Beryllium refining

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kristofvagyok

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Joined
Aug 30, 2011
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Hi all,

New here but got a big question. I have been offered to get 4400g (150oz) of CuBe with 2,5% beryllium, the other part is pure copper.

My question would be that how should be the beryllium separated from the alloy? Dissolving in HNO3 or AR and participate the beryllium with a weak base or get the copper to solution as an ammine complex by ammonia?

Or use a copper cell? The Be could stay in the solution. As far I hope it would stay in the solution (like zinc) and not participate with the pure copper.

P.S.: I know the hazards. I work in an organic chemistry lab I know the rules how to deal with chemicals.
 
It sounds like you have contaminated copper of high purity, I think you should refine the copper, then collect beryllium from solution as an Beryllium is toxic, and I think it most likely would not be worth the risk unless you had a market for it, even then the cost to set up and refine this metal and the copper may not realize a profit for small quantity (not pounds) but more likely I would think tons.

In view of this I think I would just sell it for copper.

As far as I know beryllium is very reactive, it will even oxidize in air, copper is very close to noble metals in reactivity, so separation my guess may be easier, especially if this is already a High percentage of almost pure copper, you should be able to electro-refine the copper, and the electrolyte would hold the beryllium, the remaining copper in solution.

Would hold some copper and the beryllium, here is where I am not real sure the best way to handle this, I am not sure if you used graphite anode to remove last bit of copper whether beryllium would also try and deposit, or maybe you could cement copper with aluminum and then use potassium hydroxide to precipitate beryllium and aluminum evaporate then dry heat to oxide and wash oxides in HCL, and precipitate beryllium with potassium carbonate, or maybe you could even take copper and beryllium electrolyte solution and precipitate copper with NaOH leaving beryllium hydroxide in solution (with careful pH control), I think it would take some experimenting to find what worked best.

But I think I would just hang onto it and wait for a rise in copper price and sell it.
 
the easiest way would be dissolving in AR or HNO3

then pH switch to alkaline with ammonia
copper wil complex with ammonia
i dont know if beryllium complex with ammonia, but i think not because of very low atomic number - no orbitals to make complexes.but i am not sure

in this case, Cu stays in sol and Be will precipitate as hydroxide



wikipedia helped - in HNO3 Be forms oxide - white solid insoluble

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium_oxide
 
The easiest and safest thing to do is sell it as beryllium copper. There is a market for it (after all, that's why the beryllium was added). That is if you're after money. If you're just after the experience of electrowinning copper, make anodes of it and do it in a CuSO4 electrolyte--the beryllium will not co-deposit.
 
Lou you are absolutely right.

electrolysis in sulfate cell is easiest, but it adds steps to process ( you will end with electrolyte loaded with Be and Cu) so if he wants to separate Be (nobody knows why, but talking about separation), the fastest will be HNO3 (in my opinion) - and filtering almost colloidal oxide(but better than hydrated tin oxide/metastannic acid)
i remember saw it once during silver solder refining (in XRF software Be wasnt included- i was really surprised)
 
I'm not after money, actually I'm after beryllium, need some of it for some inorganic chemistry :p

The AR or simply HNO3 is simple and good, the bad part of it would be the large amount of acids what would be needed for 4400g and the large amount of NOx what would evolve from that, even if I work in a fume hood. I hate that smell... And the preally large amounts of solutions what I have to work with after that.

The sulfate cell would be the best, the only problem would be the separation of the Be from the Cu in solution, but it is much easier than 10-15l of AR solution :lol:
My other problem would be that the "pure" copper from the cell maybe would contain some beryllium also...
 
I would opt for the HNO3 route if it were up to me.

Sucho, Be is too light an element to be detectable by XRF. Usually they go up from Al.
 
Beryllium Copper is very useful for making connector parts. It heat treats differently than pure copper and has a "springiness" that makes it useful for center conductors on high-end coaxial connector parts.

If you are near the Silicon Valley area, one option is to contact Anritsu in Morgan Hill, they make the K-Connector & related microwave instrumentation parts. However, they would want "trace-able" BeCu, sort of like if the BeCu has "papers" or a "pedigree", I'm not exactly sure how that works.

Another option is to contact a CNC machine shop in your area.

Also, maybe try & get a quote on BeCu stock. It's expensive, hopefully you can get more than the $2.50 a pound that scrap metal places pay for 'pure' copper.
 
Photobacterium said:
Beryllium Copper is very useful for making connector parts. It heat treats differently than pure copper and has a "springiness" that makes it useful for center conductors on high-end coaxial connector parts.
Click to expand...
It differs from pure copper in that it is heat treatable, while copper is not. It heat treats by the precipitation hardening method, whereby it is heated to a specific temperature and held for a given period of time. Hardness develops by crystalline growth within the alloy. Pure copper is not capable of this process, and, in fact, can be hardened only by cold working.

If you are near the Silicon Valley area, one option is to contact Anritsu in Morgan Hill, they make the K-Connector & related microwave instrumentation parts. However, they would want "trace-able" BeCu, sort of like if the BeCu has "papers" or a "pedigree", I'm not exactly sure how that works.
Click to expand...
Material certification is the term you seek. Chemical analysis is performed on the heat, with a document prepared that follows the material by its heat number. When certification is requested, a copy of the original document accompanies the material. It's a process that is common in the defense and aero-space industry, from which I came.

Harold
 

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