# cementing copper from a solution with iron



## arthur kierski (Jun 29, 2011)

when one cements copper from a solution,the cemented red copper is copper oxide powder or copper metal powder?
i clean this powder with hcl and then dry it naturally under a ultra violet light
thanks-----depending on replies i found a good market for copper scrap powder(oxide and metallic)
Arthur


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## Harold_V (Jun 30, 2011)

It cements as copper, but is readily (surface) oxidized. I suspect that with a fast wash and drying, it can be preserved in quite good condition, so it melts well. 

With the price of copper these days, I'm not surprised you've found a market. It's a damned shame there hasn't been one right along. Copper isn't the most plentiful element on the planet, so anything that has been recovered should be kept in the pipeline instead of sent to a land fill. Very good, Arthur.

Harold


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## arthur kierski (Jun 30, 2011)

thanks Harold,i did all the experiments and eliminated the iron(in excess) and obtained a beautifull light red copper powder that is used by my client to make copper salts---
just for curiosity,he will pay 38dollars per kilo----- i think that i can produce at least 100kilos monthly as by-products of my refining----it will be a new source (extra) of income with a material that i had to dispose off every month------
i asked the question because my chemistry fundaments are theoric and i noticed that the practical work is sometimes completelly diferent from theory
regards
Arthur


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## Oz (Jun 30, 2011)

$38.00 a kilo? That’s $17.27 a pound, and kitco has the spot price at $4.22 a pound at the moment.


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## 4metals (Jun 30, 2011)

Some members have mentioned issues with the copper clinging tightly to the iron. If this is a problem adding sodium thiosulfate to the liquid is said to help the copper break off easily. just a small amount of the crystal is needed. 

Arthur, since you process a wide variety of different scrap types, it is important to remember that iron can also drop cobalt, nickel, tin and lead if they are in your waste acid. Guys who process mostly karat gold scrap end up with a drop which is mostly copper, in your case it may be different. In either case electrorefining in a copper sulfate cell is required for high purity.


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## goldenchild (Jun 30, 2011)

4metals said:


> Guys who process mostly karat gold scrap end up with a drop which is mostly copper, in your case it may be different.



Sterling too.


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## rusty (Jun 30, 2011)

Oz said:


> $38.00 a kilo? That’s $17.27 a pound, and kitco has the spot price at $4.22 a pound at the moment.



Copper powder purchased from this site is $80.00 for 1 kg bag.

Copper Powder – CU1332

99.8%, Electronic Grade, Mesh 325

Electronic grade Copper powder, high purity, water atomized, hydrogen reduced ultra fine copper powder with spheroidal particles. Higher conductivity. Lower Density.
May be used for metal injection molding as well as other applications were the conductivity of product is important.

Typical Property:
Copper: 99.85%
Hydrogen Loss: 0.19%
Apparent Density: 2.97 g/cc

Sieve Analysis
+60 MESH: 0%
-60/+80 MESH: 0%
-80/+100 MESH: 0%
-100/+140 MESH: TR
-140/+200 MESH: TR
-200/+325 MESH: 0.6%
-325 MESH: 99.4%

Recommended for Applications:
· Thick and Thin Film pastes
· Capacitor Chips
· End cap Terminators
· Conductive Inks, paints and pastes
· Injection Molding
· Electronics
· Thermal management
· EDM Electrodes
· Thermal Sprays
· Sintered alloys/ products
· Brazing/ soldering paste


http://industrialpowder.com/index.php?c=152&p=349


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## Juan Manuel Arcos Frank (Jun 30, 2011)

Arthur:

Copper is recovered using cementation with iron(aluminium beer cans could do the job too) but copper needs to be 0.9995 pure to be used as electric/electronic conductor,so it needs electrolytic purification.

Kindest regards.

Manuel


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## 4metals (Jun 30, 2011)

> Electronic grade Copper powder, high purity, water atomized



Another application for an atomizer, that's some mark up for fine mesh powder of a $4 per pound metal!


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## arthur kierski (Jun 30, 2011)

dear friends----when i started making rh plating solutions i had problems with the rh purity that i obtained from rh scrap------today i overcame those problems and i am doing a purification of the copper powder in an analog way(similar way ) as i did the rh purification----it is working and my powder is identical as in--- the photo that rusty posted in his thread----as the price that startled some people, i see that in this same site the copper powder is quoted at 80dollars a bag with 1kilo----the copper obtained comes from the same scrap that contains rh,au,pd,and ag-----of course one must eliminate the eventual sn,pb that this scrap contains----if you can eliminate and (i am doing it), the fe mixed with the copper,the other impurities is easier to be dealt with-----i am not using sodium thiosulfate,but another product -----rh salts that are sold by heraus,jm, costs gram per gram at least 5times as a gram of rh and some salts have only20% of rh

thanks all,
Arthur


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## Oz (Jun 30, 2011)

Arthur,

I was not saying you were wrong (I did wonder if there was a currency error), but it makes me wonder if I am in the wrong business. Perhaps I should be buying copper from my local scrap yard and atomizing it for sale. Finely divided pure copper seems more profitable than PM refining.


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

I would like to learn more about refining Copper, and selling it for that kind of money. Copper is easier to come by than Gold.


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## arthur kierski (Jun 30, 2011)

Oz, perhaps i was rude in my reply----if so ,i am very sorry---please forgive me-------
i was as startled as you with the price----until last week i only used the cemented copper(impure) to cement pms out of solutions-------in a visit to the industry where i buy chemicals for many years ,i started a dialog with the owner and at that time he closed a deal of 45tons of copper and 10tons of nickel----then he told me about pure copper powder(it is similar here as lab category chemical) and i remembered that members of the forum had problems to separate the cemented copper from the iron used in cementation.he told me of the prices and offered to buy for 38dollars all the pure powder that i could make-----it is a big industry and 200,300kilos monthly he would absorb and pay me with all the acids ,glassware , vacuum filters etc that his industry produces --perhaps i will not obtain 99,8% but with my experiments i think i will obtain99,0%----which he told me is sufficient-----if i do not reach this percentage i will make copper ingots and with eletrolysis make electrolitic copper-----and from it make the copper powder -----the important thing is that the copper which i had to neutralize the solution and throw out---will now be sold and becomes revenue---- regards from your friend 
Arthur


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## Claudie (Jun 30, 2011)

E-Bay has 1 LB -325 Mesh; Atomized Pure Copper Powder (Cu>=99.7%) for $17.98
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-LB-325-Mesh-Atomized-Pure-Copper-Powder-Cu-99-7-/190353590718?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c51f549be


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## Oz (Jul 1, 2011)

arthur kierski said:


> Oz, perhaps i was rude in my reply----if so ,i am very sorry---please forgive me-------



You, rude? I have never seen it! If you wrote something that came across that way I would know that it was just a language thing. You are one of the most polite members here, better than me to be sure.

Let us know how the copper deal works out for you.


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