Lost" ...gold won't percipate

[Pruitt68]

I mix 2 gallons of muratic acid and 2quarts of peroxide in 2 - 5gallon bukets I put in over a two week process 3 -5gallon of gold boards ,ribbons. pins and fingers as well as approx. 25 gold plated bracelets and 5 14 kt gold necklaces I then added urea to half of one of the buckets and SMB the solution somewhat put a thick brown solution at bottom of bucket note; the solution never separated to a clear ...as well as I poured the brown solution into several wide dishes to dry out and when it had completely dried the brown turned to dry green is it supposed to be this color if not what did I do wrong

 

[FrugalRefiner]

what did I do wrong

Pretty much everything.

I mix 2 gallons of muratic acid and 2quarts of peroxide in 2 - 5gallon bukets

You only need a tiny bit of peroxide to start the reaction. A capful would have been enough. By adding so much at the beginning you undoubtedly dissolved some gold.

I put in over a two week process 3 -5gallon of gold boards ,ribbons. pins and fingers as well as approx. 25 gold plated bracelets and 5 14 kt gold necklaces

The copper chloride leach (often referred to as the acid peroxide, or AP, process) is best suited to things like gold "fingers", the contact edges of RAM and peripheral cards. Some people use it on pins, but it takes a long time, and does not work on all pins.

I then added urea to half of one of the buckets and SMB

Use the urea on your garden. Don't use it for refining.

the solution somewhat put a thick brown solution at bottom of bucket

Could be a variety of metals you had in solution, including copper.

note; the solution never separated to a clear ...as well as I poured the brown solution into several wide dishes to dry out and when it had completely dried the brown turned to dry green is it supposed to be this color if not

What was your plan in drying it all out? I'm guessing you really didn't have a plan at that point. The green is probably from some of the copper you dissolved.

You should do a lot more studying here on the forum before you try anything else.

Dave

 

[galenrog]

Where did you learn the procedure you described? People need to know where NOT to go for information.

Yes, I am being blunt and rude. Thank you for noticing.

Time for more coffee.

 

[Pruitt68]

Sorry didn't finish saying"" I don't know why I've always been compulsive in everything I do I overly dramatically do things beyond what's expected of me I do dumb I do it really dumb lol ...not good! I took apart 650 flat screen TVs around 140 computers And 45 laptops and of those I took every piece off every circuit board and separated them each indivually by my caculation I should end up with around 40 ounces of gold 12 ounced paladuim 20 ounces plattnium and silver... Prayfully all for my grandbaby a better future

 

[nickvc]

Hate to rain on your parade but those assumptions of yields is way off :shock:
Not sure where you got your numbers from to base those estimates but I fear you will be sorely disappointed.

 

[butcher]

Yep, You got the gold fever, a disease most of us have to overcome in order for us to be able to learn how to get that gold we are seeking.

Put the chemicals away, learn to deal with the toxic waste and the mess you have created, in doing so you will also learn to recover any gold from this mess, and spending some more time studying to learn what not to do, and learn how to recover and refine your gold.

 

[kurtak]

by my caculation I should end up with around 40 ounces of gold 12 ounced paladuim 20 ounces plattnium and silver...

I don't where you got those numbers from but they are WAY OFF :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

I took apart 650 flat screen TVs around 140 computers And 45 laptops

So - you ended up with "about" 200 - 300 pounds of circuit boards (provided you are NOT including LOW grade boards like power supply boards which contain little or no gold)

40 ounces of gold

In order to get that much gold from the type circuit boards you are talking about - from "modern" computers you would need 9 - 11 TONS (that's 2,000 pounds per ton) of circuit boards

20 ounces plattnium

There is little or NO Pt in circuit boards :!:

With the boards you are talking about - & IF you got every bit of gold out of them (which your method WILL NOT DO) you would be "lucky" to get one third ounce of gold - maybe a gram of Pd - & NO Pt

Kurt

 

[kurtak]

