Blue AP

[rainmaker]

OK! Here's What I did!!

I processed about 4 # of clean fingers in 31% HCL per Steve's Video. I then added caustic soda solution (lye and water) until the solution appeared to drop everything and turned clear (pH 11.42). The solution is now a light blue, but clear.

Any suggestions/comments?

What is causing the blue?

Silver?

I didn't think I had any on the fingers I processed.


Thanks
Rainmaker

 

[butcher]

I am little confused about your process, if you dissloved the pins in HCl you also probably used an oxidizer like H2O2 hydrogen peroxide, now here is where this question is confusing to me did you recover your gold? and were you trying to discard the solution using a base like NaOH to neutralize it before disposal? if that was my intention I would use scrap steel to remove copper and the metals above Iron in the metal EMF series, if you did not do that before adding the caustic soda NaOH (sodium hydroxide) or base then you can get most any metals that were in solution to form hydroxides of those metals, copper or nickle would probably be blue to green color. silver chloride is white and insoluble in water, slightly soluble in acid, and if enough caustic can be soluble as a hydroxide, but I would expect PH would have to be high maybe GSP can give more insight to this he has more expierience with silver, I do not think it would be blue maybe white black or even slightly violet to black depending on its state, but I am not too sure of all the colors silver compounds can be.

 

[oef62nd]

Got the same thing last time I did AP......I think it the copper in the AP///

Here is a pic of what I got..

 

[butcher]

copper solutions dilute can be blue instead of green. probalby still has copper or nickle, any iron disolved?

 

[rainmaker]

I did not process any pins or use any oxidizer like H2O2 hydrogen peroxide. I did recover my gold flakes, there should not be any gold in solution.

Yes, I was conducting an experiment to see if it was practicable and possiable to remove all metals this way prior to disposing of the solution. I raised the pH to 11.42.

It is my understanding thatl adding scrap steel would cause all the metals BELOW iron on the EMF scale to fall out.

In view of the cost of the lye and the amount required to raise the pH high enough and the comparative cost of aluminum, the process does not appear financially practicable.

Thanks,

Rainmaker

 

[butcher]

lately I have dropped copper with iron, keeping solution acidic, then have been using my battery charger at 12 volt setting, and an old head light from my truck in series with th positive wire to limit the current, using a steel anode old computer part and a stainless steel cathode (Must be flat to scrape off metals that plate to it. at first will get a little copper that the first treatment with steel did not displace, then later get the other metals out including nickel, I am saving these metals as powders for later expieriments, as most all of the metals are removed, still have a light green Iron water solution(to my crock pot to concentrate it to a powder).
and in the bottom of the bucket I have what I believe to be a hydroxide sludge my guess from electrolyzing the salts of the acids, as I tend to use alot of sodium and mainly clorides will be from this table salt if my guess is right, so far I havent tested it just adding it to next batch of waste. this seems so far to help with the volume of waste so far.