Often there are refining processes which benefit greatly from movement to agitate the load or move the solution. I am using this thread to solicit descriptions of our own members systems and give details of one I have used successfully.
For the process of both reducing silver chlorides by the caustic / corn syrup method or the 10% sulfuric iron method this system is effective. It is also effective for cyanide stripping as well.
The crux of the mixer is a small bucket called an odd job mixer. It is used to hold a bag of pre mix concrete and roll it on the floor to mix it. It has lifters to mix the load as it spins. It is pictured below in the attachment.
But laying it on the floor and rolling it about is great for mixing fluxes, it is best while processing chemicals that it be rotated at an angle of about 45° to keep the liquid contained
That is done by buying one of these small inexpensive cement mixers, taking out the paddles and removing the top half so the odd job mixer will fit inside and rotate. I used some wood shims to lock it in place so it stays put. It rotates at about 35 rpm so it’s good to keep the lid screwed on the odd job mixer when using it. Simply set the angle to about 45° and let it spin.
I have used similar tumblers and controlled the speed much slower to get slow speeds like 10 rpm and used this for aqua regia digestions. Some of the motors on these can be slowed by a simple rheostat and others cannot for electrical reasons I don’t understand. Perhaps some of our electrically inclined members could explain that for us.
By controlling the speed and making the odd job mixer removable, I have used separate odd job mixers for aqua regia, cyanide, and silver chloride reductions. I always reserved a separate odd job cylinder for each type of processing for safety reasons.
For aqua regia, with a slow spin, I added a small (1 1/2”) hole to the lid and put an exhaust drop to run the NOx through the scrubber.
All in all this simple setup can be quite versatile for a refining operation.
For the process of both reducing silver chlorides by the caustic / corn syrup method or the 10% sulfuric iron method this system is effective. It is also effective for cyanide stripping as well.
The crux of the mixer is a small bucket called an odd job mixer. It is used to hold a bag of pre mix concrete and roll it on the floor to mix it. It has lifters to mix the load as it spins. It is pictured below in the attachment.
But laying it on the floor and rolling it about is great for mixing fluxes, it is best while processing chemicals that it be rotated at an angle of about 45° to keep the liquid contained
That is done by buying one of these small inexpensive cement mixers, taking out the paddles and removing the top half so the odd job mixer will fit inside and rotate. I used some wood shims to lock it in place so it stays put. It rotates at about 35 rpm so it’s good to keep the lid screwed on the odd job mixer when using it. Simply set the angle to about 45° and let it spin.
I have used similar tumblers and controlled the speed much slower to get slow speeds like 10 rpm and used this for aqua regia digestions. Some of the motors on these can be slowed by a simple rheostat and others cannot for electrical reasons I don’t understand. Perhaps some of our electrically inclined members could explain that for us.
By controlling the speed and making the odd job mixer removable, I have used separate odd job mixers for aqua regia, cyanide, and silver chloride reductions. I always reserved a separate odd job cylinder for each type of processing for safety reasons.
For aqua regia, with a slow spin, I added a small (1 1/2”) hole to the lid and put an exhaust drop to run the NOx through the scrubber.
All in all this simple setup can be quite versatile for a refining operation.
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