anodic slime

[arthur kierski]

i need information on anodic slime----i have many kilos of anodic slime---they come from the production of electrolitic copper---there is a electrolitic tank---the cathode is pure copper,the anode is impure copper(containing some ag and au)---the electrolyte is a cuso4 solution---when working, the impure copper travels from the anode to the cathode---the cathode gets thicker with the copper(electrolitic) and the anode gets thinner---as the impure copper is transfered to the cathode there is a slime that goes to the botton of the tank--this slime contains pms-------
many years ago i dissolved car catalist in an reverbatory furnace and collected the pt ,pd and rh with copper-----these copper bars were the anodes and the slime from the electrolysis was collected as rh,pd and pt-and i separated them from each other chemically-----it was an excellent method to collect pms from cats----this factory was closed and it had 20tanks---the electrolite (cuso4) evaporated and in the botton of these tanks there are many kilos of this slime---
i know that these slime is mainly precious metals----
i would like some information from members of the forum on anodic slimes----at the same time i am informing a way to obtain ALL the precious metals from cats---
thanks and regards to all
Arthur Kierski

 

[Geo]

Rinse the material with water and repeat with water until the water stays clear. Roast the material to remove any left over acids and any organics that may have found it's way in. Leach in 50% nitric acid by volume to remove silver and copper and most of the palladium. Water rinse and repeat until the water stays clear. Place the remainder of the material in AR until no more of the material will dissolve.

 

[arthur kierski]

thanks Geo for the information.
regards,
Arthur Kierski

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Arthur

Nickvc calls these "swines" not slimes for a reason.... 8) 8)

Jon

 

[4metals]

Depending on the feedstock where the slimes were generated there are different metals that can be in the slimes of a copper sulfate electrolytic cell. Tin, Bismuth, Antimony and Lead all dissolve and end up in the slimes.

For this reason I would first do an HCl leach to get rid of any tin which, if present, will present problems with filtration. On a positive note, an HCl leach will not dissolve any values so all of the PM's will still be in the insolubles.

I wouldn't want to melt these slimes before processing either, the surface area of the slimes as they come out of the anode bag is great for leaching and fast digestions.

 

[arthur kierski]

thanks 4metals----as i do not know all the origins of the metals in the copper anode,i will do an hcl attack to eliminate tin and lead (if present in the slime)----thanks for the reminder
Arthur Kierski

 

[Geo]

Remember, it is important to roast the material after each leach with a different acid. This is to remove any left over acid. If not, it will create a weak AR solution and might dissolve some gold before you are ready to do so.

 

[Platdigger]

Hi Arthur,
If these slimes are from mined copper you can also have selenium and terillium.
These can complicate things a bit. I have an old book I can dig out if you are interested that details several plans of attack.

 

[arthur kierski]

thanks platdigger---all help is welcome---at the moment i am just collecting the slimes----as there are many kilos ---200 to 300kilos---i will first use one kilo for assayng and having a notion of which pms are present---
As i said ,this was a factory that produced electrolitic copper from many copper scraps------the pms are sub products from this process---
thanks and regards and happy that you continues in activity
Arthur Kierski

 

[arthur kierski]

Geo,i will not forget to roast the material at each leach stage---i know that it is very important as Harold mentioned and insisted in his various threads------
once again thanks
Arthur