SilverNitrate
Well-known member
For lack of a better set words I thought of calling it electro-extraction or electro-grinding. Well anyways it is my own personal brainchild in which I wanted to find a way to dissolve karat jewelry rings and bracelets that have small diamonds which I 'd like to recover.
But upon doing so I found that I could purify the gold leaving it as so.
The set up is fairly simple: have your self a tub which could hold the diluted nitric acid. Have 2 graphite leads, the + which the jewelry rests upon, and the - at the opposite end, turn on your rectifier (battery charger) and this should run for hour per ounce.
This does make a great deal of smoke, so I do this in the lab under a vent.
Your gold Jewelry will actually become pure, and thus break down into tiny dusts, the diamonds are loose among it. Your acid bath solution is going to turn a cloudy white (silver nitrate) at first then to a solid blue (copper nitrate) as the reaction furthers along. At times you will see a fluff of copper and silver grow on the cathode plate, but then this moves off the cathode it re-dissolves itself.
I find this to work greatly on 10k & 14k gold; 18k or higher and teeth tend to less likely breakdown.
[img:500:382]http://www.gholar.com/images/electroleach.jpg[/img]
Below are some images of the silver fluff floating in the bath. the blue bath solution is drained off then set aside for later silver recovery.
The granuels of fine gold are rinsed off from the bath solution and then dissolved in aqua regia. Karat Jewelry dissolved in AR will always make a dark green solution, Doing this electroleaching, the AR remains a dark yellow, showing the absence of copper.
[img:600:236]http://www.gholar.com/images/electroleach1.jpg[/img]
Keep in mind that this AR is not of pure gold. To some extent there are traces of silver present. However when the granuels are dissolved in AR, generally the only thing left behind are the stones and perhaps tiny steel springs from clasps.
But upon doing so I found that I could purify the gold leaving it as so.
The set up is fairly simple: have your self a tub which could hold the diluted nitric acid. Have 2 graphite leads, the + which the jewelry rests upon, and the - at the opposite end, turn on your rectifier (battery charger) and this should run for hour per ounce.
This does make a great deal of smoke, so I do this in the lab under a vent.
Your gold Jewelry will actually become pure, and thus break down into tiny dusts, the diamonds are loose among it. Your acid bath solution is going to turn a cloudy white (silver nitrate) at first then to a solid blue (copper nitrate) as the reaction furthers along. At times you will see a fluff of copper and silver grow on the cathode plate, but then this moves off the cathode it re-dissolves itself.
I find this to work greatly on 10k & 14k gold; 18k or higher and teeth tend to less likely breakdown.
[img:500:382]http://www.gholar.com/images/electroleach.jpg[/img]
Below are some images of the silver fluff floating in the bath. the blue bath solution is drained off then set aside for later silver recovery.
The granuels of fine gold are rinsed off from the bath solution and then dissolved in aqua regia. Karat Jewelry dissolved in AR will always make a dark green solution, Doing this electroleaching, the AR remains a dark yellow, showing the absence of copper.
[img:600:236]http://www.gholar.com/images/electroleach1.jpg[/img]
Keep in mind that this AR is not of pure gold. To some extent there are traces of silver present. However when the granuels are dissolved in AR, generally the only thing left behind are the stones and perhaps tiny steel springs from clasps.
