best filters to use

[donald7755]

i am using dollar store type coffee filters , which i know are cheapo's . i know by looking on this fourm that by using the same filter over and over it will catch the very tiny stuff . i have to filter the same soultion 5 and 6 times just to get every thing , and it's taking forever seems like . can somebody please tell me what filters are best to use for filtering and also where i can get those filters at .

thanks for any advice you give .

 

[Justincase]

The short answer is there is no best Filter.
There are a great number of different types made for specific uses.
Ruff filtering of a non corrosive liquid can be done in just about any thing including coffee filters.
but once you get to fine particles in an acidic solution you are going to want one of the lab grade hardened papers or every thing will just turn to gooo.
Personally I find the 135mm Plastic Buchner Filter Funnel which fit the Paper Size 125mm very good.
They can come in half so you have a nice little tub for drying.
I have a set of smaller funnels as well.
You will need a good selection of papers to cover the processes you run.do not skimp as the right paper will do the job first time with out having to juggle your fluid several times.
Like wise I keep a good supply of El Cheepo papaers for use when ever I can get away with it.

 

[anachronism]

The simple answer is that you get what you pay for.

Crap in, crap out.

 

[4metals]

Filtration is the single most time consuming part of the purification process. And depending on what type of filter you are using to hold the filter paper and whether you are using gravity filtration or vacuum assisted filtration it can take more or less time. Then the type of filter paper you use in your setup will ultimately determine how fast the filtration process proceeds. And the paper you select depends on what you are filtering. So it gets complicated. What are you filtering, and what equipment are you using to hold the filter papers?

However, Jon is correct you can pass more values through the wrong filter media than you would ultimately spend on the proper papers. It reminds me of an old commercial, what they were selling I don't remember but the punch line was "you can pay me now or you can pay me later." The same is true with the proper filter media, sooner or later you will acquire papers suited to your application, the sooner you get them, the better off your recovery will be.

So we should use this thread to discuss the specifics of your refining process to help you get the best filtration possible for your situation.

 

[donald7755]

do you think that these would do the trick ?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BHLE6MO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3KWPJ893UI6BO&coliid=I2SRO2MT85UE8O

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019ZCLFW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3KWPJ893UI6BO&coliid=I1CD9RVELVS8ZX

 

[donald7755]

So we should use this thread to discuss the specifics of your refining process to help you get the best filtration possible for your situation.

to answer that i refining some gold plated copper metal pieces . the piece in of it's self is very small .
about 1/2 inch long 1/8 inch wide and not very thick . maybe the same thickness of a quater .

so what i do is i cut the pieces in half to expose the base metal inside . once refined ( dissolved ) it leaves behind very , very tiny pieces of gold foils .

im also doing another process of gold plated finger boards , but ive not gotten to that one yet to filter . dont know for sure but im fairly sure it will have very tiny pieces of gold foils as well .

hope this helps .

 

[anachronism]

So we should use this thread to discuss the specifics of your refining process to help you get the best filtration possible for your situation.

to answer that i refining some gold plated copper metal pieces . the piece in of it's self is very small .
about 1/2 inch long 1/8 inch wide and not very thick . maybe the same thickness of a quater .

so what i do is i cut the pieces in half to expose the base metal inside . once refined ( dissolved ) it leaves behind very , very tiny pieces of gold foils .

im also doing another process of gold plated finger boards , but ive not gotten to that one yet to filter . dont know for sure but im fairly sure it will have very tiny pieces of gold foils as well .

hope this helps .

You're not refining you are recovering. If you are collecting gold foils then that's great it's honestly no problem! Something like a Whatman number 1 paper will let the rubbish through and keep your foils. I think you might want to have a look at your process a little more closely though as you may be able to improve on it.

 

[4metals]

You will be best served by dissolving as little of the base metal as possible just enough for the foils to float separate from the base metal. No sense dissolving too much base metal it just wastes acids. Search for "foils" and "AP" and you will minimize your waste and get the foils separate for further refining.

For general refining and fast filtering these guys sell a fast and a medium speed and a slow speed quantitative paper that works well on a buchner funnel. They also sell plastic buchners.
http://www.pciscientific.com/qualitative.html

But the combination of AP and foils, coffee filters should work.

 

[4metals]

With a buchner funnel you need vacuum. An easy way to start is one of these on a sink faucet or with a small recirculating pump.

https://www.amazon.com/Bel-Art-F329...d=1491098434&sr=1-2&keywords=aspirator+vacuum

 

[donald7755]

You will be best served by dissolving as little of the base metal as possible just enough for the foils to float separate from the base metal. No sense dissolving too much base metal it just wastes acids. Search for "foils" and "AP" and you will minimize your waste and get the foils separate for further refining.

For general refining and fast filtering these guys sell a fast and a medium speed and a slow speed quantitative paper that works well on a buchner funnel. They also sell plastic buchners.
http://www.pciscientific.com/qualitative.html

But the combination of AP and foils, coffee filters should work.

