it did for me anyway.

With iron in the beaker, AR will dissolve the gold foils and then cement right back out onto the bits of iron. I've found that if you keep adding acids then eventually all the iron will dissolve and then the gold won't have anything to cement on and it too will stay in solution.

But I think it's best to get the iron (and any other HCl soluble metals) out before the AR is used.

https://youtu.be/nCsoGA17sy4

kadriver

 

[g_axelsson]

Metaphore, I think the yellow stain is molybdate, it comes from dissolving the molybdenum manganese conductors inside the ceramics. Look at the color where the pins sat and you will notice the similarity. That is also whats collecting in your filters.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=51&p=6525#p6525

Göran

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a short video that shows at least part of these CPUs are magnetic and therefore contain ferrous metals. No matter what anyone says, these ferrous metals are best removed with hot HCl boils first before any AR is introduced into the process.


But I think it's best to get the iron (and any other HCl soluble metals) out before the AR is used.

https://youtu.be/nCsoGA17sy4

kadriver

I respectfully disagree. You cannot make a statement like that which I have highlighted. You are also simply incorrect in your assertation that these processors require an HCl boil to remove ferrous metals before AR is used. They do not.

Edit: Are you sure you are not mixing the ceramic version up with the fibre version of the Pentium Pro? The fibre version has Kovar legs.

 

[Metaphore]

Here's a short video that shows at least part of these CPUs are magnetic and therefore contain ferrous metals. No matter what anyone says, these ferrous metals are best removed with hot HCl boils first before any AR is introduced into the process.


But I think it's best to get the iron (and any other HCl soluble metals) out before the AR is used.

https://youtu.be/nCsoGA17sy4

kadriver

I respectfully disagree. You cannot make a statement like that which I have highlighted. You are also simply incorrect in your assertation that these processors require an HCl boil to remove ferrous metals before AR is used. They do not.

Edit: Are you sure you are not mixing the ceramic version up with the fibre version of the Pentium Pro? The fibre version has Kovar legs.

I just tested one of my ceramic Pentium Pros with a magnet. The pins are magnetic. The heat spreader is not.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not saying that the pins are not magnetic. I'm saying that they do not need an HCl wash before processing in AR. If we look at this logically there's absolutely no benefit. For starters how is the HCl going to get to the iron?