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We buy all scrap catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters from the automotive industry. For canned purchasing all prices are in relation to the manufacturer code stamped onto the OEM catalysts. Scrap catalytic converter prices are updated daily in line with the London Metal Exchange (LME) prices for Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium. Contact us today and a member of staff will happily assist you with pricing for any canned units.
Also for customers who produce larger amounts of catalytic converters on a regular basis we can offer toll refining terms please contact a member of our team to discuss your volume supply ability and refining terms or to arrange a meeting with a member of management at your site. More about catalytic converters and how they work below.
To recycle platinum from secondary resources (e.g., spent catalysts, electronic waste, jewellery) to reduce primary mining and supply risks. Large amounts of catalysts are used in the fluid catalytic cracking, residue fluid catalytic cracking, dehydrogenation, reforming and hydrogenation in petroleum refining, and petrochemical industries, which consumed about 20.2 tons of platinum in 2015. Catalysts are discarded as solid waste after deactivation resulting from fouling, poisoning, and thermal degradation/sintering. Spent catalysts are important sources of platinum and other platinum group metals. However, they often contain coke, vanadium, lead, nickel, and organics that may cause serious pollution to soil and water. As a consequence, they are classified as hazardous wastes with restricted disposal in landfills. Recovery of platinum group metals from spent petroleum catalysts with the consideration of the environment is of great significance.
Minimum recycling quantity of 250Kg. Please contact us directly for quotes pertaining to oxygen or lambda sensors. O2 sensors contain extremely small amounts of platinum and palladium applied to the internal zirconia ceramic. This consequently makes the recycling of scrap oxygen sensors only feasible with the processing of tons of sensors daily.
Many companies have realized the value of recycling scrap oxygen sensors over the years while some are reluctant to save and de-wire the sensors. The companies most attracted to recycling sensors are manufacturers, used converter recyclers, auto core recyclers and de-canners. Be aware sensor manufacturers are in their third generation of thrifting the size of the sensor spindles to save PGM metal loads. Consequently, due to this engineering reduction, the PGM values have come down 3%-5% resulting in a 3%-5% lower load value of recoverable platinum and palladium in scrap O2 sensors.
With our assay abilities we can value any precious metal content contained within waste streams. If you believe you have waste metals or items that could contain precious metal content please contact us and a member of our team will be happy to assist. Applies to all materials that may contain platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, silver or gold.
We can offer a purchasing service for the following scrap non-ferrous metals
In metallurgy, a non-ferrous metal is a metal, including alloys, that does not contain iron (ferrite) in appreciable amounts.
A catalytic converter is responsible for controlling harmful emissions from your vehicle. It is located on the bottom of your vehicle, just behind your engine. Breaking down its name, we can analyse exactly what its function is. Catalytic converters contain substances or compounds such as platinum, rhodium, or palladium that act as catalysts and converters.
The compounds act like catalysts because they cause a chemical reaction to occur, but they don’t change their original form. The compounds also act as converters because they react with and convert harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides produced by your engine. This conversion into less harmful gases occurs before they travel out your exhaust system and into the air. Catalytic converters contain honeycomb (covered with tiny pores) structures that are coated with platinum, rhodium, or palladium depending on the catalyst stage. Exhaust emissions from the engine will travel through the coated honeycomb structures and react with the compounds.
There are two different catalyst stages that emissions will travel through: a reduction catalyst and an oxidation catalyst. During the first catalyst stage (the reduction catalyst), nitrogen oxides react with a platinum and rhodium coated honeycomb structure. When these harmful nitrogen oxides react with the catalysts (platinum and rhodium), the catalysts remove the nitrogen molecule, hold onto it, and release the oxygen molecules. Then, the nitrogen molecules left over will join with other nitrogen molecules and exit through the exhaust system. During this stage, harmful nitrogen oxide gases are converted into harmless oxygen and nitrogen gases. During the second catalyst stage (the oxidation catalyst), carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are oxidized. This means that oxygen molecules will react with the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon molecules. These substances pass through a platinum and palladium coated honeycomb structure, which acts as a catalyst and aids in the reaction. During this stage, very harmful carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon gases are converted into less harmful carbon dioxide gases and water vapours.
Catalytic converters also work hand-in-hand with a control system. This control system controls the fuel injection system and monitors the emissions leaving the engine before they enter the catalytic converter. It also contains an oxygen sensor, which detects how much oxygen is entering the exhaust system. The oxygen sensor monitors the amount of oxygen and will tell the fuel injection system to increase or decrease the amount of oxygen used in the fuel/air mixture used to power the engine. The sensor also makes sure there is enough oxygen in the exhaust system to be used by the catalytic converter in the oxidation catalyst stage.