First ive heard of scrap catalytic converters

Can you actually make money by scraping/refining these things? I would think legal implications and technical refining problems, would make these a pain to deal with? Yet people are bidding and paying over $100 for a single one!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCRAP-Catalytic-Converter-Platinum-Palladium-Rhodium-Full-12609618/402284568164?hash=item5daa075e64:g:MYwAAOSwSa9eoNWC

 

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Been going on decades now. People have been hoarding and scrapping catalytic converters for easily 30-35 years.

 

The same in my neck of the woods.
X2

 

The Pt/Rh/Pd metals are applied to a ceramic substrate (honeycomb) as a washcoat that also contains other ceramic materials. The cordierite substrates are engineered with a controlled level of porosity that allows the washcoat to stick to the structure and the extra ceramics help the catalyst adhere when heated.

The trick is to grind the cordierite substrates fine enough so you can chemically separate the precious metal catalyst.

Better living through chemistry

 

Over here they jack up parked cars and use cordless cutters to remove the Cat in 30 seconds.

Honda is the easiest car of chioce

 

I don’t know how these things are refined. At Christmas time I had one cut out from under a car in my parking lot. Pretty brazen.

 

I remember back in the 70s. We would cut them off new cars and they were scrap metal.