# Making Sulpher Dioxide Gas.



## LeftyTheBandit (Sep 30, 2009)

What would be the amounts of Sulphuric acid and SMB needed to efficiently produce S02 gas?

I want to create the reaction in a sealed beaker and bubble the gas through my Auric solutions to drop the gold.

I would like for the mixture to be as minimal as possible so I only make a small excess of what I would need to precipitate my gold.


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## Gold (Oct 1, 2009)

You know i have thought about buying sulfur. Like the kind they sell in garden supply stores and heating it in a sealed tube to make So2. They make sulfur burners for farms.


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## Irons (Oct 1, 2009)

Gold said:


> You know i have thought about buying sulfur. Like the kind they sell in garden supply stores and heating it in a sealed tube to make So2. They make sulfur burners for farms.



I have a 50 lb bag on order. Just under $17. I ordered it this Spring. I guess I need to pick it up.


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## lazersteve (Oct 1, 2009)

Recently I found this equation for SO2:

Calcium Sulfate, Silica, and Carbon:

2 CaSO4 (s) + 2 SiO2 (s) + C (s) → 2 CaSiO3 (s) + 2 SO2 (g) + CO2 (g)

Calcium Silicate is soluble in HCl.

This means ordinary sheet rock, sand, and charcoal can be use to make SO2. 

Steve


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 2, 2009)

SO2 is quite soluble in cold water - about 230 gm/liter at 32F. A refiner friend of mine didn't like to use the gas, so he bubbled the gas into gallon jugs of ice cold water and sealed them. He then used this liquid to drop the gold out of solutions.


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## Irons (Oct 2, 2009)

goldsilverpro said:


> SO2 is quite soluble in cold water - about 230 gm/liter at 32F. A refiner friend of mine didn't like to use the gas, so he bubbled the gas into gallon jugs of ice cold water and sealed them. He then used this liquid to drop the gold out of solutions.



I like that idea.


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 2, 2009)

I was thinking that the SO2 these guys are making could be collected, somehow, in ice water.


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## dick b (Oct 2, 2009)

Ok heres an idea.

Why can't you burn sulpher under a glass funnel and suck and bubble the smoke into a filter flask with the gold chloride? The SO2 will disolve into the solution and drop the gold. Then as soon as the gold has dropped, all you have to do is snuff out the burning sulpher. All that SO2 is, is sulpher burned in air, filtered and then compressed into a bottle.

What do you guys think?

dickb


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## Irons (Oct 3, 2009)

dick b said:


> Ok heres an idea.
> 
> Why can't you burn sulpher under a glass funnel and suck and bubble the smoke into a filter flask with the gold chloride? The SO2 will disolve into the solution and drop the gold. Then as soon as the gold has dropped, all you have to do is snuff out the burning sulpher. All that SO2 is, is sulpher burned in air, filtered and then compressed into a bottle.
> 
> ...



That will work, but you will also get free Sulfur that will precipitate out and contaminate your precipitated Gold. Bubble the raw SO2/Sulfur gas through a bottle containing Sulfuric acid to clean up the SO2 before it goes to the precipitator.

Sulfur has the property of sublimation, which allows it to be turned into a gas, that, when cooled, will precipitate directly into a solid form. This property is used to recover and purify the Element.


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## NobleMetalsRecovery (Oct 10, 2009)

Irons said:


> goldsilverpro said:
> 
> 
> > SO2 is quite soluble in cold water - about 230 gm/liter at 32F. A refiner friend of mine didn't like to use the gas, so he bubbled the gas into gallon jugs of ice cold water and sealed them. He then used this liquid to drop the gold out of solutions.
> ...



I've thought of this for years, but never done it. My plan was to make SO2 ice cubes.


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## 2002valkyrie (Nov 10, 2009)

O.K. It's been a month has anyone had any success with any of the afore mentioned methods? I am ready to give it a go. :?: :?: 8)


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## 2002valkyrie (Nov 10, 2009)

I have been researching this topic to see if it is something that I would be interested in using. :idea: In fact from this thread it is evident that I'm not alone, so without letting this thread go any further a SAFETY NOTE SHOULD BE POSTED :arrow: 
As per Wikipedia :
_* Sulfur dioxide is associated with increased respiratory symptoms and disease, difficulty in breathing, and premature death*_ :!: 
This does not mean it should not or could not be used with great success. It just means that caution should be exercised in it's useage.It is just as dangerous as any other aspect of refining and should be used in a well vented area or better yet a fume hood.


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## Harold_V (Nov 11, 2009)

2002valkyrie said:


> or better yet a fume hood.


Spoken as if a seasoned veteran.
Sulfur dioxide is a most unpleasant experience when one is forced to inhale. I definitely do NOT advise its use without a fume hood, but, with one, it's hard to beat. It is convenient, fast, economical and efficient. Best of all, it adds no volume to one's solutions, which can be important. 

Harold


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## LittleJohnnyH2SO4 (Nov 11, 2009)

Noble Metals Recovery said:


> Irons said:
> 
> 
> > goldsilverpro said:
> ...



Freezing the solution would tend to expel the gas. Whatever gas was indeed trapped would escape as the cubes slowly sublimated at freezer temperatures and reek up the freezer.


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## LittleJohnnyH2SO4 (Nov 11, 2009)

LittleJohnnyH2SO4 said:


> Noble Metals Recovery said:
> 
> 
> > Irons said:
> ...



Burning sulfur to prepare SO2 would be rather arduous. You'd have to do a bit of engineering and constantly feed oxygen to a sulfur burner fed by a reservoir of molten sulfur, then clean the resulting gas from suspended particles of sulfur. Bulk metabisulfite is not quite as cheap, but significantly less hassle and less work.

Sorry for the doublepost. Must've hit the wrong button.


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## Irons (Nov 11, 2009)

LittleJohnnyH2SO4 said:


> LittleJohnnyH2SO4 said:
> 
> 
> > Noble Metals Recovery said:
> ...



If you live in a cave, like some of us, you just have to make do.


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## 2002valkyrie (Nov 11, 2009)

This is an easy procedure if you have a little lab glass. It is posted on Wikipedia. :arrow: 

*Action of hot sulfuric acid on copper turnings produces sulfur dioxide.

Cu (s) + 2 H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + SO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l) *

The SO2 can be bubbled off in the solution to drop your gold. When the action is finnished just separate the hot sulfuric acid from the copper.


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## 2002valkyrie (Nov 21, 2009)

2002valkyrie said:


> This is an easy procedure if you have a little lab glass. It is posted on Wikipedia. :arrow:
> 
> *Action of hot sulfuric acid on copper turnings produces sulfur dioxide.
> 
> ...



This is not practical for my needs and requires constant monitoring 
I will try something else.


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