Glucose Test Strips

[solar_plasma]

jmdlcar

That I will try this nail polish cleaner is it this type ethyl acetate?

Yes, but as said: they are almost clean, so maybe there are more effective thinners like cellulose thinner, which I haven't tried yet. Just the procedure to lay the strips into some kind of bath seems to be the way.


Edit 1: the glue can easily be rubbed of with two fingers after that, but that's still not satifying in order to process thousands. But I just observed something maybe interesting,though it could be occured by happenstance: On one strip there was a rest of the tape that covers the gold and it was detached from the strip now after the bath! Just for fun I laid the 50 strips into iodine- iodide-solution in a small sealed glas. I have used about half as much solution as necessary, because I only wanna watch the expected decolourizing showing if it works. I will recently shake it and observe some days.

Edit 2: ...okay, my iodine-solution must be more concentrated, than I thought. Obviously all gold was dissolved after maybe 10 or 20 minutes (which would match with the optimum of 1 micrometer/minute, if I remember right), not sure, but I can only see clean white strips in the still red-brown liquid. So....it works! The sampling will be processed later together with a bigger amount. It has it's own charm that iodine.

 

[jmdlcar]

solar_plasma,

This is how I remove the glue can easily be rubbed off with two fingers It just a little time to do it.

Thanks
Jack

 

[solar_plasma]

I have to add, what I have found out in meanwhile,though it is only indirectly related to the topic:

You can often read that iodine leaching is slow, but then they use only iodine in aqua, the very low concentration of iodine slows the process down.

Iodine/iodide has mostly a iodine concentration between 1-10 %. I asked my manufactorer for the conc of the solution I used, it had 1,3% iodine. As said before, about 50 strips (unfortunately my dad had cuttet the probe side at 1/3 off) in about 5ml were leached after 10-20 minutes. Today I dissolved about 2g of goldplating from cutted RAMs etc. in about 100ml I/KI till the leach got almost colorless (lightly yellow-green though) it took 40 minutes and there was still goldplating left. That is not slow for my understanding. I've ordered new iodide for 17€/50g. Thats ok for me, since it will dissolve about 75g Au if no other dissolvable metals are present.

I haven't precipitated yet, so I'm very curious. Maybe I/KI will be the easiest and safest method, though not the cheapest one (in the beginning) for glucose strips as long as you own a pH-meter for precipitation.

 

[Marcel]

I dont understand why you try iodine. It has been tried in this forum before without success. Theoretically you only have to heat it and iodine and gold will fall apart, but the users who tried it had no luck with that.
I use HAP (hot Ap), it is the easiest and cheapest way and safest also. Just use 1:1 HCL+H2O2 heat it to 50°C and the gold will dissolve within seconds. Precipitate it by using a piece of pure copper or any other BM. No need to buy expensive iodine, with uncertain process.

 

[solar_plasma]

1:1 HCL+H2O2

I think I ve read it in your book, that this dissolves gold after some time (more to avoid this if you're after the gold foils). Sounds very interesting, save and easy, indeed. I did not stumble over this method in the forum, but now I will keep my eyes open.

Iodine/iodide charms with it's optical behaviour and Its non-corrosiveness, which makes it interesting for very special cases. Ofcourse most can be done by only one tool. Sometimes I use some pliers as a hammer, but that is not really smart and aesthetic and doesn't pay one item's respect. Maybe I'm not right. But then, I have learned more about the item's phenomenal character, than by using a sledgehammer for cutting tiles, though it surely would be easy for a real mason. Maybe he could do this with his bare fingers as well.

Iodine is old and proven as well, as far as I can read. And I'm sure in most cases AP or HCl/CL are the ways of choice. Now, I have started to learn this method and I will finish this attempt. Frustrations will always occur. What would be the worst case? The worst case would be, that I knew to the point just everything why not to use this somewhat bohemian method. Not really bad, I think.

My Hoke-style lessons I do along with all the other attempts. I have time, my treasures will not run away. As long as I keep my wastes, losts and dangers low, everything should be ok.

 

[jmdlcar]

solar_plasma,

The way your doing your strips can you check your yields and post them? That way we will have more then 2 types of yields. So if other want to refine them they can pick which way they want to do it.

I just hope it works for me and I found my little gold mine it's a nice hobby.

Thanks
Jack

 

[solar_plasma]

Sure I will

My iodine order comes tomorrow I hope and the strips too, then I can finish the leaching and will raise the pH slowly against a bit under 7 with KOH and a pH-meter. As far as I read, the pH will also raise along with the gold gets precipitated, so I will give it time. If it works, I'll do a recovering that is comparable to the other Aviva-experiments. I'm so curious! :lol:

 

[necromancer]

solar_plasma,

This is how I remove the glue can easily be rubbed off with two fingers It just a little time to do it.

