Where to Find Platinum in Scrapped Airliners and Military Planes
Where Can You Find Scrapped Airliners and Military Planes in the U.S.?, a post we published on this blog on March 7, 2022, included a comprehensive, state-by-state guide to airplane scrapyards in America.
Today, we would like to ask, what are the best places to find platinum scrap in the planes you will find in those scrapyards?
There is a simple answer to that question . . .
You will find the most platinum in the jet engines that were used to power those planes.
In those engines, these parts contain platinum:
Vanes and blades – These are the large, fan-like structures that spin inside engines.
Stator blades – These look a lot like the vanes we describe above. The difference is that they do not spin; usually found in front of and between moving blades, they are non-moving fan-like structures that direct the flow of outside air and combustible fuel mixtures to where they will be burned and produce movement.
Fuel manifolds – These are bent tubes that carry aircraft fuel into the interior of the engine. You will find them at the junction where fuel supply lines meet engines. And they contain platinum.
Fuel nozzles – These are just what they sound like: small nozzles that spray fuel and fuel mixtures into the engine where they will be burned and cause rotor blades to spin.
Heat exchangers – These are used when the temperature of fuel/air mixtures needs to be reduced prior to burning. They often look like smaller versions of the radiators you find on cars; the hot fuel mixture enters through a pipe on one side and when the mixture exits the exchanger on the other side, it is cooler.
Tobi Ducts – They are devices, equipped with nozzles, that direct cooling air into engines.
Why Is Platinum the Metal of Choice in These Applications?
Platinum in used because it doesn’t degrade when it is exposed to high heat inside jet engines. And the good news for platinum-hunters is that when the metal is found in old jet engines, it is usually intact. It might be discolored, but it will weigh about as much as it did when it was first used to make the rotors, blades, nozzles and other components we describe above.
Can you go to scrap yards and remove platinum components from jet engines? The answer to that question is, it depends. Many commercial scrap yards will remove platinum, send it to platinum recovery services, and keep the profits for themselves.
Other airplane scrap yards, usually smaller ones, might agree to sell you platinum parts that you retrieve on your own. The basic principle is, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
And when you collect a nice batch of blades and other engine parts, give Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners a call at 800-426-2344. We are here to test your platinum scrap, recycle the platinum it contains, and pay you for it at current trading prices.
The message in today’s post is, that there is platinum in scrapped planes! To make money from extracting and refining it, just give us a call.