Biscuits Catylitic Converter Project

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Originally Posted by freonjoe

Gus, I was wondering why you weren't using your plasma cutter to de-can the cats, forgot your air compressor was down.

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Last winter I only had heat in the laboratory part of the shop, the compressor is in the unheated section. In minus weather the oil got thick as molasses making for longer starts, electric motors can not handle extra long starts.

On the Toshiba 5 hp motor as the capacitors blew replaced them. Then eventually the contacts on the start switch inside the motor burned off, this motor is repairable but the part is obsolete, to replace it I robbed the 5 hp motor from the hammer mill which went up in smoke in the first week, the start windings burned out.

I have a small compressor from a Dental Clinic that I used to keep the waste oil boiler operational which only requires a small volume of air at 14 psi.

When I lived in the Dakota's, I wrapped my compressor with heat tape when I started having that problem.

Perhaps the largest catalyst refiner and buyer in the U.S.A , http://www.multimetco.com

Now you can avoid feeding the bottom feeders, sell direct.

For my project I'm required to have the customary 500 kg's.

List of locations.

Multimetco, Inc.
1610 Frank Akers Road
Anniston, Alabama 36207
(800) 824-5092
Fax: (256) 835-1778

Los Angeles, CA - Warehouse
2511 South Broadway
Santa Ana, CA 92707
1 800 951 1055
Contact: Arran Swift

Houston, TX - Warehouse
9039 Knight Rd
Houston, TX 77054
Contact: Pat Holmes
(713) 799 2106
800 546 5203
Fax (713) 799 2108

Covington, TN - Warehouse
1521 Hwy 51 North
Covington, TN 38019
Contact: Thomas Faulk
(901) 476-2102

Tampa, FL - Warehouse
4735 Transport Dr.
Tampa, FL 33605
Contact: Tony Green
(813) 248-2440
888 384-6789
Fax (813) 247 5346

Pittsburgh, PA - Warehouse
2603 Leechburg Rd.
Lower Burrell, PA 15068
Contact: Don Seyler
(800) 626-2493

Buffalo, NY - Warehouse
65 Innsbrook Dr
Cheektowaga, NY 14227
Contact: Steve Wiktorowski
(716) 553-3645

Boston, MA - Warehouse
97 Tenney
Georgetown , MA 01883
Contact: Bruce Conover
Phone: (800) 458-0999

Do you know how many Kg's you're averaging per cat?

[QUOTE=freonjoe;75051]Do you know how many Kg's you're averaging per cat?[/QUOTE

If the cat has full combs they average 3 lbs., the comb is hygroscopic and absorbs a certain amount of free atmospheric moisture. The powder on a wet day has a cling to it but not enough to clump, on dry days the powder flows though the funnel freely into the drum while on wet days I have to give it a shake.

Any moisture content is going to add unwanted weight, water weighs 9.9 lbs to the gallon. So it will be no surprise when the refinery makes adjustments for moisture.

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Originally Posted by olddude

your assay will be useless to any one else in my opinion, due to the difference of PM content in different converters, each shipment will require a seperate assay.

I strongly recommend, unless some one knows exactly what they are doing to sell the WHOLE converter to a lagitimate converter buyer. EXAMPLE Jaguar converter whole $225, break out the biscuit and it is worth $12 or so an LB. reasion is because the whole converter and there for the PM contend can be Identifyed. a bunch of ceramic dust cant with out an expensive Assay. just sayin.

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The first quote for the assay from another company was very expensive at $500.00, after doing some digging found a company that does the same 3 element assay for $75.00.

Need an assay done, send it to American Analytical Services Inc. http://www.americananalytical.net/

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The first quote for the assay was very expensive at $500.00, after doing some digging found a company that does the same 3 element assay for $75.00.

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Quite a bit of difference for the same assay.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Quite a bit of difference for the same assay.

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Its possible the first was a fire assay, after getting the price never asked. The one I'm getting is ICP,

I'll have to email my mentor to ask him if ICP is sufficient.

