Waste or scrap is solved in aqua regia, just like we treat gold.

It is filtered to separate silver chloride.

It is precipitated using gold sulfite or iron sulphate. It is filtered and taken out.

Metallic zinc powder is added to the remaining solution and palladium and all other metals, including copper, are
precipitated. They are filtered and washed thoroughly. ( keep Solution)

Hydrogene peroxide is added slowly to the sulphuric acid dilluted 50-50 with water, and is mixed until the reaction
is completed.

Zinc and copper go into the solution. What remains at the bottom are palladium, platinium and other platinium
group elements. They are washed thoroughly.

In order to separate palladium, it is boiled in nitric acid.

Palladium goes into the solution.

Platinium, rhodium and iridium remain at the bottom.

It is washed and taken away.

The solution containing palladium is once again precipitated using zinc, washed, the excessive zinc is taken away
using sulpruric acid, and it is melted.

In order to separate platinium (if there are rhodium and iridium), it is boiled in aqua regia and filtered. What
remains at the bottom are rhodium and iridium. Platinium is once again precipitated using zinc, and the excessive
zinc is taken away using sulphuric acid, washed and melted using oxygen flame.

Interpretation of procedure:

1) Completely dissolve the scrap metal in Aqua Regia (AR)

2) Filter the insoluable Silver Chloride (AgCl) out of the AR.
3) Add Iron Sulfate or Gold Sulfite to the AR,
in order to precipitate gold.
4) Filter out the precipitate.
5) Add Zinc powder to the remaining AR,
in order to precipitate all other metals.
6) Filter out the Zinc precipitate
(which contains Cu and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs))
and discard the AR.
 7) Wash the precipitate thoroughly.
8) Add the Zn/Cu/PGM precipitate to a mixture of dilute sulfiric acid
and hydrogen peroxide.
This will dissolve the Zn and Cu, but leave the PGMs on the
bottom.
9) Filter out the PGM and boil it in Nitric Acid,
in order to remove Palladium
9b) Filter off the nitric and use zinc and sulfiric acid
to reclaim the Palladium
10) Boil the remaining PGMs of Pt, Rd, and Ir in AR acid.
10b) Rd and Ir sink
10c) Pt dissolves in the AR
11) Filter out the Rd and Ir
12) Add Zinc to the AR that only has Pt left in it.
13) Filter out the precipitate.
14) Wash the zinc/platinum precipitate in sulfiric acid to remove Zn.
15) Melt the final platinum powder with an oxy torch.

Aditional info:

Platinum being dissolved in aqua regis

Similar equations can be written for platinum. As with gold, the oxidation reaction can be written
with either nitric oxide or nitrogen dioxide as the nitrogen oxide product.

Pt (s) + 4 NO3− (aq) + 8 H+ (aq) → Pt4+ (aq) + 4 NO2 (g) + 4 H2O (l)
3Pt (s) + 4 NO3− (aq) + 16 H+ (aq) → 3Pt4+ (aq) + 4 NO (g) + 8 H2O (l)

The oxidized platinum ion then reacts with chloride ions resulting in the chloroplatinate ion.

Pt4+ (aq) + 6 Cl− (aq) → PtCl62− (aq)

Experimental evidence reveals that the reaction of platinum with aqua regia is considerably more
complex. The initial reactions produce a mixture of chloroplatinous acid (H2PtCl4) and
nitrosoplatinic chloride ((NO)2PtCl4). The nitrosoplatinic chloride is a solid product. If full
dissolution of the platinum is desired, repeated extractions of the residual solids with
concentrated hydrochloric acid must be performed.

Pt (s) + 2 HNO3 (aq) + 4 HCl (aq) → (NO)2PtCl4 (s) + 3 H2O (l) + 1/2 O2 (g)
(NO)2PtCl4 (s) + 2 HCl (aq) → H2PtCl4 (aq) + 2 NOCl (g)

The chloroplatinous acid can be oxidized to chloroplatinic acid by saturating the solution with
chlorine while heating.
 H2PtCl4 (aq) + Cl2 (g) → H2PtCl6 (aq)

Dissolving platinum solids in aqua regia was the mode of discovery for the most dense metals.
Iridium and osmium, both of which are found in platinum ore and will not be dissolved by the
acid, instead collected on the base of the vessel.