Non-Chemical Can PGMs be spun out of Solution ?

[awbrew]

I was at a Holiday Dinner and some how the subject of filtering acids came about. My wifes Uncle said that he worked for a big company and it was possible to centrifugally remove metal from solution. I hadn't never herd of this (But theres a lot that I haven't herd of). But I was kind of shocked because he never really talked about work before. Can anyone shed a little lite on this subject ?

 

[Westerngs]

There are some solutions where metals are in colloidal suspension, not dissolved. In those cases, the metals would settle after centrifuge.

I have not heard of any cases where dissolved metals would precipitate out of solution via centrifuge. Perhaps someone else has.

I do know that metals in solution will plate out onto the container walls given time.

 

[NobleMetalWorks]

A lot of people use gravity separation, specially speculators. It's all about what type of material you are recovering from, what form the PM is in, but if you are asking if PM's can be spun out of a solution, it seem like you are asking if you have dissolved metals in solution, and spun the container the solution was in, it would somehow precipitate out. That's not the case, you have to actually precipitate, displace or cement those values out of solution.

Scott

 

[butcher]

Metals dissolved in solution are missing electrons (oxidized), the acid has took electrons from the metal and is (reduced), these do form soluble metals salts in solution as ions, I think all the centrifuge would do is spin the ions around, and unless the salt was already insoluble in solution or you gave the metal back the missing electrons, it would never precipitate out.

But if you had something like colloids in solution they may (I am not sure), as these are reduced metals in solution that repel each other with a static charge and will not precipitate normally, or in cases of dirty solutions where metals and salts can be suspended in solution, and the dirty solution will not let them precipitate normally (but here again this is not dissolved in solution, more like just suspended in solution.

 

[awbrew]

Many thanks, for all the excellent replies. That was the fist thing that I said back. That I hadn't Read anything to that effect if it was truly in solution. Awsome answers. From the guys that know best... He (my wife uncle) just Got offensive and that was not my intentions... but only to learn.

Thanks again... Butcher Hadn't herd from you in a while thanks for the reply.

 

[MysticColby]

I agree with the previous replies that metal colloids or similar will precipitate when centrifuged. smaller particles requires higher speeds and/or longer times.
I will add that it should be possible to separate areas of higher and lower concentrations of PM salts in a solution given sufficiently huge g-forces. But as soon as the centrifuge stops they would immediately start to mix with each other again. If it worked, it would not give you a clear separation. Between high and low density would be medium density.