DPF Scrap Price Today: Diesel Filters, Ash Load and PGM Assay

DPFs and DOCs are quoted at $10 to $700 per part depending on the part number and PGM loading. The same unit sold blind to a scrap metal buyer brings $0.50 to $3.00. The diesel oxidation catalyst, despite being the smallest part of the system, usually holds the highest value of the lot.

Why DPFs have no sticker price

There is no per-pound diesel particulate filter scrap value and there never will be, because two filters of identical size can differ by fifty times in what they contain.

Recyclers describe it plainly: the amount of PGM in each part determines the value, and there is a vast range in PGM content between one DPF or DOC and another. A reputable buyer should be able to quote by part number rather than by look or weight.

So the first thing to do with any diesel emissions part is photograph the label, exactly as with a catalytic converter.

DOC, DPF and SCR: which is which

A diesel exhaust system is not one part, and the value order is the opposite of what size suggests.

The diesel oxidation catalyst sits at the head of the system and converts carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide while breaking down residual fuel. The doc filter scrap price surprises people: it is described as the most compact part of a diesel converter and yet the one that holds the greatest recycling value, because of its concentration of platinum and palladium.

The diesel particulate filter is engineered to trap soot. Its job is filtration rather than catalysis, so PGM content varies enormously: some DPF systems contain valuable metals, others carry limited precious metal content.

SCR catalysts appear on systems using selective catalytic reduction for nitrogen oxides. Many diesel systems instead use exhaust gas recirculation and carry no SCR at all, so the scr catalyst scrap value question only arises on some vehicles.

The diesel cat vs dpf distinction therefore matters at the counter: sell them as separate parts with separate numbers, not as one lump of exhaust.

Today's rates

The two extremes in that table describe the same object. A part quoted between $10 and $700 by a specialist becomes $0.50 to $3.00 at a general scrap yard that grades it as steel.

That is not the yard being unfair. They have no assay capability and no part-number database, so they are buying a stainless canister with something ceramic inside it.

High-grade and low-grade filters

Recyclers split DPFs into two categories, and knowing which you have sets expectations before you call.

High-grade DPFs carry a higher concentration of platinum group metals. These are typically the heavy-duty on-road units fitted since emissions rules tightened, and they sit at the upper end of the range.

Lower-grade units carry limited precious metal because the filter is doing filtration work rather than catalytic work, with the catalysis handled upstream by the DOC.

One further split applies across all autocatalysts and is worth knowing: OEM units carry significantly higher PGM loadings than aftermarket ones, because aftermarket parts are built to meet minimum emissions requirements at lower production cost. Confusing the two leads to inaccurate payments in both directions.

The assay process behind every dpf recycling price

This is where DPF pricing differs from almost everything else on this site.

A specialist does not estimate. The unit is de-canned, the substrate is crushed and homogenised, and a sample is analysed to determine actual platinum, palladium and rhodium content. Settlement follows the assay against prevailing metal prices.

That is why a dpf assay report explained properly should show the sample weight, the assayed grams per tonne of each metal, the metal prices used and the settlement date. If a buyer cannot produce those, they are estimating rather than assaying.

The practical consequence: assay-based settlement suits volume. A fleet with a pallet of filters gets a genuine analysis. A single filter is usually priced from a part-number table instead, which is faster and perfectly reasonable.

Ash load, and what it actually does

Here is the part most sellers misunderstand.

Ash is not soot. Soot burns off during regeneration; ash does not. It accumulates permanently, and its main sources are engine lubricating oil additives, plus fuel, engine wear and corrosion.

Ash accumulation is described as one of the most important factors limiting a filter's service life. It raises pressure drop, hurts fuel economy, and reduces the effective channel diameter and filter length.

There is a curious consequence worth knowing: after extended service, the ash layer itself becomes the filter medium, physically separating the soot from the channel walls, with the substrate acting merely as a support.

For value, the effect is indirect rather than direct. Ash does not remove PGM from the washcoat, so a heavily ashed filter is not stripped of its metal. What ash does is end the filter's working life, which is why it arrived at you in the first place, and it adds weight and volume that the recycler must process before assaying.

The ash disposal problem

A regulatory point that catches fleets out, and it belongs to whoever cleans the filter rather than whoever sells it.

The EPA issued a technical bulletin on diesel particulate ash disposal in 2009. DPF ash may contain trace PGM dislodged from the substrate during cleaning, which is the same material recyclers reclaim.

In California it has become industry standard to treat DPF ash as hazardous waste and manage it accordingly. A generator has two options: assume the ash is hazardous based on knowledge that other tests have found it so, or have it tested by a state-authorised facility. Test data showing the residue falls below the thresholds allows the material to be shipped freely.

So for a workshop cleaning filters regularly, ash is a cost line rather than a revenue one, and the cost varies by state.

Heavy truck filters: the big-ticket end

The semi truck dpf scrap end of the market is where the numbers get serious, and the semi truck page covers it alongside the rest of the vehicle.

Since 2007, new heavy-duty on-road diesel trucks sold in North America have carried both a DPF and a DOC. Those units are larger and more heavily loaded than passenger car equivalents, which puts them at the top of the published range.

For fleets, that adds up. A yard of decommissioned trucks represents a genuine asset rather than a disposal problem, and dpf buyers for fleets typically quote against a part-number list and arrange collection.

DPF prices around the world

PGMs settle in US dollars, so the metal in a filter is worth the same everywhere. What changes is whether a specialist processor operates near you.

Treat these as an anchor rather than a local quote. This is a material where the buyer matters more than the market, since a scrap yard and a PGM refiner will quote figures that differ by two orders of magnitude.

The same pattern repeats across the vehicle. The buyer routing guide sets out what a general yard pays against a specialist, part by part.

The clean or replace tool works the soot-or-ash question from your own symptoms and shows the net cost once the old filter core is counted.

Questions people actually ask

"What is a DPF scrap price?"

Between $10 and $700 per part at a specialist recycler, set by part number and PGM loading. At a general scrap yard the same unit is $0.50 to $3.00, because they grade it as a steel canister.

"Is the DOC or the DPF worth more?"

Usually the DOC, despite being the smallest part of the system. It carries the highest concentration of platinum and palladium because it does the catalytic work, while the filter's primary job is trapping soot.

"Does a clogged filter sell for less?"

Not directly. Ash does not strip PGM from the washcoat. It ends the filter's service life and adds material the recycler must process, but the precious metal is still there to be assayed.

"What is dpf platinum content?"

There is no single figure, which is why the trade prices by part number and settles by assay. Published guidance is explicit that the range between individual parts is vast.

Figures on this page are published recycler and industry references current in 2025 and 2026 rather than futures-linked rates. PGM content varies enormously by part number, and settlement values move with platinum, palladium and rhodium prices. Ash disposal requirements differ by state.

Frequently asked questions