Can you melt gold off electronics?

Gold melts at 1064 ˚C, much hotter than what can be obtained by a simple propane torch. For three months of collecting, stripping, and dissolving electronic parts, [Josehf] netted 576.5 grains of gold, or at current prices, about $1500 worth of the best conductor available.

Is recovering gold from electronics worth it?

The extraction of gold from old electronic components and electronic boards is not a new process. A combination of hydrochloric and nitric acid will dissolve the gold for recovery; however, the process releases toxic fumes dangerous to humans.

How much gold can be extracted from electronics?

“Cellphones contain about two cents’ worth of gold . . . “ “An old cathode ray computer monitor contains a nickel’s worth of gold . . .” “A ton of electronics scrap should contain about 12 ounces of gold . . .”

How do you melt gold on circuit boards?

Steps

1. Get protective gear.
2. Purchase concentrated nitric acid.
3. Put your circuit boards in a glass container.
4. Pour the concentrated nitric acid into the glass container with the circuit boards.
5. Stir the mixture using a glass rod until the contents become fluid in form.
6. Drain the nitric acid from the mixture.

What electronics contain the most gold?

Computer CPU’s (processors) have the most precious metal value by weight, followed by Memory (RAM) & Circuit Board Fingers / Connectors / Pins, then Circuit Boards (Motherboards), then cables / wires, with hard drives & whole computers being last.

Which electronics have the highest gold recovery?

Computers and televisions typically have the most gold of any household electronics. Cameras, radios, and media players — especially older models — also contain gold in their circuit boards. Other electronics like game consoles, tablets, and phones only contain trace amounts of gold.

How much gold do you get for scrapping a computer?

We believe it conservative to say with today’s gold price, over $10 of gold gets layered in an average computer. In other words, 1/5th of a gram of gold can get pulled or withdrawn from an average computer’s interior.

What computer parts contain gold?

Gold: Gold is used in printed circuit boards, cell phones, computer chips (CPU), connectors and fingers. Silver: SIlver is used in printed circuit boards, cell phones, computer chips, keyboard membranes and some capacitors. Platinum: Platinum is used in hard drives and circuit boards components.

How much gold can you recover from a computer?

A computer contains about 0.2 grams of gold, valued at about $12. Each laptop has 0.006 grams of gold, and you’d need 7,500 such devices to get a kilo of gold.

What can I use to melt gold off a circuit board?

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

Why do we use gold in our electronics?

The whole reason we use Gold in electronics is because it doesn’t react with many things. This includes acids. You can use Aqua Regia (a mixture of two acids) to dissolve gold, but this is not by any description “mild”. It’s this stage of the process I am not believing.

Can You recover gold from an electronic circuit?

Gold, silver, platinum and palladium can all be recovered from circuits and processors of electronics. Of all the precious metals, gold is the one most frequently recovered and refined from electronics. Although it is possible to melt the gold plating away from the circuitry,…

What’s the best way to remove gold from electronic waste?

There are two current industry standards for removing gold from electronic scraps. The first is pyrometallurgy, which burns the gold off using high temperatures. This method is energy intensive, cost prohibitive and releases dangerous gases, like dioxins. The second is hydrometallurgy in which leaching chemicals like cyanide solution