Let me put it this way --- it takes one ton (2,000 pounds) of modern day mother boards to recover (about) 3.5 ounces of gold

AND - that is IF you are set up with methods that will recover ALL the gold from those circuit boards

The method you are using WILL NOT recover even half that much of the gold

Now I have a question for you --- what are you going to do with all the TOXIC waste you just made :?:

Kurt

 

[Jamespruett]

At any rate I gotta get it out the solution this ain't getting me nowhere

 

[Jamespruett]

For every ton 1000 lbs is 12 Troy ounces

 

[galenrog]

For every ton 1000 lbs is 12 Troy ounces

One Ton = 2000 pounds

One Tonne = 1000 kilograms

Time for more coffee.

Additionally, Kurt is reasonable, perhaps even generous in his estimate. You want to make money on motherboards? Sell them. Buy gold or silver.

Learn recovery and refining on jewelry scrap. Easier. Generally less waste. Usually profitable. Your methods will generate more expenses in waste disposal than any gold recovered.

Still time for more coffee.

 

[kurtak]

At any rate I gotta get it out the solution this ain't getting me nowhere

In the first place - what makes you think that you even have gold or other PMs (Precious Metals) in solution :?:

did you do a "stannous" test on the solution :?:

If not - then you have NO idea whether you have PMs in solution --- or NOT :!:

I mix 2 gallons of muratic acid and 2quarts of peroxide in 2 - 5gallon bukets

When you did this --- did "absolutely" ALL the metals you put in the buckets dissolve :?:

If not - then more then likely there is NO gold (&/or other PMs) in the solution :!:

Rather - the gold (&/or other PMs) will be in the bottom of your bucket in the form of a sludge :?:

That is because if there were "other" metals - like iron, copper, aluminum, zinc, tin, etc. etc. in the buckets & those metals did not "completely" dissolve --- those metals - will cause the gold (&/or other PMs) to do what we call "cementing" the PMs out of the solution - thereby causing the PMs to end up as a "sludge" in the bottom of the bucket (along with a lot of other "crap" in the sludge - which would mean you now have a VERY BIG MESS that is going to be VERY difficult to fix)

Again - without a stannous test - you have NO IDEA if you have gold (or other PMs) in solution --- or NOT :!:

At this point all you have done is create a VERY TOXIC MESS with NO IDEA of what you have &/or where what you have is - as in - are your PMs now in the TOXIC solution you have created --- or are they in the TOXIC sludge you have created :?: ----- & what are you now going to do with this TOXIC mess you have created :?:

For every ton 1000 lbs is 12 Troy ounces

As galenrog point out - a ton is 2,000 pounds - not 1,000 pounds - AND - there is NO way in this world - where you are going to get 12 troy ounce of gold out of a ton of "modern day" consumer circuit boards (let along out of half a ton)

That is especially true with the "wet chemistry" process you are doing --- in order to get "full recovery" you "need to do a "smelting" process

Trust me - I am not some "you tube" hack playing around in my garage &/or back yard with a few pounds of circuit boards & TOXIC chemicals with no idea of how to deal with the TOXIC waste

I did this for about 12 years on a "professional" level with a full wet chemistry lad set up & a smelting operation set up --- I processed most all types of PM scrap - including - but not limited to circuit board "by the ton" - like 2 - 3 tons per month (at least 1 "ton" on a slow month)

So - again - there is "absolutely" NO WAY you are going to get 12 ozt gold out of a ton of modern day consumer circuit boards (let alone out of a half ton) --- it just NOT GOING TO HAPPEN :!:

AND - that is especially true with the process you are using :!:

My advice - STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING - put lids on your buckets & do NOTHING more - until you have spend the next 3 - 6 month researching/reading info posted on this forum to get a REAL education about what it is you are wanting to do --- then - once you have a REAL understanding about all of this you can come back to your MESS - & fix it :!: :!: :!:

Kurt

 

[g_axelsson]

Very well stated, Kurt! I agree with all that you wrote.

but...

