# clorox question



## supafly (Jan 24, 2011)

i watched the video using muriatic acid and clorox to dissolve the gold leaf. my question is, the cpu pins i have are plated copper, so would the above mixture work to remove the gold from the pins and react minimally with the copper if the clorox is added in small increments? ill probalbly heat it to speed up process, but in the video it says that u should let the auric sit overnight to allow the chlorine to escape so that the smb wont have to fight it. anyway to remove the chlorine quicker?

excellent video btw

thx in advance


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## nickvc (Jan 24, 2011)

supafly said:


> i watched the video using muriatic acid and clorox to dissolve the gold leaf. my question is, the cpu pins i have are plated copper, so would the above mixture work to remove the gold from the pins and react minimally with the copper if the clorox is added in small increments? ill probalbly heat it to speed up process, but in the video it says that u should let the auric sit overnight to allow the chlorine to escape so that the smb wont have to fight it. anyway to remove the chlorine quicker?
> 
> excellent video btw
> 
> thx in advance



I think you need to study the whole subject more.
Start with the forum handbooks and C.M.Hoke and all will become clearer there's a wealth of information on here you just have to study it. Try the search function top right of your screen and type in the key words. Visit Lazersteves site it's got videos you can watch and buy and various useful items again for sale all related to refining. Also read the health and safety section it's for your and everyone elses protection.
I can give you an answer to your question but it's better for you to find it and understand the chemistry and maybe learn something else while researching.


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## supafly (Jan 24, 2011)

thank you for the quik reply. i guess i should have stated that i have been reading up on this for a couple weeks, and the first thing i did was learn all about the safety precautions and environmental issues. but still havent found anything about a faster process to remove the chlorine quicker than just letting it sit overnight. but ill keep searchin.


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## eeTHr (Jan 24, 2011)

supafly---

Maybe you know this, but it's kind of hard for me to tell, by what you wrote.

It may help to pay attention to the differences between _recovery_ and _refining,_ in the following.

There are generally two ways to _recover_ scrap plated gold, which most computer stuff is. First, you can dissolve the base metal underneith the plating, and _recover_ the plating foils. Second is you can recover the gold plating, as a powder, with an electrolytic cell. Both methods are on Steve's site.

For dissolving the base metals under the plating, you can use nitric, which is the fastest, but can be expensive or you can make your own. Or you can use Steve's method of HCl with peroxide, which is aimed at dissolving the copper traces under gold plated board edge connector "fingers," and thus releasing the foils for _recovery_ that way.

HCl / _Clorox_ is generally used in _refining,_ because it will dissolve _gold_. It's not as fast as aqua regia, but clorox is usually easier and cheaper to get than nitric.

If you use a _refining_ process for _recover_y, you will usually get yourself into a mess.

Most people use nitric for dissolving base metals when prossing CPUs for _recovery._ Also some people use a crock pot (because it doesn't boil) and just HCl, but it takes a few days. I haven't tried it, but I think that's about how it goes. You _can't_ use HCl / peroxide unless there is copper present, to form the copper cloride (see Steve's posts and Website), and that's why the previous two methods are usually used for CPUs instead.

You can search the different key phrases above to get exact details on these processes, if you are interested in them.

Or maybe someone will give you exact instructions on what process you decide to use, if you still need help.

As you can see, using HCl _Clorox_ is a _refining_ process. If you try to use it for _recovery,_ it will first dissolve some gold (as will HCl peroxide, at first), then as soon as it can reach the copper or other base metals, it will dissolve _that_ first, then it will dissolve the rest of the _gold._ You _don't_ want all the base metal in your solution with your gold, because it will make things way more difficult for you. The _peroxide_ method is less aggressive toward gold, if you add it correctly, keeping the color right, as Steve has shown (because, as Steve points out, it soon forms a copper chloride, which is dissolving the copper, and that won't dissolve gold). Whereas the Clorox will just go for the gold when it's done with the copper, and it would be difficult to stop the process at some "mid-point."

So, before you do any particular process, ask yourself: "Am I _recovering_ or _refining_ on this step?"

Also, heat will evaporate Chlorox rapidly. So heating it to "speed things up" doesn't work very well. But you can use that to your advantage when you need to remove the chlorine prior to the precipitation step. That is, you can expell it faster with heat, if you don't want to wait overnight on that step.

I hope this is of some help to you.

8)


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## supafly (Jan 24, 2011)

rgr that and thank you very much. now ive got it lol.


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## FrugalEE (Jan 24, 2011)

That's the best introduction to processing gold plated scrap that I've seen so far.


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## supafly (Jan 25, 2011)

FrugalEE said:


> That's the best introduction to processing gold plated scrap that I've seen so far.



yes, very thorough.


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## philddreamer (Jan 25, 2011)

Supafly, notice that eeTHer wrote:" heat to evaporate", & not boil to evaporate. You don't want to boil the solution in order to get rid of the clorox fast.
Do a wiki search & find the boiling point of clorox, water, nitric, HCl & so on, its good to know that. 

When you heat your solution, if you get it too hot, & without a cover, your gold will fly away. :shock: 
So use a watch glass, in case you get the solution too hot, so the vapors will condense on it & drop back into your vessel!

Take care!

Phil


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## supafly (Jan 25, 2011)

excellent advice. and yes i did write down those boiling points. you folks are a wealth of info. between this, and my lil journey this spring into prospecting with gold metal detector, im one happy camper lol.

thx again sir.


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