newkingofawan,
I think your problem is that you do not know how to use aqua regia, when or why.
The problem can also be with knowing how it reacts with other metals, or even knowing how to pretreat your scrap before using aqua regia, and then knowing how to deNOx the solution if you do use more nitric acid than needed, or understanding many of other details of this process.
Basically I do not think you really know much of anything about recovery or refining of precious metals, It seems you have read a few things and think it is some simple process of dissolving metals and precipitating them out.
From your post it sounds like you have just learned enough to be able to kill yourself, and need to learn a heck of a lot more.
There is an awful lot of learning that needs to be done, to learn to recover metals and to refining them.
What seems simple to the uneducated person in this art, is seen by those who learn it, to be very complicated.
Actually it can seem to be fairly simple once you understand the basic principles and the many details involved, but then again it is still a very complicated science, and art.
Sodium metabisulfite, or ferrous sulfate (copperas) are both good precipitants to use, there are several others that will work to precipitate gold, but without knowing the details of recovery or refining, you will have problems with any of these.
Basically your problem is you need to learn to recover gold and refine it, learn the basic principles to get an education in all of the processes involved, it is not as simple as dissolving a bunch of metals into the king of acids and getting gold back out, there are a lot of details you will need to understand.
You need to study Hoke's book, and the forum, to learn the basic principles of recovery and refining.
the advice for you to stop using chemicals at this point is sound advice, listening to this advice will save you from loosing your gold, and could help keep you from harming yourself or others, until you learn more about the dangers involved in working with chemistry of metals, and get a better understanding of how to deal with these dangers. or prevent them.
Along with Hoke's book study the forum, and the safety section, and dealing with waste.
it sounds like you have a lot to learn, before you are ready to use aqua regia, and after you do spend time learning, you may even find you do not even need aqua regia to get the job done, with what you are trying to do.
You do not need a different chemical precipitant, you need to spend the time to gain an education.
This will take a lot of work and time on your part, but if this is a skill you really wish to learn it will be well worth the effort, like many skills this is something you can spend lifetimes learning and getting better at.
But the first step is gaining an understanding of the basic principles involved, which everything else is basically based on, this is why Hoke's book is so highly recommended reading on the forum, it will help you learn many of these basic principles.
This is also very dangerous chemistry we deal with, you must educate yourself in these dangers, and gain an understanding of them, to learn to protect yourself and others.
Luckily with the forum, and all of the information it provides, and helpful members, you have found a great place to learn this art and skill, if that is what you are willing to spend a lot of your time and energy to learn.
Welcome to the forum, I hope this helps you get started off in the right direction.
Education is the key to success.
