How to Recover Platinum from Catalytic Converters: 5 Easy Tips

Junk cars – purposeless old things that don’t deserve the space in your garage. For most people, these old and dysfunctional vehicles have totally lost their worth.

At least that’s what most people think.

But some are clever enough to know that even junk cars actually hold something more valuable. Some pick out the re-salable parts like the engine or side mirrors to be used as spare parts. But more than that, there are actually some treasures to be found in cars and that lie right at the underbelly of the machine.

They’re called catalytic converters (CC).

What Are Catalytic Converters?

Sounds like a mouthful but these marvelous devices are very much prized for two things:

They convert highly toxic fumes generated by car engines and convert them “magically” into generally harmless gases that get blown off into the atmosphere.
They use a highly coveted metal, platinum, to act as a catalyst, along with other metals in converting toxic gas to harmless gas.

What is a catalyst you ask? In the most layman of terms, a catalyst is something that can change something else without changing itself.

In chemistry, it is a chemical that is able to speed up a chemical reaction without changing its properties. In this case, platinum and its PGM brothers or platinum-group metals (iridium, palladium, osmium, ruthenium, rhodium), act as the catalysts in breaking down air pollutants to gases that are non-hazardous.

In many catalytic converters, the combination of platinum, palladium, and rhodium work together as catalysts. From the engine, toxic gases like nitrogen oxide pass through the CCs honeycomb tubes coated with PGTs and get broken down to the harmless gases nitrogen and oxygen.

Killer pollutants like carbon monoxide pass through the CCs and are combined with oxygen, which in turn becomes carbon dioxide as it leaves your muffler. CCs also combine oxygen to dangerous hydrocarbon gases to emit carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Combined with the use of unleaded gas, catalytic converters have transformed cars into environmentally-friendly machines.

The Value of Platinum

The “magic” behind these catalytic converters is found in their honeycomb-like tubes. These are coated with platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Among these three, platinum is most sought after because of its industrial and commercial value, as well as its rarity.

Among the precious metals, platinum is seen as more valuable than gold and silver. It closely has the same density as gold, and the same malleable and ductile properties of gold. It is as resistant to corrosion as gold.

However, what sets platinum apart is its rarity. The ratio, in terms of availability, of platinum to gold is 1:15. This means that for every 15 gold there is only 1 platinum. It is also difficult to acquire a lot of it, as it will take 10 tons of raw platinum ore to come up with a single ounce of pure platinum.

Aside from its rarity, platinum is also admired for its simplistic silvery beauty. It is also tougher than silver and gold as it has the highest melting point amongst the three. It also has hypoallergenic properties making it a safe choice for jewelry.

But what drives this metal’s demand is its use in the industry. Platinum is used in many machines and applications for its high electric conductivity and catalyst properties. In fact, one-third of all platinum production goes to the automobile industry. and yes, they go the catalytic converters.

Extracting Platinum from Catalytic Converters

For those who seek to have a piece of this special metal, look no further than your CCs.

There are several methods for how to recover platinum from catalytic converters, and other metals, too. But in most cases, the assistance of professionals might be more beneficial. But if you wish to extract it yourself, you can follow this procedure:

Remove the catalytic converter found under the vehicle’s chassis. You may use a chop saw or flame cutter to remove it or unscrew the bolts using a socket wrench.
Use a cutting torch or flame cutter to split open the catalytic converter. Make sure to use heavy industrial gloves and goggle for protection.
Expose the ceramic honeycomb and nudge it out of the case. (In some cases, older CCs use coated pellets instead.)
You may use a flat head screwdriver to pry out some of the platinum coating.
You may also sell it straight to junkyards.

Some claim that in knowing how to, an average of 3-7 grams of platinum could be recovered from CCs.

Those that come from trucks yield more than the regular ones in cars. Overall, dismantling the catalytic converter to retrieve platinum can be quite exhaustive but still rewarding as platinum is truly a rare and valuable metal.