# Acid Peroxide. Who came up with the idea?



## NuggetHuntingFool (Jul 24, 2008)

Who came up with Acid Peroxide?

I've been reading Hoke's book and she hasn't mentioned it (I think).

So where did it come from??

Thanks


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## OMG (Jul 24, 2008)

I think it's use on gold has been around for a while. I was reading an e-book and it had lots of methods for dissolving gold and how quick they were in relation to each other. AP was on there, but it was way slower than most. In regards to using it on e-scrap, I would guess its been in use since e-scrap became popular.

Regarding who invented it. I would say it was mostly the HCl, but the H2O2 helped out also, and it wouldn't have been made possible if they didn't work so closely together on the idea.


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## NuggetHuntingFool (Jul 24, 2008)

Do you have a link to that eBook??

Thanks


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## lazersteve (Jul 24, 2008)

I've been using AP to create Copper II Chloride for the purposes of etching copper from e-scrap since mid 2003.

I posted a ratio chart on the forum comparing the various gold solvents (which came from another science article) in February of last year. The chart is here:







And here's the original document where the chart comes from:

Source of Gold Solvent Chart

The above article is dated August 2005, so if your e-book is newer than August 2005 it's not the original source of the data. I'd be willing to bet the e-book chart looks just like the one I posted.

In my opinion, the real power of AP is not it's gold dissolving ability, it's the ability to form Copper Chloride. Copper Chloride is the workhorse of the reaction.. if the AP is dissolving gold, you are using it for the wrong purpose in my opinion. If you want to know more about the chemistry of AP and CuCl2 you need to read the documents on my website (ie: CuCl2 Etchant) 

I liken AP's use for dissolving gold to this analogy:

You can use a pocket knife (AP) to remove a screw (dissolving gold), but a screwdriver (AR) works much better. The knife does a much better job of cutting (forming CuCl2). 

AP is the mix that kick starts the copper II chloride chain reaction that makes it useful for escrap recovery. The fact that CuCl2 can be rejuvenated is a definite advantage to using for this purpose.

As OMG suggested, the AP reaction has been around since the dawn of man, it's the application of the reaction that has evolved. I think it's impossible to discern exactly where the reaction was discovered.

I made my method of AP use known to other individuals in mid 2004.

There are loads of copy cats out there looking to make a buck. If someone tells you they invented it, they are more than likely lying as they would have to be hundreds (maybe even thousands) of years old. :lol: 

Steve


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## NuggetHuntingFool (Jul 24, 2008)

Very interesting.

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the links.


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## OMG (Jul 24, 2008)

You got it Steve. That looks very very familiar.


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## sags (Jul 24, 2008)

I use Sulfuric/Peroxide to disolve Nickel, works very well


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## goldsilverpro (Jul 24, 2008)

When it comes to AP, Steve's the man. Although the concept has been around for centuries, he, alone, above any other human, has made it a solid viable process for the amateur. Also, it's all free.


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## NuggetHuntingFool (Jul 24, 2008)

I don't feel that I fully understand the chart. I'm going to have to study-up on basic chemistry.

Thanks though. I'll save that for my archives.


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## Harold_V (Jul 25, 2008)

goldsilverpro said:


> When it comes to AP, Steve's the man. Although the concept has been around for centuries, he, alone, above any other human, has made it a solid viable process for the amateur. Also, it's all free.


Yep----I agree. 

I have one hell of a lot of experience refining gold and silver, plus a fair share of platinum and palladium, but I used only commercially prepared acids for all operations. Were it not for these work-arounds that have been promoted so well, the vast majority of these guys would not be refining their own gold now. As we all know, nitric acid, which is a major player in refining, is difficult to obtain, and costly when it is available. 

I stay completely out of the way of the matter of refining by these methods. I know nothing about them, and don't wish to muddy the water by offering advice when I don't know what I'm talking about. 

As Chris said, Steve's the man!

Harold


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## Lino1406 (Jul 28, 2008)

As well as booming process is made feasible
by the adsorption of H2O2 to gold


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