How Much Precious Metals Are Contained in a Catalyst

As the catalyst is a rather expensive vehicle part, many car owners wonder whether it is possible to clean the device. The answer depends on the degree and type of pollution. If it got clogged with sulfur or paraffin as a result of using bad fuel, nothing can help. For a car owner it means the necessity to buy a new catalyst.

But this is good news for those who are interested in buying scrap catalysts: clogged and physically damaged devices contain more precious metals. Therefore, it is more profitable to buy such items. We have found a website with the world’s biggest catalytic converter base. Just check out used catalytic converter cost at https://autocatalystmarket.com/us/en  Here you can find over 25,000 offers!

What Metals Are Contained in a Catalyst

Catalytic converters became an essential part of the vehicle construction in the second half of the 1980s. There were even cars with old carburetor engines and exhaust gas converters. We are not going to describe the nuances, but it should be noted that this device is required to clean exhaust emissions from such harmful substances as toxins and carcinogens.

Mosts catalysts contain three types of precious metals: Pt, Pd, and Rh. The ratio of these materials varies depending on the engine type. Thus, platinum dominates in catalysts for diesel engines, but devices designed for gasoline engines contain mostly palladium and rhodium.

For many years, platinum remained the most expensive metal in exhaust gas converters. History even knows a period, when it cost five times the price of palladium.

But since 2015 (after the Volkswagen emissions scandal or just Dieselgate), the production of diesel vehicles has dropped significantly. As a result, the palladium price also dropped. The overall picture is the following: several years ago the price of this metal was approximately $2.2 thousand per ounce (about 31.1 g), but currently the price stays at the level of only $600-800 per ounce.

In turn, precious metals that are used in gasoline engine cats have become more expensive. And the increase is quite considerable. For example, rhodium prices in recent years have grown from $1,500 to $12,000 per ounce! But it is better to rely on accurate data.

If you follow the link above, you will see the latest price data for Pt, Pd, and Rh per gram. One more important thing you should know about AutoCatalystMarket is that the cat prices are based on the current rate.

The Content of Precious Metals in a Cat

Even if you have just found the best cat offer ever, don’t hurry too much. First, you should understand clearly, approximately how much precious metals can be recovered from a scrap catalyst.

The accurate amount depends on a lot of factors: fuel quality, vehicle class, engine type, for what sales market the vehicle was designed, etc. Please, keep in mind that the same car model, for example, in Germany and China may have completely different catalysts. If we are talking about average results, a scrap catalyst can bring 1.5 g/kg of platinum, 1.3-1.4 g/kg of palladium, and 0.15 g/kg of rhodium. A typical cat weighs about 1.2 kg.

On AutoCatalystMarket, besides the true price, you can find all the necessary data concerning every catalyst to make the best deal.

How to Recover Platinum and Rhodium from Scrap Catalysts

There are several working methods of recovering these metals from the honeycomb structure, and leaching using oxidizing mixtures is the most popular of them. But you should keep in mind that this method has a couple of cons. First of all, a catalyst contains aluminum oxides too that prevent the complete removal of platinum.

To recover all platinum contained in a cat you should leach and then wash the device multiple times. Thus, using this method requires much time as well as extra material costs. In addition, it is almost impossible to obtain the whole amount of platinum anyway.

There is one more reliable method that implies pre-soaking a catalyst in hydrochloric acid. It is important to carry out this process while heating to make the mixture of vapor and gas circulate. This method is much easier to implement than leaching and it leaves a larger amount of precious metals.

How to recognize a problem with a catalyst?

If the honeycomb is physically damaged, rattling and similar sounds can be heard, although the housing itself has some kind of insulation that muffles the sound as well.

The “check engine” lamp can be turned on, as the catalytic converter is accompanied by sensors

Loss of strength

Occasional loss of power, with jerking or improper engine operation

Increased fuel consumption

The catalyst may suffer without experiencing any of the above symptoms. It depends on the generation of the car, the type of catalytic converter, the sensors that monitor it, the condition of the catalytic converter itself…

There are other symptoms, which experienced masters can easily recognize.

It can also slowly become clogged over time, with the owner gradually getting used to e.g. power drop and other symptoms, so it does not occur to him at all that there is a problem with the catalyst.

How to Recover Palladium from Scrap Catalysts

Although it is possible to use the same methods to recover palladium too, you will be hardly satisfied with the result, since clean palladium having no impurities can be rarely obtained. It is better to use, for example, the galvanic method.

The only way to obtain pure palladium is to increase the metal temperature to 500 °C and simultaneously to fluoridate it. Then the resulting palladium fluoride is cooled to approximately 100 °C and the two components are separated using a mineral acid. With the help of this method, almost all palladium contained in a catalyst can be recovered.

There are some other industrial methods to obtain noble metals from used catalysts too. They usually make it possible to recover pure metals. But these methods also have some cons. For example, they can not be used to treat one or several devices. That is why they are much more appropriate for industrial scale.