One Ton = 2000 pounds

One Tonne = 1000 kilograms

Time for more coffee.

Yeah, but a ton is not equal to a ton... Americans! :wink:

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton

In the United Kingdom, the (Imperial) ton is a statute measure, defined as 2,240 pounds (about 1,016 kg).

In the United States and Canada, a ton is defined to be 2,000 pounds (907.18474 kg).

Where confusion is possible, the 2240 lb ton is called "long ton" and the 2000 lb ton "short ton". The 1000 kg tonne is distinguished by its spelling, but usually pronounced the same as ton, hence the US term "metric ton". In the UK the final "e" of "tonne" can also be pronounced (/ˈtʌni/), or "metric ton" when it is necessary to make the distinction.

And in metric land the English term is tonne, but in Swedish it is ton. :lol:

Any questions?

Time for more tea.

Göran

 

[croverto]

As I am very green in refining so maybe my experience so far may resonate with some readers. Even though I know nothing about the process of refining gold fingers or various computer scrap I have recently dealt with some very complex scrap that contains a literal hodgepodge of different metals. I have bought and sold gold for many years but never refined it. I did a few hours of research a day for about 4 months before finally coming to the forum as I had run out of reliable information. But just because the process makes sense I found it hard to trust not only myself but the tonnes (LOL) of info I had consumed and the people here proved to be a great resource for confidence in what I had learned.

I actually found great success pretty much out the gate, as I delve into more metals from this find I am finding that not every process will produce the same result. Cementing with copper for example is dropping other metals like Pt in with my Au causing refining to take place again. Slag which may contain PM's isn't really something to put chems to. So I go back to the drawing board and research some more. The book recommended by pretty much all the veterans here is a good resource but should be read from start to finish as things are covered in great detail, not specific projects so you would have to jump around quite a bit. Also, I utilize the academic library from my University legacy.

Still, I try to follow some rules as I have a bunch of different industrial materials.

1. Most important I have no financial expectations or needs that have to be met by the refining of this material. I like everyone here wants to see results but I have time to do so without rushing to pay a bill or whatever.

2. I am only working with small amounts of material. Once I have achieved success with that type of material I can move on to another batch of material and have taken notes on the previous (as I have found out that I may have to do things differently due to the complexity of the metal).

3. I stay away from youtube. It was a great place to start and I have found some great knowledgeable people but they can oftentimes become a resource via email or I can refer to those videos to see a certain process but I find that with videos I can start to just search and find one that will give me the answers I am looking for without actually giving me the same results as some obtain during filming.

4. Have all of the proper materials in hand and ready for a start to finish process. The most used thing I have is the dropper bottle of stannous chloride that I made! I have a great shop full of tools and oxy-acetylene but I needed glassware, a fume hood, melting dishes, etc... All of which saved me from having a disaster and also giving me a bit more confidence in this undertaking.

All said and done I am confident that I will see a very nice return on the time and materials I have invested. But I still feel I have plenty to learn before I move forward with large batches I also want to experiment with certain precipitation techniques even though I thought I could just use copper for everything I was going to do but that's just not the case. I am sure not one person here has seen anything but successes that would be a bit strange but the one place I see consistent failure is by jumping the gun referred to as "gold fever" which I had a small batch of not long ago myself. Which is now gold in a jewelry bag!

 

[Martijn]

Welcome to the forum! Good to hear your'e taking your time.
Each source material is different and may need special pretreatment processes. So apply your knowledge from previous batches on test amounts of any new material to determine the best process steps for you.

With slags it's important to get the flux right to avoid having PM's caught in the sulfides or the slag.
Getting it back out can be done, but is there enough worth going after? Like with hard rock ore, have it assayed to see if it's worth going after.

Where did you find four month's worth of reliable info besides this place? That just can't be :lol: :lol: you might want to reevaluate that statement after reading four months here.. :wink:
have fun!
Martijn.