Results 1 to 11 of 11

Threaded View

Mechanic688 The Burning Question; How... 03-13-2013, 12:02 AM
NobleMetalWorks I have argued and argued with... 03-13-2013, 12:17 AM
AJR So along with heat sinks,... 03-16-2013, 10:04 AM
URBANERECYCLING Good to see AJR back ....... 03-16-2013, 10:10 AM
NobleMetalWorks Yes, the people I know who... 03-16-2013, 10:15 AM
CTscrapman Nice research Mech, so from... 03-14-2013, 05:25 PM
Mechanic688 Yep, I found out firsthand... 03-14-2013, 09:24 PM
NewbyScrapper They also make great bird... 03-14-2013, 10:14 PM
Mechanic688 Make a energy intensifier,... 03-14-2013, 10:41 PM
BroJer I have a neighbor I would... 03-16-2013, 10:12 AM
eesakiwi I once used HCL acid to eat... 03-16-2013, 06:06 PM
  1. #1
    Mechanic688 started this thread.
    Mechanic688's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Warsaw , Ind. In the heart of the lakes, and down the street from the hotel where Al Capone stayed.
    Posts
    9,571
    Thanks
    11,207
    Thanked 10,684 Times in 4,711 Posts

    Post The Burning Question; How much platinum in a hard drive platter?

    If you have ever wondered what kind of value is in the Hard Drive Platters then I have found the answer, finally.
    I think this is based on '08 prices;



    It's taken me just about forever, but I've finally found some way to answer the simple question "How much platinum is in these hard drive platters showing up on Ebay for salvage?" "The Chemistry of Computing" over at extremetech.com (article2/0,2845,1946290,00.asp) has all the facts: surface layer of Co-Cr-Pt alloy is 40-50% platinum, and the layer is ~30 nm thick. I don't have a hard drive platter in front of me, so let's just forget about the hole in the middle for a moment, so one platter from a 3.5" disk is 3.14*(3.5/2)^2=10.4 sq inches or 67.2 cm^2 ... times the 30 nm thickness (3x10^-6 cm) is 2.0x10-4 cm^3, times the (optimistic) 50% Pd, times the density of Pt (21.45 g/cm^3) and I estimate one platter has at most 2.2 mg Pt. As of 08/29/2008, the platinum spot price was 1470.00 USD per troy ounce, or more usefully, 4.73 cents per miligram. So, congratulations, you've just spent an hour of time and three cents of chemicals (just a guess, probably high) to reclaim 10 cents of platinum, probably still contaminated with cobalt and chromium depending on your recovery method. I hope you bought a whole bunch of platters cheap and rode a bike to pick them up because I doubt you'll be paying for gas let alone the shipping with the platinum. Or hope those early hard drives used a much thicker layer....
    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
    If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet.


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook