How To Extract Gold From Cell Phone Circuit Boards

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If you've opened an electronic device before, such equally radios, televisions, or even your old cellphone, you've seen their inner workings. Ever noticed those shiny gold-colored parts on the circuit boards? Those vivid pieces of metallic are, in fact, golden. Gold is used on electronic circuit boards because of its fantabulous conductive backdrop and because it doesn't corrode or rust over fourth dimension. If yous however have any of those circuit boards lying around, have a bit of fun and mine them for gold.

i

Get protective gear. Exist sure to wear a face mask, safety glasses, and industrial gloves. Chemicals and acids tin irritate or even burn through your skin. Fumes from called-for acids tin can also injure your eyes and crusade nausea when inhaled.
2
Purchase concentrated nitric acid. Nitric acid is a articulate liquid chemical ordinarily used for diverse industrial, steel, and wood works. Y'all tin purchase nitric acrid from industrial or chemic shops.
- In some states and countries, nevertheless, you might exist prohibited from ownership nitric acrid or you might have to meet sure standards earlier you're immune to buy it. Bank check with your local government before purchasing.
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iii
Put your circuit boards in a glass container. The container should preferably be Pyrex glassware or the kind that tin can withstand farthermost heat.
- Break the circuit boards into smaller pieces earlier you put them in the glass container.
- Do non use plastic containers every bit the acid might burn right through it.
four

Pour the concentrated nitric acid into the glass container with the circuit boards. As yous put the acid in, called-for fumes will get-go to come out of the container, so make sure you lot're wearing protective gear.
five

Stir the mixture using a glass rod until the contents become fluid in grade. Since gold requires stronger chemicals to be dissolved, the nitric acrid will melt all the plastic and metallic parts of the circuit board without harming the gold bits.
6

Drain the nitric acid from the mixture. Employ a filter to separate the solid parts from the liquid.
7

Pick out the unmelted parts. These parts will take the gold. Some plastic may still be attached to the gold, and so you need to separate these little bits off the gold yourself. Be sure to use industrial force gloves when you do and then.

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one

Go protective gear. Exist certain to wear a face up mask, safety glasses, and industrial gloves to avoid animate in the fumes released by the burning plastic. Apply steel tongs to turn over the burning circuit boards.
two

Get a metal bin or tray, and put the circuit boards into it. Interruption the boards into smaller pieces so they burn faster.
3

Light the boards on fire. Pour a fleck of gasoline over the pieces to put the pieces on burn down. Plough the called-for pieces over using steel tongs, and wait until the boards are burnt blackness.
four

Put out the fire. Allow the pieces to cool down a lilliputian—just warm enough so you lot can touch them, but not besides cooled downwards that the plastic hardens once more.
v
Break off the pieces of plastic fastened to the gold parts. The called-for process should have made the board materials brittle and easy to break.
- To be safe, wear protective gloves when breaking off the plastic.

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Question

Practice cell phones take gold in them?

This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Question

How much is the gold in a cell telephone worth?

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This depends on the corporeality of aureate in the phone simply a rough estimate is around USD$1 to USD$two per phone. While it may not seem similar much, past the time a gold recycling company has a ton of phones, that adds up to a lot of golden. For case, Sims Recycling Solutions North America recycled 167 ounces of gold from used cell phones in 2014, the equivalent of nearly 789 gold medals (Silverberg, 2017).
Question

Where are the precious metals in a figurer?

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Question

Exercise electronics accept gold in them?

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Many electronic devices incorporate a small amount of gold, especially on the excursion board. This is because gold is a highly efficient conductor (better than copper) and it does non corrode, ensuring therefore that no interruption occurs in transmitting voltages and currents needed to run the device.
Question

Tin hydrochloric acid exist used?

Hydrochloric acid can be used but will take longer than nictric acid. Aqua regia would be the most efficient way to practise information technology only y'all would have to precipitate the gold out of the solution.
Question

Can acid and peroxide exist used to melt the plastic?

If you mean hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, yes, only it volition take a lot longer.
Question

How pure volition the gilt exist when using the 2d method?

I will not be pure at all. There volition exist a lot of ash and all kinds of char everywhere. The 'purity' solely will depend on how well yous are able to mechanically split up the gold from all the other garbage. Considering that most of the gold layers are very sparse, yous will probably have a hard time trying to separate information technology.
Question

How do I cook gold once it has been separated from the circuit boards?
Question

Volition the nitric acrid deliquesce other precious metals, such as silver, platinum, or palladium?

Nitric acid will dissolve silverish, simply to dissolve platinum, you need aqua regia. Palladium tin can exist dissolved by both.
Question

Tin can you utilise a dissimilar blazon of acid other than nitric acid?

Hydrochloric acid can be used, but it will take longer than nitric acid. Aqua regia would be the most efficient fashion to do it, but you would have to precipitate the gold out of the solution.

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Burning plastics can crusade severe lung and environmental hazards, so do the process with extreme caution and consideration for others.
Handle acids and chemicals with farthermost care. Practice not always impact them with your bare easily to avoid severe chemic burns.
Utilise acids and chemicals in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling the fumes.
Dispose of the chemicals properly. Take the used acid to recycling plants.
Have the burned plastic remains of the board to recycling plants in your area to dispose of waste properly.

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Article Summary X

To remove gold from circuit boards, start by purchasing full-bodied nitric acrid from an industrial or chemical store. You'll also demand a face mask, safety spectacles, and industrial gloves to work with nitric acid, since information technology can damage your peel and eyes and cause nausea if it's inhaled. Next, break the circuit board into smaller pieces and place them inside a glass container. After putting on your safety gear, cascade the nitric acid into the container and stir the mixture using a glass rod. Then, employ a filter to drain the mixture and pick out the aureate parts. For more tips, like how to remove gilded using fire, read on!

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