# how to drop all metals from aqua regia



## naveenchary (Dec 8, 2017)

how to drop all metals from aqua regia I just want to recover all metal from ar and I don't want pure gold OK just want to recover precious metal okkkk smb drop failed please tell me


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## FrugalRefiner (Dec 8, 2017)

Put a large piece of copper in it. It's called cementing or cementation. You can do a search for more details.

Dave


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## nickvc (Dec 8, 2017)

Have you stannous tested your solution to see if you have any gold in it?


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## butcher (May 9, 2018)

Once metals are dissolved in aqua regia, the only way to drop all metals would be to convert it into NaCl (salt water), leaving solution with sodium metal ions, to remove sodium, one would use electrolysis to plate out the sodium metal from solution, Caution the metal would be explosive in the damp air.

A foolish question? No.
It would be foolish to use aqua regia on any metal without understanding the answer to your question.
Only a fool would start mixing chemicals and metal without any understanding of the dangers and how to work with them safely.

In my personal opinion, no one should attempt to make aqua regia, or use any acids to dissolve any metal before understanding how to remove metals from solution and make the products safe. to use aqua regia, or to dissolve metals without this understanding is not only foolish but also very dangerous to yourself and others.

If you do not understand how to remove metals from the solution you have no business of dissolving them into solution.

See our safety section, read dealing with waste, understand the reactivity series of metals.
Understand how to use aqua regia or any metal solutions safely.

A study dealing with waste, these will not only help you work safely but will give you a greater understanding of metal chemistry, this understanding with further research is very important to understanding the overall chemistry of precious metal recovery and refining.

A study of the basics like dealing with waste is one of the most important tools you can have in your toolbox, this basic understanding is one of the main principles to the understanding of the chemistry we use to recover and refine precious metals.


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## LT_golden (Nov 1, 2018)

butcher said:


> Once metals are dissolved in aqua regia, the only way to drop all metals would be to convert it into NaCl (salt water), leaving solution with sodium metal ions, to remove sodium, one would use electrolysis to plate out the sodium metal from solution, Caution the metal would be explosive in the damp air.



Say, butcher, how “pure” would this water then be? I have a TDS tester, I think it’d be so interesting to find out and compare with the results from testing my RO water! I can’t wait to try it.

However, would you happen to have recommendations on how to safely handle the sodium metal after electrolysis? I could imagine that as soon as the current is turned off, the sodium would react with the water and WHOOM. (They should have a nice mushroom cloud emoticon — preferably animated — so that I could use it here.)

Wonder if this would make the water almost... drinkable? :lol: 

No, I will not even consider drinking a drop of it, in case you were wondering. But regardless, if there’s a safe way to do this, please let us know, and after our project, I will do this test and report back!


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## butcher (Nov 1, 2018)

The comment on the removal of sodium via electrolysis was a just satire comment.

Basically, I was stating that we cannot easily remove all of the metals from the solution. If the waste is treated properly we can remove most of the heavy toxic metals, making the solution more safe for waste disposal.

I did not believe anyone would take the comment of electrolysis to remove sodium and other reactive metals from solution seriously, but then again it seems someone has, there is no reason to remove sodium or other very reactive metals from the waste solution, it is difficult enough to remove the very toxic heavy metals.

For those who did not get the pun of the joke, Sodium metal can be removed from a Chloride solution with electrolysis of the fused salt mixture of 58% CaCl2 and 42% NaCl using a graphite anode and steel cathode @ 580C and 5 to 7 Volts, recovered sodium metal is kept under mineral oil to keep it from moisture or oxygen.



I did not recommend or endorse trying to remove sodium (or the many other very reactive metals), the statement was we cannot remove all the metals from the waste solution, sodium will not be the only metal left after waste treatment, but treating your waste properly you can remove the majority of the heavy toxic metals.

We can spend our time learning to make pure water out of our waste solution, we will need many more steps even before thinking of removing sodium, and waste our time.
Or we can spend more time getting all of these people who watch someone on youtube dissolve some gold, and try it themselves to understand its dangers and the toxic waste they have generated and learn to treat it safely and to dispose of the salt solution safely.


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## LT_golden (Nov 1, 2018)

Hi butcher,



butcher said:


> The comment on the removal of sodium via electrolysis was a just satire comment.



Uh... heh, yeah, no, I guess being so new to this, I didn’t get the joke at all. Actually I was thinking about how ultimately purist one could get about waste processing, and how good I’d feel if I were able to make almost drinkable water from waste solution.

But, your point taken. I just got a mental image of a pristine glass of pure H2O on a well-lot white background (you know, from like TV commercials or something) from your comment, which was why I asked.


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## butcher (Nov 1, 2018)

The water would all be vaporized (along with other volatiles including toxic gases) long before you could even think of removing "all of the metals from solution".

Water wants metals, distilled or rainwater will dissolve metals into solution, rainwater picks up salts of metals and acids in our soils, water in the air will pick up gases from the air, many of which can make the water more acidic like carbonic acid or many others...

You would not want to drink pure water it would take the metals from your body.
You would not want to drink anyone's toxic waste or water from their waste.
Any waste flushed upriver from you is treated for drinking water in the town downriver.


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## Smack (Nov 3, 2018)

Dealing with waste: http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=85&t=10539


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## butcher (Nov 3, 2018)

Now there is a man who can teach us a whole lot with very few words, and lead us to a good link to study.
Thanks Smack!


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## Smack (Nov 5, 2018)

lol, that's the introvert in me not coming out.


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