# Precipitating silver?



## 24kgold (Mar 2, 2012)

Can i precipitate silver from nitric acid with sodium metabisufite instead of using copper?


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## philddreamer (Mar 2, 2012)

You should use copper to cement the silver. If there's any Pd in the solution, it will also cement with the silver, but if you refine your silver in a cell you can part the Pd as slimes in the anode bag.

(If you use SMB you drag down just about all the other metals in the solution.)

You should do some searches, there're several post that explain all this in detail.

Take care & be safe!

Phil


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## kurt (Mar 3, 2012)

Why do you not want to use copper?

What was your original source of material that was dissolved in the nitric?

To the best of my knowledge – no – SMB does not precipitate silver from nitric (its certainly not a common practice)

An alternative to cementing with copper would be to go with the salt (or HCL) sugar lye method.

Once you answer the 2 above questions – we can better help you.

Kurt


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## 24kgold (Mar 3, 2012)

I used inquarting method, so the nitric acid solution contained mostly if not all silver, was just just wondering if makes sence. I put aside a little of the solution it instantly cemented what appears to be silver and whatever else in the solution, dried it and melted. Was the worst, was like melting soup with little silver in it wont be trying that again.
I refine about 2 pound of scrap jewlery almost every day, so i have to cement the silver with copper and wash dry melt, inquart back over again, so yea i was hoping for a faster easyer way. Result is DONT use smb to cement silver.


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## niteliteone (Mar 4, 2012)

24kgold said:


> Result is DONT use smb to cement silver.



Your learning

Tom C.


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## kurt (Mar 4, 2012)

24kgold – when you use chemicals to drop your PMs out of solution it is called precipitating (such as SMB to drop gold out of AR) not cementing.

When you use a more reactive metal to drop out a less reactive metal (such as copper to drop silver out of nitric) then it is called cementing.

These are two different things.

Have you read Hokes?

Kurt


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