. i like the way you state " No sense dissolving too much base metal " and the reason i say that is because from what i have learned , they all said to dissolved everything . i often wondered why dissolve all of it . and i cant seem to find the answer to that very question . i assume that it's because copper has something like skin pores and when the plate it that the gold can get through the pores . however i cant that information either . this i believe will be extremely helpful so many many thanks for this information .

and btw . just a small update ( for those of you keeping score lol ) i started using 8 filters at a time and only had to filter twice . so seems to be working so far . i will update this later as i do more . and hopefully soon i will get those filters and give them a try that you guys mentioned .

 

[donald7755]

With a buchner funnel you need vacuum. An easy way to start is one of these on a sink faucet or with a small recirculating pump.

https://www.amazon.com/Bel-Art-F329...d=1491098434&sr=1-2&keywords=aspirator+vacuum

i have never delt with a vacuum funnel or the likes of it . what exactly is a small recirculating pump ? can you show me a example please . also how does it work ? and also can you explain how i would need or what all i would need to hook it up . it sounds like it's something that i want to try . thanks for any info .

 

[4metals]

i have never dealt with a vacuum funnel or the likes of it . what exactly is a small recirculating pump ? can you show me a example please . also how does it work ? and also can you explain how i would need or what all i would need to hook it up . it sounds like it's something that i want to try

Well the only eductors I could show you are much larger on an industrial scale but I can explain. The aspirator I linked is designed to pull a vacuum from water flowing through the critical orifice in the aspirator. I believe the flow is 1 1/2 GPM for the best vacuum. They are made to screw into a lab sink and you run the water through the aspirator and it generates vacuum. You use a small hose to hook up the vacuum generated to a vacuum flask that the funnel sits on top of.

The reason I mentioned a small recirculating pump is because you can also recirculate the same water over and over with a small pump and not run all that water down the drain. You can order an aspirator and try the setup off a garden hose or sink but eventually you will want to replace the flowing water with recirculated water.

A vacuum flask pulls a strong vacuum beneath the funnel and draws the liquid through the funnel with the filter paper in place and as liquid falls through the funnel it is collected in the flask. This is a stock ehrlenmeyer vacuum filter flask. you will probably be best served with a flask of the 2000 ml size, they come very small up to 4 and even 6 liters but the bigger ones get pricey. After that you use a different vacuum receiver jug which are commonly either 2 1/2 gallons or 5 gallons in size. I also posted a 2 1/2 gallon jug picture for you to see.




This is a wiki image I clipped to show you how it is set up.

They call the flask a buchner flask but on this side of the pond it is an ehrlenmeyer vacuum receiver flask.

This will be especially useful when you refine your collected foils in aqua regia.

 

[4metals]

I like the way you state " No sense dissolving too much base metal " and the reason i say that is because from what i have learned , they all said to dissolved everything .

If your goal is refining gold to high purity you will find it better to remove as much base metal as possible before digesting in aqua regia. Of course different scrap types require different approaches. One approach that usually works it to digest everything and separate out the values. This is wasteful of acid, and costly. And you usually will end up refining a second time. But it works. But due to little nuances like base metals cementing out values, many poorly trained refiners have thrown away their gold unwittingly. So you have to know what you are looking at. So what whomever "all" was wasn't wrong, but there are better ways.

 

[donald7755]

I like the way you state " No sense dissolving too much base metal " and the reason i say that is because from what i have learned , they all said to dissolved everything .

So what whomever "all" was wasn't wrong, but there are better ways.

ok i see what your saying . thanks for that . my uncle always told me ( god rest his soul ) " no matter how old you get , we all learn something new each and every day " .

 

[donald7755]

i have never dealt with a vacuum funnel or the likes of it . what exactly is a small recirculating pump ? can you show me a example please . also how does it work ? and also can you explain how i would need or what all i would need to hook it up . it sounds like it's something that i want to try

Well the only eductors I could show you are much larger on an industrial scale but I can explain. The aspirator I linked is designed to pull a vacuum from water flowing through the critical orifice in the aspirator. I believe the flow is 1 1/2 GPM for the best vacuum. They are made to screw into a lab sink and you run the water through the aspirator and it generates vacuum. You use a small hose to hook up the vacuum generated to a vacuum flask that the funnel sits on top of.

The reason I mentioned a small recirculating pump is because you can also recirculate the same water over and over with a small pump and not run all that water down the drain. You can order an aspirator and try the setup off a garden hose or sink but eventually you will want to replace the flowing water with recirculated water.

A vacuum flask pulls a strong vacuum beneath the funnel and draws the liquid through the funnel with the filter paper in place and as liquid falls through the funnel it is collected in the flask. This is a stock ehrlenmeyer vacuum filter flask. you will probably be best served with a flask of the 2000 ml size, they come very small up to 4 and even 6 liters but the bigger ones get pricey. After that you use a different vacuum receiver jug which are commonly either 2 1/2 gallons or 5 gallons in size. I also posted a 2 1/2 gallon jug picture for you to see.
ehrlenmeyer vacuum flask.jpeg
IMG_0447.jpg


This is a wiki image I clipped to show you how it is set up.
buchner funnel schematic.png
They call the flask a buchner flask but on this side of the pond it is an ehrlenmeyer vacuum receiver flask.

This will be especially useful when you refine your collected foils in aqua regia.

ok thanks for all this great information . i really like this very much .