# Recovering Silver from AP solution



## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Hi guys first post complete newbie to recovering precious metals and I have a question that needs answering, I have dissolved my fingerless ram modules in AP solution and removed IC chips and MLCC's about 40kg of modules to be precise, I have tested the solution with Schwerters water and it tested positive giving light grass green colour and I know silver is present also when you drop water in the acid it produces a cloud I assume this is silver nitrate forming as it is not water soluble.

Now my question is how to remove it from the solution what I am thinking will work is to add table salt to convert the silver nitrate to silver chloride then to remove with zinc or aluminium would this be a viable way of doing it also I need to mention I do not have access to nitric acid as I am in the UK and not allowed to buy it unless a registered company.

Thanks for reading this far look forward to your replies.


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## FrugalRefiner (Mar 16, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> Hi guys first post complete newbie to recovering precious metals and I have a question that needs answering, I have dissolved my fingerless ram modules in AP solution and removed IC chips and MLCC's about 40kg of modules to be precise, I have tested the solution with Schwerters water and it tested positive giving light grass green colour and I know silver is present also when you drop water in the acid it produces a cloud I assume this is silver nitrate forming as it is not water soluble.
> 
> Now my question is how to remove it from the solution what I am thinking will work is to add table salt to convert the silver nitrate to silver chloride then to remove with zinc or aluminium would this be a viable way of doing it also I need to mention I do not have access to nitric acid as I am in the UK and not allowed to buy it unless a registered company.
> 
> Thanks for reading this far look forward to your replies.


WOW! That's a pretty big batch for your first effort. Please stop what you're doing before you learn a little more. 

Schwerters solution is used to test solid metals to see if they are silver. I have no idea what a green color would indicate in an AP solution.

You say you know there's silver present in your solution. Silver does not dissolve in AP. Dropping water in the acid producing a cloud is not an indication of silver.

How would you expect silver nitrate to form in an AP solution after you dropped water into it?

I'm not trying to make fun of you, but I'm pointing out things that are just not possible.

Welcome to the forum. You can learn everything you need to know here. I recommend starting at the Tips for Navigating and Posting on the Forum thread. Be sure to follow all the links and download a copy of C. M. Hoke's book. Then read through some of the best threads in The Library.

Dave


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Thanks for the reply I just need to be sure the silver has either dissolved or gone back into a solid form and precipitated at the bottom of the pot or if I need to recover it chemically or manually by filtering I did think the solution had a solid silver presence that is why the schwerters water indicated silver.


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Also the reason i processed so much was for the monolithic capacitors and ic chips for other metal processing,


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## goldsilverpro (Mar 16, 2016)

40 kilos and no refining knowledge. What were you thinking?

Study for a month or two. While learning, it is strongly advised that you work with very small amounts. I've been doing this for 50 years and I still do small batches to start with if it's something I haven't done before. This stuff isn't as easy as you think it is.

What precious metals were you after? Where do you think they are located?

Schwerter's solution is used to test for the presence of silver in a solid object, such as a coin or bar. It turns red or reddish.

No silver will ever dissolve in the AP. Ever.

Silver dissolved in nitric acid plus a drop of HCl or salt water produces a white cloud. Not water in an AP solution.

These are very basic things. You should have known them before tackling such a big job.


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Never tackled silver that is why I am asking on here, straight answers will help allot too, first whole boards dissolved in the solution minus gold fingers to remove chips and monolithic capacitors I burn the chips and pan the gold wire out then refine it further with aqua regia after dissolving base metals the monolithic capacitors will be refined using aqua regia but the silver solder is what has been dissolved my question was will the silver be in a solid state at the bottom of the solution as a fine powder after it has been left to settle a simple yes or no will be more than adequate even a simple explanation of how to process this easily getting to the silver, this is a forum to help people recover precious metals yes?


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## Golddigger Greg (Mar 16, 2016)

No, and no.
Please read the advice given by the people above; they may not be giving you the answer you wish to hear, but it is precisely the answer you need to hear.


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## jeneje (Mar 16, 2016)

You asked how to recover Ag from AP. GSP told you that AP does not dissolve Ag. Are you using AP or AR? 

Ken


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

OK so where will the silver be held in the solution? will it be cemented to the copper as it falls out of solution? what would be the easiest way to recover it from AP solution


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Jeneje i am using AP solution thanks


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## jules1979 (Mar 16, 2016)

Also the silver solder has dissolved from the boards as they are clean of all solder just need to know what would be the best way to recover it thanks Jeneje


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## Smack (Mar 16, 2016)

Here's some sound advice: Don't start to get an attitude ("straight answers will help a lot too"), it will only get you banned from this forum.
: Tell us what WE want to hear, ie; I'm going to start reading Hokes book and the forum and I will ask a question when I have some basic knowledge of the A/P process.

