Need to re-leach silver chloride with nitric

As title suggests.

I have an amount of silver chloride in silver nitrate (probably a few pounds of silver as silver chloride) that is mixed with some junk that I'd rather not melt, or heat much.

So, I can filter off the chlorides, but like I said, it's the junk that is mixed in with the chlorides. Bits of ceramics, metals, etc. Stuff that while I can slag off in a melt (after conversion of silver), I really don't want to have to because it's oxidation is going to cause losses of silver, as well as smoke that I don't want to be around.

What I'd REALLY like to convert the silver back to elemental, and redigest it in nitric, so that I can filter off the metallics.

What temperature do I ideally have to get the silver sponge to before it will oxidize off all of the excess chlorides?

Filter it all together and rinse it well
Convert the AgCl to Ag, in the solids, chemically, with your method of choice - NaOH/sugar or Karo, Iron/acid, whatever
Rinse well 'til a drop of AgNO3 test shows no chlorides in rinse water
Leach w/Nitric
Filter
Cement solution w/copper

Don't worry about the junk. I would think It should all come out in the wash.

Another possibility is to dissolve the AgCl in ammonia, filter, quickly re-acidify w/HCl, filter, rinse, Convert AgCl to Ag, and go from there.

I like the 1st method, but I would try it on small amounts first. About the only thing I can think of that "may" cause any problems is metastannic acid.

No tin to worry about, even if I did, I have something to take care of that.

I must not have washed it well enough after the first try, as I was still getting silver chloride.

That or it's my well water again...in the winter, no chlorides to speak of. In the summer, it's hit or miss.

Wouldn't it be enough to convert the silver chloride to silver oxide with NaOH? Silver oxide is easy to dissolve in nitric acid. At least that's the way I use to do it.

The only drawback is if the silver chloride has been drying out, then it might take several cycles of conversion and dissolving until all silver chloride has been converted. Dissolving in ammonia wouldn't have this drawback I guess.

Göran

goldsilverpro said:

Another possibility is to dissolve the AgCl in ammonia, filter, quickly re-acidify w/HCl, filter, rinse, Convert AgCl to Ag, and go from there.

Click to expand...

Can, instead of HCl, one use formic acid for direct reduction instead of making new AgCl?