Recycling Old Cell Phones & Electronics

[BrutalBeck]

I started taking apart old cell phones a few months ago. Yes, there is precious metals in cell phones and electronics, especially gold. The motherboards are coated in gold. But, I know for myself that there isn't enough gold to make a fortune and you would need about a ton of just cell phones, just to make it worth the while. I talked to a guy on the east coast who runs a recycling company. He says they pay $1.62 per pound for old cell phones and electronics. Which tells me, obviously, that I have a very long way to go before I ever see any kind of profit from this. I have 11 cell phone boards, 1 old hose phone board, and 20 litium batteries so far.

What do you think and know about this subject?

 

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[galenrog]

Peroxide should be used only to start the process. Too much peroxide, or any other oxidizer, and some of the gold will go into solution along with the copper, nickel, and other base metals. What is being created is copper(II) chloride, which will dissolve most base metals very well.

I suggest a tour of the Gold Refining Forum. Look for the guided tour and the library. Used the search tools with varying search terms. You will find a wealth of information far more detailed than here. Just think, TreasureNet to help you find gold, and Gold Refining Forum to help you refine it.

 

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[ohiochris]

Peroxide should be used only to start the process. Too much peroxide, or any other oxidizer, and some of the gold will go into solution along with the copper, nickel, and other base metals. What is being created is copper(II) chloride, which will dissolve most base metals very well.

I suggest a tour of the Gold Refining Forum. Look for the guided tour and the library. Used the search tools with varying search terms. You will find a wealth of information far more detailed than here. Just think, TreasureNet to help you find gold, and Gold Refining Forum to help you refine it.

Could be. The info I got from the refining forum was that acid/peroxide normally wont have an effect on gold unless you heat it. And though the amount of peroxide to use wasnt mentioned that I can remember , but I was told to add a little more peroxide every few days or so through the process since its ability to oxidize decreases after a time. And when using a bubbler make sure all the scrap is being exposed to the oxygen. But I guess it probably depends on who it is giving the advice over there.

 

[galenrog]

When done with recovery, test the solution. The first time I recovered foils from fingers, I used too much peroxide and had gold in solution with everything else. Just another learning experience.