# stockpot?



## steeranoff (Apr 6, 2009)

Can anyone explain a good way to process the contents
Of a stockpot? Should I add acid to give the solution enough
Strength to dissolve the soda ash and zinc? Seems to me
That with water from rinsing things out the solution could 
Be very watered down.[/img]


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## lazersteve (Apr 6, 2009)

Steve, 

Hoke gives excellent instructions for the stock pot starting on page 143.

She even mentions leaving the stock pot in a warm ventilated area to induce evaporation before the stock pot is processed.


Steve


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## wop1969 (Apr 7, 2009)

well only you will know how dieluted it is, if it cant desolve copper then you mihgt want to evaporate it down then untill it can desolve copper or down to a point that you can add some HCL to get it back to a point that it can desolve copper.

once its at that point, tie a pice of copper on a string and drop the copper ina dn tie off the string, let it sit for about 4 days and the copper will desolve and force all the other PM's to the bottom as a blackish sand, then go on to proccessing the black stuff to get the it cleaned and seperated ( a hole nother post) 

Hope this helps


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## Harold_V (Apr 7, 2009)

steeranoff said:


> Can anyone explain a good way to process the contents Of a stockpot? Should I add acid to give the solution enough
> Strength to dissolve the soda ash and zinc? Seems to me That with water from rinsing things out the solution could Be very watered down.[/img]


I'm a bit confused by your question. Can you tell us why you have soda ash and zinc in your stock pot? If you have been using one as it is intended, zinc becomes the metal on which most other metals will cement--including copper. Any zinc that is present would be eventually consumed when you added solutions that contain traces of values, along with other base metals. If you had un-dissolved zind, it would be returned to the stock pot after collecting the settled cemented solids. Soda ash would likely be in solution, and would be discharged when you decanted the now barren solution. 

Are you possibly confused on the purpose of the stock pot?

Regards the collected values from the stock pot----I would begin by getting all of the collected cemented solids in a filter, drying, then incinerating. That's an important step to insure you eliminate troublesome crud that is sure to collect in the stock pot. After incineration I would screen the material, run a magnet through the screened material, returning any traces that were removed to the stock pot (so they are not lost), then I'd give the material a boil in dilute nitric acid. If you have palladium present, it would be dissolved, along with copper and other base metals, including silver, assuming any found its way to the stock pot. Rinse well, then dissolve the remains with AR so you can recover the remaining values. 

Process the nitric wash solution as is appropriate. If there are no values present, discard by the usual safe methods. 

Harold


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## steeranoff (Apr 7, 2009)

hi, Harold. I don't have soda ash or zinc in my stockpot 
I was thinking that using them would precipitate my 
Values if the acid was strong enough.
Thanks,
Steve


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## Harold_V (Apr 8, 2009)

steeranoff said:


> hi, Harold. I don't have soda ash or zinc in my stockpot
> I was thinking that using them would precipitate my
> Values if the acid was strong enough.
> Thanks,
> Steve


If you have an acid solution that contains values you'd like to recover, and can't accomplish your mission by conventional selective precipitation procedures, simply pour the solution in a plastic bucket that contains scrap steel, or scrap zinc. The reaction is rapid, assuming you have some free acid. You don't add anything to the pot that isn't mentioned----certainly not soda ash, which would neutralize the acid. Read Hoke. 

Harold


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