Gold Filled Ink Pens ARE VALUABLE

[jeff of pa]

4.2 Grams Of Pure Gold

Appears Good However Not Including Play-Time Labor,

I Have to Wonder How Much his Equipmwnt Cost Plus Can he Dump the Spoils Outside, Down the Drain or Flush Them.

Or does he have to Pay someone to Take them

 

[pepperj]

4.2 Grams Of Pure Gold
View attachment 2255407
Appears Good However Not Including Play-Time Labor,

I Have to Wonder How Much his Equipmwnt Cost Plus Can he Dump the Spoils Outside, Down the Drain or Flush Them.

Or does he have to Pay someone to Take them

SREETIPS gains some revenue from his viewership + likes.
His main thing is refining gold, silver, and.PMs.
He's been doing this now for 10 yrs and has been transparent about his progress.
As.you stated the waste is always a concern, though through proper care and handling it will be disposed of through different ways of waste treatment, chemical neutralization, or hazardous waste management.
He has videos that addresses all of your concerns.

 

[pepperj]

The dark blue solution formed when copper dissolves in nitric acid is copper(II) nitrate (also called cupric nitrate).

Putting an iron bar into a copper(II) nitrate solution will drop solid copper metal out of the liquid and replace it with iron nitrate via a single-displacement reaction.

---

To safely clean up the liquid and recover the copper after using the iron bar, you must neutralize any remaining acid, filter out the solids, and cement the leftover heavy metals.Do not pour the remaining liquid down the drain, as it contains dissolved iron and potentially toxic leftover copper ions.

Separate the MetalsScrape the Copper: Pull the iron bar out of the liquid. Gently scrape the loose, reddish-brown copper flakes off the bar into the solution.

Rinse the Iron: watering over your container to catch all the copper. Set the cleaned iron bar aside to dry.

2. Neutralize the Leftover AcidAdd Baking Soda: Slowly add sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or washing soda to the liquid.

Watch the Fizz: The solution will fizz violently if leftover nitric acid is present. Keep adding baking soda in small increments until the bubbling completely stops.
Check the pH: Ensure the solution is neutral (pH 6 to 8) using pH test strips.

3. Filter the Solid CopperFilter the Liquid: Pour the neutral mixture through a paper coffee filter or a laboratory filter setup.

Collect the Copper: The solid copper metal will stay in the filter. Rinse it with water, then with isopropyl alcohol, and let it dry. You now have recovered solid copper.

4. Treat and Dispose of the LiquidThe remaining filtered liquid contains dissolved iron ions and small amounts of leftover copper ions.Precipitate Heavy Metals: Add a generous amount of washing soda (sodium carbonate) or lime (calcium hydroxide) to the liquid. This will cause the dissolved metals to turn into solid sludge (metal hydroxides).
Let It Settle: Allow the sludge to settle to the bottom of the container.Dispose Safely: Filter out the sludge.
Wrap the solid sludge in a plastic bag and take it to a household hazardous waste depot. The remaining clear, neutral water can typically be poured down the drain, depending on your local municipal bylaws.

 

[pepperj]

4.2 Grams Of Pure Gold
View attachment 2255407
Appears Good However Not Including Play-Time Labor,

I Have to Wonder How Much his Equipmwnt Cost Plus Can he Dump the Spoils Outside, Down the Drain or Flush Them.

Or does he have to Pay someone to Take them

How much does the set up cost?
It's a good question actually because it depends on the level of the person's ability or budget.
Low end in the backyard set up under $500
Mid level in a building $5000
High end $50,000

Something like detecting, fishing, or most things in life.
Harbor Freight pliers or SnapOn the choice is yours.

 

[KyleStar]

Late to the party here, but this is a good one. Since getting into scrapping I've started keeping an eye out for gold filled pens at flea markets and estate sales -- they hide in plain sight because most people see a crusty old pen and walk right past it.

The math is sobering though. Gold filled is usually 1/20 12k, so one pen might only hold a fraction of a gram of actual gold. Selling a bag of them to a refiner as gold filled scrap makes sense, but home refining a handful of pens for a few grams like in the video... the acid, the waste disposal, the time -- pepperj nailed it, that's a hobby expense, not a profit center.

As a detectorist who mostly digs clad and the occasional silver, my plan is simpler: cherry-pick the pens, toss them in the gold filled bucket, and let the refiner deal with the chemistry.