Thanks
Jack

thanks for this, looks good !!

my thought was to use a bucket with a top inside the bucket put sand / rice / small rocks and tumble ??
wont know until i try it

 

[Marcel]

I find iodine also very interesting but for another "class" of materials. In glucose you have gold plated on plastic. That is the most simple way, because there are no BMs that interfere. In such cases I have learned to use low tech methods, because they reduce the costs the work and the risks of loosing values. All it takes for pure gold to dissolve is some chlorineatoms. Iodine is more a mercury alternative , at least to me. But I am very interested in your project and eager to see how you recover the gold. Please keep us updated.

 

[solar_plasma]

That is the most simple way, because there are no BMs that interfere.

and that's the point: perfect for me as a nearly bloody beginner to learn this method

yes,I will keep you updated, not to convinceanybody, since I myself first will be convinced when I have finished with success, but to gain information others can get profit of. Not at least if I'm wrong. That is science work

And sure I am as sceptic as all of you

 

[solar_plasma]

My lot of 2000 pieces of out-dated Aviva, - plus one chip per unit, has arrived yesterday :lol: all in all with shipping and duties about 75 €. It's like christmas to me! Just been lucky, I've never seen such an offer in the bay again.

I scratched the green polish from one of the small chips,- they are fully gold-plated! So that makes about 40 cm2 extra (will be processed together with cell phone boards, much later).

I've decided to process only 111 pieces with iodine for a science occasion, since there are no disturbing basemetals to mess around with, this may give a better result, than my other experiments. The rest I want to process in a more easy way, so I can ask for help, if anything doesn't work as it should. I don't know yet, if it will be AP (is it really strong enough to dissolve all gold?) or HCl/hypochlorite (which seems to be most popular). I would hardly use standard AR, because this nitric excess thing I would like to handle with an extra gold button in near future, but untill now I haven't any 999 gold, so I could not measure exactly the gained gold weight. On the other hand, I know the exact content of gold, so I could calculate, howmuch HNO3 will be necessary.

So....AP or HCl/hypo...that is the question. But I guess, you guys will have different points of view, right? ...or standard AR? :roll: ...or all of them for a reason of learning? (ofcourse in different vessels :lol: )

 

[Geo]

if theres no base metal to worry about and the gold is thin, id say use hcl/Cl. no chance of over doing the nitric and it takes way less solution than AP (from what ive read as ive never used AP for the purpose of dissolving gold).

 

[solar_plasma]

Thanks, Geo, that's what I wanted to hear! *woaaah, it's so exciting!*

...I am just trying, if univeral paint thinner is more effective to clean the strips from the glue,than nail polish cleaner. And it is. Fastest is to take the covering strip off, putting the test strip into the thinner, waiting an hour and cleaning it with a piece of cloth. I looks like it is possible just to put the whole strip into the thinner for some days and the work will be done by itself. but I surely can'twait so long

 

[jmdlcar]

Hi,

I would just use your 2 fingers cause if you use any thing else it will remove the gold. And that will be a lost of gold. Trust me.

Thanks
Jack

 

[solar_plasma]

I trust you. Thank you for that important advice! Then I will wait longer to see, if the glue will dissolve in the thinner.

 

[jmdlcar]

I never tried thinner but if the glue will dissolve in the thinner please let me know. And tell me what type of thinner it is.

Jack

 

[solar_plasma]

Ok, my choice is: ethyl acetat like acetone-free nail-polish-cleaner for some hours or days, then rubb it off with the fingers (3 sec. per piece)

Gasolinelike paint thinners just make the glue more and more slimy and sticky. And the fumes are not very good for health.

 

[jmdlcar]

This is good to know.

Jack

 

[Marcel]

solar: Why you always try to make thinks more complicate than they have to be??

aceton+H202 + X = TATP / APEX , a highly explosive compound. Very popular among terrorist. So if later you add AP you are making an explosive compound! Never use aceton. Some of the strips can even be prepared, by cooking them in plain hot water for some hours.

Even HCl+Cl is difficult for a firsttimer because you have to drive out chlorine, chlorine is dangerous and FULL precipitation not as easy as reading on the internet might suggest.
In addition it takes longer.

Use 1:1 HCl + H2O2 , heat it to 55°C and you are good to go. It will take a minute or two and precipitation can be done with zinc or any other BM.

Please, why dont you follow the good examples that one can read here in masses. Always you try to do it differently but your tryouts are dangerous.

 

[jmdlcar]

Marcel,

Thanks for the info. I will stay with my 2 fingers to remove the glue. And use HCL/CL to remove the gold. Then use SMB to drop the gold. That should be safe.

Jack