Or you can continue on this path and we all will watch as Harold bans another.


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## Smack (Mar 16, 2016)

Here's my help. 
http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldrefi/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=12914


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## jason_recliner (Mar 17, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> OK so where will the silver be held in the solution? will it be cemented to the copper as it falls out of solution? what would be the easiest way to recover it from AP solution


Insoluble silver, that is not dissolved, not in solution, cementing out of solution onto copper? You see the problem here?

If there is any silver, it would likely be, depending on your material:
- left behind, intact
- disintegrated into powder or flakes, as other base metals are dissolved.


Silver Solder doesn't mean 100% silver. It may not contain much silver at all, or maybe none. I know some is ~3% silver and the rest tin. So it'll be obliterated by HCl. But it doesn't mean you have silver in AP solution. Because you don't.


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## goldsilverpro (Mar 17, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> OK so where will the silver be held in the solution?
> 
> will it be cemented to the copper as it falls out of solution?
> 
> what would be the easiest way to recover it from AP solution



It won't.
No
You can't recover something that isn't there


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## jules1979 (Mar 17, 2016)

Thanks for the answer Jason, all I needed to know, I will check to see what is left at the bottom of the container to see if any silver is present in solid form.


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## Palladium (Mar 17, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> I know silver is present also when you drop water in the acid it produces a cloud I assume this is silver nitrate forming as it is not water soluble.



The white precipitant from the ap is more than likely a saturated solution and you are seeing copper chloride form from the dilution of it.


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## jeneje (Mar 17, 2016)

I fear another-one is going to bit the dust soon,,,  :lol: 

Ken


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## jules1979 (Mar 17, 2016)

I didn't dilute, it is still in acid form 32% hydrochloric and Hydrogen Peroxide 3:0.5 ratio. The white precipitate was forming when I was cleaning boards off and putting into a bucket of water for cleaning that was where it was forming.


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## Palladium (Mar 17, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> I didn't dilute





jules1979 said:


> putting into a bucket of water for cleaning that was where it was forming.




I do believe that is called dilution!


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## jules1979 (Mar 17, 2016)

Dilute with water


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## nickvc (Mar 17, 2016)

Palladium said:


> jules1979 said:
> 
> 
> > I didn't dilute
> ...



:shock: :lol: :lol:


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## upcyclist (Mar 17, 2016)

Dude. Seriously. Please pay very close attention to what I'm about to say. The very first answer you received from Dave, 


FrugalRefiner said:


> Please stop what you're doing before you learn a little more.


...is the best possible answer for you right now. I'm just starting out, have never used anything larger than a one liter beaker for reactions, and I can clearly see quite a few mistaken assumptions in your initial post. The reason the pros are not giving you answers is because if your basic assumptions are wrong, and you have that many, you shouldn't be fooling with enough acid to dissolve 40 kilograms of material. The "please stop and read" mantra isn't because they're mean, selfish, or lazy. It's because they don't even know you and yet they still don't want you hurting (or killing) yourself, your family, your neighborhood, and/or your environment.

If you don't believe me, here's a quick breakdown of your first paragraph:


jules1979 said:


> Hi guys first post complete newbie to recovering precious metals and I have a question that needs answering, I have dissolved my fingerless ram modules in AP solution and removed IC chips and MLCC's about 40kg of modules to be precise, I have tested the solution with Schwerters water and it tested positive giving light grass green colour and I know silver is present also when you drop water in the acid it produces a cloud I assume this is silver nitrate forming as it is not water soluble.


1. "Complete newbies" (your words) should not process 40kg batches.
2. You don't test liquid solutions with Schwerter's solution.
3. Therefore, a light green grass color is not positive for what you think it is. Schwerter's contains potassium [stt]permanganate[/stt] dichromate and nitric acid--one of those two reacted with one of the many metals in your solution.
4. Silver nitrate needs, well, nitrate to form. You didn't add any nitric acid (or at least didn't say you did) or sodium nitrate.
5. A cloud forming does not mean something is insoluble. It's only insoluble if you isolate the salts that formed in said cloud and can't dissolve them in fresh AP.
5a. Yes, adding water to acid is dilution (from a later comment), even if only locally.

I'm not trying to be a total jerk, I'm just being painfully honest about how many mistakes you're making and why these guys think you should cool it a bit. Also, if you don't check your attitude (and your sig block), even the "nice moderators" will knock you out of the ballpark before [stt]Howard[/stt] Harold even sees this thread.

