Non-Chemical furnace for waste metals?

[glorycloud]

I have been evaporating the waste acids via Mr. Sunshine for a while now
and I have been saving the dried powder. I am thinking that I would like
to melt this powder which should contain copper, etc. using a back yard
furnace setup like one from BackyardMetalcasting.com.

Anybody used one or have any thoughts about doing this? I just
want to convert the powder back to a "dore bar" of AL / CU / etc.
and probably the PM's that slipped through the cracks in my refining
efforts. :lol:

Anybody else doing this currently?? Thanks in advance for the advice! 8)

 

[goldsilverpro]

There's no way you will be able to convert any Al salts or evaporated Al solutions back to aluminum metal in a furnace. You might read this article on how it is done - by electrolysis using fused salts. Way beyond the capabilities of you or I, at least in any volume. You might even have problems converting the Cu salts back to salable metal.
http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/about_alcoa/pdf/Smeltingpaper.pdf

 

[4metals]

Start cementing your waste with copper, then take the insolubles from that process and smelt or digest to recover the last of the PM's. Then let the sun drive the water off your waste and you won't have to deal with recovering the PM's. Add the iron step before the sun and recover copper as well.

 

[glorycloud]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the sage advice. 8)