Working the filters this afternoon, having let the black settle out for the last month was due to laziness but it sure paid off when decanting the liquids. I can see why they call it cementing. I had to chip it off the bottom of the pail then getting it back into a small amount of liquid.

After the black powder was redissolved then taking the pail out into the sunlight swirl the liquid and you could see the metallics swirling around in the liquid then quickly settle to the bottom of the pail. I didn't think my camera would capture this picture.

Once the filtering is completed this is going to call for another assay, I'm in the wrong business.

On a side note I really appreciate that you guys and gals have not been to harsh on me over my spelling, finally figured out how to install a spell checker into Firefox. Then I went back and tidied up some of my spelling in previous posts, so that I don't come across as the Village idiot.

What I did discover by doing the tidy up job is that I can only go back and edit the last half dozen or so posts in a thread with out super user privileges. So if you have a goof up going way back you have to live with it.

lol too funny. Sounds like a good plan.

Sad news, just got off the telephone with the Multimetco rep the minimum lot requirement is 2000 lbs and yes they accept milled catalytic comb so at 600 lbs I've a long ways to go.

The fact that Mutlimetco accepts milled material fully explains how the decaners are dealing with the cats they purchase to maximize on profits.

I'm getting a fairly good supply of cats from the scrap cars that I have been picking up, by my estimate this project would take another year at best to meet the refinery requirement of 2000 lbs.

Rather than spending the next year or more trying to meet this requirement will refine my own in smaller lots.

Gus, are you using aqua regia to pull out the PM's?

Woot now the funs really gonna start.

With a 2000lb min. and 600lbs on hand you need 1400lbs. At 3lb per cat that's 467 more cars to go. I find that number a little depressing. On top of that you are going to entrust your fortune of 2000lbs to one refiner. I hope by the time you reach that goal you will have alternative refiners. Best of luck with this project and thank you for sharing. Its difficult making money sometimes. Mike.

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Originally Posted by freonjoe

Gus, are you using aqua regia to pull out the PM's?

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No, I'm going to use SSN with an additional oxidizer, the leach will be heated to make it more reactive. I have a cheap source of heat from the waste oil fired boiler.

I'll start building the reactor when I have some free time, I already have most of the parts needed, just have to clean out the shop and lab to make room right now its a pigsty.

This afternoon is shot, installing that new compressor motor then going to Brandon in the morning with a load of battery's then drop off my Harris cutting torch for a tune up.

Wired up that new inverter yesterday and it does not work, I think maybe there's a poor ground, so I still have to look into that problem.

The results from my assay have arrived.

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/z...MixedAssay.png

So what does that translate to the less knowledgable? I know what the metals are and PPM is parts per millon but how that tells me the potential value of a troy ounce of this stuff? Mike

Does that mean there's about 1 and 1/4 pounds of platinum per ton of comb? Maybe I'm using the wrong formulas but it all works out to 19.75 a pound.

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Originally Posted by freonjoe

Does that mean there's about 1 and 1/4 pounds of platinum per ton of comb? Maybe I'm using the wrong formulas but it all works out to 19.75 a pound.

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You got it right, $19.75 a lb, low grade cats or badly deteriorated. Would have been better off not knowing, especially since I paid $15.00 lb for some of that comb. This is why I got back into hauling scrap cars to bring that price down.

My conclusion is that you guys are far better off selling your cats to a buyer as you get them.

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Originally Posted by gustavus

You got it right, $19.75 a lb, low grade cats or badly deteriorated. Would have been better off not knowing, especially since I paid $15.00 lb for some of that comb. This is why I got back into hauling scrap cars to bring that price down.

My conclusion is that you guys are far better off selling your cats to a buyer as you get them.

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That's what I do, just sold 12 yesterday. Got about $775 for 12. 10 domestic and 2 japanese.

Gus, are you using iodine for your oxidizer?