P.S. [stt]Howard[/stt] Harold, you're not mean--you're just not known for patience with certain types of newcomers 

_Edited for accuracy. Thanks for not making me feel like a fool when pointing out my mistakes!_


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## FrugalRefiner (Mar 17, 2016)

Jules, I've taken note of your new signature line:

*Would rather spend time with a rough around the edges sinner than a well-polished hypocrite
To give knowledge freely is a selfless act and to not pass knowledge is a conceited act of selfishness
Very disappointed with the forum members attitudes so far might join the other precious metal forum I was invited to by Geo*

I was the first to reply to your post. I freely gave you some excellent links to help get you started and pass on the knowledge on this forum. I'm guessing you didn't waste your time following any of them. If you're disappointed with our way of sharing our knowledge, and you don't like it here, you're free to leave at any time.

Dave


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## jimdoc (Mar 17, 2016)

Who is Howard?


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## jules1979 (Mar 17, 2016)

Frugal take no notice it's ok not for you buddy by the way I do gold all the time just newbie at silver recovery as never done it before as the value of silver too small for me just wanted to try it to get a better amount of precious metals maybe just stack it


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## jason_recliner (Mar 17, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> Thanks for the answer Jason, all I needed to know.


No. It's really not. It's not even the start. But "everybody gets one". After your signature line, it's likely the only one.


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## jimdoc (Mar 17, 2016)

I vote the door hits him in the ass.

Jim


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## 4metals (Mar 17, 2016)

Jules,

You were slowly but surely assuring your ban with this thread. Your newly added signature line made it certain.

Good luck learning to refine, sorry it can't happen here.....you've just been banned.


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## UncleBenBen (Mar 17, 2016)

jimdoc said:


> I vote the door hits him in the ass.
> 
> Jim



Jim, I really dig your style!


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## Smack (Mar 18, 2016)

I tried 8)


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## alexxx (Mar 18, 2016)

Mods are showing here a great deal of patience.

Some people will never ever change, that's just the way they are.


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## upcyclist (Mar 21, 2016)

jimdoc said:


> Who is Howard?


He's a guy that looks a lot like Harold when you're not paying attention


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## rickbb (Mar 22, 2016)

jules1979 said:


> Also the silver solder has dissolved from the boards as they are clean of all solder just need to know what would be the best way to recover it thanks Jeneje



How do you know the solder was silver? All boards made since the late 1980's have been tin, with a very small percentage of silver. Usually 96% tin and only 4% silver if any, sometimes they use antimony instead of silver.


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## jimdoc (Mar 22, 2016)

rickbb said:


> jules1979 said:
> 
> 
> > Also the silver solder has dissolved from the boards as they are clean of all solder just need to know what would be the best way to recover it thanks Jeneje
> ...



jules1979 won't be answering your question, he has been escorted out the door by 4metals.
My guess is he saw that all solder is silver on a Youtube video, or an Ebay auction.


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## jimdoc (Mar 22, 2016)

upcyclist said:


> P.S. [stt]Howard[/stt] Harold, you're not mean--you're just not known for patience with certain types of newcomers
> 
> _Edited for accuracy. Thanks for not making me feel like a fool when pointing out my mistakes!_




Sorry about that. I have actually come close to doing the same thing. I have a good friend named Howard, and an even better friend named Harold, that I have never actually met in person. 
The same Harold that this whole forum gets to share his wisdom and friendship.
My guess is Harold has been called Howard before, as Howard has been called Harold before.

Jim


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## upcyclist (Mar 22, 2016)

jimdoc said:


> upcyclist said:
> 
> 
> > P.S. [stt]Howard[/stt] Harold, you're not mean--you're just not known for patience with certain types of newcomers
> ...


Thanks, Jack! :wink:


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## jimdoc (Mar 22, 2016)

upcyclist said:


> jimdoc said:
> 
> 
> > upcyclist said:
> ...



No problem Fred.


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## UncleBenBen (Mar 22, 2016)

Forum rules clearly state that there will be no "name" calling!! :lol: :mrgreen:


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## Pantherlikher (Mar 23, 2016)

Any one take a close look at that lump of gold he has pictured?
He stated he does gold all the time? What make lumps to sell as gold or what?
Just saying... Howard, Harold... Glad to see you influence even when you are not around much...

B.S.

... I just want a simple straight forward answer to life. Nothing more...


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## Harold_V (Mar 23, 2016)

jimdoc said:


> My guess is Harold has been called Howard before, as Howard has been called Harold before.



Chuckle!
Oh, yeah! Been there, done that, and many times. 
What's really interesting in my case is my ex married a real nice guy named Howard. Even more interesting is she screwed around with the same guy she was messing with when we were married. So far as I know, they're still together, though. 
Enough of this, at least from me. 

Harold


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