Recovering black powder from cell - powder not settling

I have about a quart and a half of pregnant electrolyte that stopped stripping and is not going to 0 amps with no gp material present. Poured it off to a half galon milk jug, screwed on the cap and left it outside untouched for 24 hours. It does not seem to be any lighter at the top than it was 24 hours ago. Am I missing some part of this procedure?

Thanks!

Metaphore said:

Am I missing some part of this procedure?

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Patience.

Check it again in a week.

Milk jugs aren't really suitable containers for acids. They're too thin.

Dave

Thank you, FrugalRefiner. I'll wait then.

What would be a good container that is somewhat transparent and would hold sulfuric acid? Glass?

Glass is good. Thick walled HDPE is also good. Concentrated sulfuric is often sold in thick HDPE. Milk jugs are often the same material, but they're designed for one time use to get your milk home. They're made as thin as they can be while still being able to accomplish that task.

Dave

half gallon size (like the one on the left) things settle better in a narrow column (which is why I like & use these jars for settling - they are a bit more narrow then a beaker) plastic sandwich bag under the lid to keep it from corrosion (sandwich bag might not work with sulfuric) or sometimes I just set a watch glass on top

Kurt

Thanks, I will get some.

Would it save much time if I wouldn't worry about reusing the sulfuric acid? If I just pour the electrolyte as is into a bucket of water and take it from there? The gallon of sulfuric acid cost me about $22, so I figure waiting a week for the powder to settle may not be economically justified. Is this feasible?

Yes it is. The more you dilute with water the faster it will settle. But be careful. Sulfuric reacts violently when introduced to water. Always add you acid to water, and don't dump it inn. Be patient, and use safety gear.

Ordered a half dozen of these plus plastic lids from Amazon.

kurtak said:

half gallon size (like the one on the left) things settle better in a narrow column (which is why I like & use these jars for settling - they are a bit more narrow then a beaker) plastic sandwich bag under the lid to keep it from corrosion (sandwich bag might not work with sulfuric) or sometimes I just set a watch glass on top

Kurt

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Kurt I like using those mason jars as well. They hold up well to heat when placed on sand on top of my hot plate. I buy the plastic lids for the jars and put some yellow teflon tape around to seal them. The yellow teflon is used for natural gas applications and seem hold up well from corrosion.

Metaphore said:

I have about a quart and a half of pregnant electrolyte that stopped stripping and is not going to 0 amps with no gp material present. Poured it off to a half galon milk jug, screwed on the cap and left it outside untouched for 24 hours. It does not seem to be any lighter at the top than it was 24 hours ago. Am I missing some part of this procedure?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You can use the same size glass pyrex that you use for your cell. I let it settle for 2 days then siphon off the acid into another pyrex of the same size. Then I pour off the remaining acid and black powder into a mason jar that has about 4-5 times the amount of water as acid. So if i have 100 ml of acid I put 400 ml of water in a jar then carefully pour in the powder and acid. The powder usually settles in 12 hours since the acid is now diluted.

Now you can top off your cell with more acid and continue processing while your other powder is settling. I like to use pyrex that comes with a lid so if I have to stop I can cover the cell until I can come back to it.