Grey goo

[Olly]

Hello everyone!
I completed my second batch of refining yesterday using This video.
My nitric acid (blue liquid) solution was blue but got cloudy and slightly darker towards the end. When I filtered it there was grey goo in my filter.
Note: I did not let it cook long enough for all of the base metals to dissolve. I got too excited.
When I did my water rinse and started with the muriatic acid/ aqua regia it turned green, but really dark green.
I knew something was wrong but I filtered (goo again) and added sodium bisulfite to the remaining liquid.
Nothing happened, no brown formed, I just ended up with the white shiny goo at the bottom.
The materials I used included pcb with tin, copper, silver, and other metals.

Where did I go wrong and how can I improve? I’m currently reading Hokes but I’m wondering if someone has gone through this and has a solution? Is the video I referenced missing important information?

How many degrees C am I supposed to heat each solution?
Please help.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Hello everyone!
I completed my second batch of refining yesterday using This video.
My nitric acid (blue liquid) solution was blue but got cloudy and slightly darker towards the end. When I filtered it there was grey goo in my filter.
Note: I did not let it cook long enough for all of the base metals to dissolve. I got too excited.
When I did my water rinse and started with the muriatic acid/ aqua regia it turned green, but really dark green.
I knew something was wrong but I filtered (goo again) and added sodium bisulfite to the remaining liquid.
Nothing happened, no brown formed, I just ended up with the white shiny goo at the bottom.
The materials I used included pcb with tin, copper, silver, and other metals.

Where did I go wrong and how can I improve? I’m currently reading Hokes but I’m wondering if someone has gone through this and has a solution? Is the video I referenced missing important information?

How many degrees C am I supposed to heat each solution?
Please help.

Welcome to us.

Please give us more details.
What did you dissolve and how much and with what, we will take it from there.
Then we have more questions when we discover what has happened.

In the mean time you can park your solutions and stuff in a safe place until you have studied these links:

We ask our new members to do 3 things.
1. Read C.M. Hokes book on refining jewelers scrap, it gives an easy introduction to the most important chemistry regarding refining.
It is free here on the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=19798
2. Then read the safety section of the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/forums/safety.47/
3. And then read about "Dealing with waste" in the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/dealing-with-waste.10539/

Suggested reading:
https://goldrefiningforum.com/forums/the-library.101/
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/when-in-doubt-cement-it-out.30236/
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threa...le-read-this-before-you-post-about-ore.33333/


Forum rules is here.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/gold-refining-forum-rules.31182/

 

[Alondro]

The first error was putting the uncleaned e-waste into nitric. You created the dreaded metastannic acid from all the tin, and much of your gold and silver might have ended up mixed into the goo.

ALWAYS dissolve as much base metal as you can with HCl-copper chloride solution first.

The amount of gold and silver present is usually extremely small compared to the base metals, so it's important to dissolve the base metals away WITHOUT creating precipitates that can trap the gold.

Very little of the silver will become silver chloride in HCl, and usually only the thinnest plating; while the tin, lead, copper, antimony, and other base metals will become soluble chloride salts totally dissolved in the acid solution.

THEN you can wash the remaining solids thoroughly (3 times in hot water to ensure as much chloride as possible is gone) before adding nitric to dissolve silver. You then test the nitric solution for silver by taking a small sample and adding a drop of HCl or concentrated salt water. If there's significant silver present, you'll INSTANTLY see a cloud of white silver chloride form. If it only gets weakly cloudy and nothing settles, you don't have enough silver to even bother with.

 

[Yggdrasil]

The first error was putting the uncleaned e-waste into nitric. You created the dreaded metastannic acid from all the tin, and much of your gold and silver might have ended up mixed into the goo.

ALWAYS dissolve as much base metal as you can with HCl-copper chloride solution first.

The amount of gold and silver present is usually extremely small compared to the base metals, so it's important to dissolve the base metals away WITHOUT creating precipitates that can trap the gold.

Very little of the silver will become silver chloride in HCl, and usually only the thinnest plating; while the tin, lead, copper, antimony, and other base metals will become soluble chloride salts totally dissolved in the acid solution.

THEN you can wash the remaining solids thoroughly (3 times in hot water to ensure as much chloride as possible is gone) before adding nitric to dissolve silver. You then test the nitric solution for silver by taking a small sample and adding a drop of HCl or concentrated salt water. If there's significant silver present, you'll INSTANTLY see a cloud of white silver chloride form. If it only gets weakly cloudy and nothing settles, you don't have enough silver to even bother with.

I'm still waiting for his answer as he have not told what his material is.
Pretty much the only distinct he have said is that he has grey goo.
Likely Metastannic acid, but until he chimes in, that is only assumptions.

 

[anarxi]

he wrote or added after:

The materials I used included pcb with tin, copper, silver, and other metals...


vinaigrette ingredients

 

[Yggdrasil]

he wrote or added after:

The materials I used included pcb with tin, copper, silver, and other metals...


vinaigrette ingredients

You are right, I did not see it.
But still waiting for more information.

 

[Olly]

Hello everyone!
I completed my second batch of refining yesterday using This video.
My nitric acid (blue liquid) solution was blue but got cloudy and slightly darker towards the end. When I filtered it there was grey goo in my filter.
Note: I did not let it cook long enough for all of the base metals to dissolve. I got too excited.
When I did my water rinse and started with the muriatic acid/ aqua regia it turned green, but really dark green.
I knew something was wrong but I filtered (goo again) and added sodium bisulfite to the remaining liquid.
Nothing happened, no brown formed, I just ended up with the white shiny goo at the bottom.
The materials I used included pcb with tin, copper, silver, and other metals.

Where did I go wrong and how can I improve? I’m currently reading Hokes but I’m wondering if someone has gone through this and has a solution? Is the video I referenced missing important information?

How many degrees C am I supposed to heat each solution?
Please help.

Thank you for all of the links!
I am currently reading Hokes
I have E-waste. With copper, tin, silver, gold, etc.

Welcome to us.

Please give us more details.
What did you dissolve and how much and with what, we will take it from there.
Then we have more questions when we discover what has happened.

In the mean time you can park your solutions and stuff in a safe place until you have studied these links:

We ask our new members to do 3 things.
1. Read C.M. Hokes book on refining jewelers scrap, it gives an easy introduction to the most important chemistry regarding refining.
It is free here on the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=19798
2. Then read the safety section of the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/forums/safety.47/
3. And then read about "Dealing with waste" in the forum: https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/dealing-with-waste.10539/

Suggested reading:
https://goldrefiningforum.com/forums/the-library.101/
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/when-in-doubt-cement-it-out.30236/
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threa...le-read-this-before-you-post-about-ore.33333/


Forum rules is here.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/gold-refining-forum-rules.31182/

Thank you for all of the links!
I am currently reading Hokes
I have E-waste with copper, tin, silver, gold, etc. like in the photo but all the silver you see is gold on the ones I used. I cut them up first of course.
I had about 350g of scrap. I added enough water to cover the scrap and then added some nitric. It turned blue and base metals started to dissolve on heat. I know for a fact I didn’t let all the base metals dissolve before filtering off the blue liquid. I rinsed the scrap and filtered that too, then I added muriatic and some nitric, put my filter paper in and let it cook. It all turned green but by the time I thought everything had dissolved (it hadn’t) the liquid was dark green and murky.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Thank you for all of the links!
I am currently reading Hokes
I have E-waste. With copper, tin, silver, gold, etc.

Thank you for all of the links!
I am currently reading Hokes
I have E-waste with copper, tin, silver, gold, etc. like in the photo but all the silver you see is gold on the ones I used. I cut them up first of course. View attachment 62834
I had about 350g of scrap. I added enough water to cover the scrap and then added some nitric. It turned blue and base metals started to dissolve on heat. I know for a fact I didn’t let all the base metals dissolve before filtering off the blue liquid. I rinsed the scrap and filtered that too, then I added muriatic and some nitric, put my filter paper in and let it cook. It all turned green but by the time I thought everything had dissolved (it hadn’t) the liquid was dark green and murky.

There is very little Gold in these.
Another thing is that we try very hard to avoid Tin and Nitric in the same container at the same time.
It creates Metastannic acid which is a nightmare to filter.
Continue to study and when you feel ready to start again formulate a plan and we will comment on that.

Do you have Stannous Chloride to test your solution?

 

[FrugalRefiner]

I know for a fact I didn’t let all the base metals dissolve before filtering off the blue liquid. I rinsed the scrap and filtered that too, then I added muriatic and some nitric, put my filter paper in and let it cook. It all turned green but by the time I thought everything had dissolved (it hadn’t) the liquid was dark green and murky.

I don't understand. You put scrap boards into muriatic and nitric acids, and put filter paper in with the boards and the acids? What were you hoping to accomplish?

Dave

 

[Olly]

I don't understand. You put scrap boards into muriatic and nitric acids, and put filter paper in with the boards and the acids? What were you hoping to accomplish?

Dave

Take a look at the video in my op. I tried to follow that.

 

[Olly]

There is very little Gold in these.
Another thing is that we try very hard to avoid Tin and Nitric in the same container at the same time.
It creates Metastannic acid which is a nightmare to filter.
Continue to study and when you feel ready to start again formulate a plan and we will comment on that.

Do you have Stannous Chloride to test your solution?

Okay, that makes sense.
Yes, I do have the testing solution.
Thank you for the help!