microwave refining ?

[goldfinder95389]

I was wondering if anyone has tried out the Microwave oven method/An would or would not vouch for it?

 

[jeneje]

Welcome to the forum,

What are you trying to do with the microwave? What are you wanting to process? There are a lot of methods on this forum.

Ken

 

[Lou]

Use it every day for samples. Not refining, but pressure digestion.

 

[jeneje]

Use it every day for samples. Not refining, but pressure digestion.

Lou,
Do you use the MWS-3 for samples or is your homemade type.
Ken

 

[Lou]

It's a CEM MDS81D.

 

[goldfinder95389]

I am looking for some first hand knowledge.From Perhaps anyone that has worked with one.That would offer any advice As the Place I`m residing in Is somewhat limited . So I want to be considerate of my neighbors. It looks like the micr wave process maybe the way to go if it does not throw out a lot of fumes. I would think the equipment would be somewhat portable . To transport And setup .Any thoughts on either or?I Thank you all for your time and consideration .

 

[cnbarr]

It's a CEM MDS81D.

Hey Lou,

Do you have a good digestion method (microwave or other) for PGM's, that you'd be willing to share. I've currently been doing a nickel sulfide fusion then spiking with tellerium and 20% SnCl2, but my gold and osmium levels have been coming in quite low SCRM's when testing with ICP/OES.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly apprecieated?

Chris

 

[Lou]

You should be spiking with yttrium.

As far as digestion methods go, that's really case-specific and depends on the matrix. Happy to help, can it be ***-for-tat and I get some ICP-OES work on the house ?

Typically, we press a pellet, XRF to get a rough idea of what we're looking at, then digest accordingly.

 

[cnbarr]

You should be spiking with yttrium.

As far as digestion methods go, that's really case-specific and depends on the matrix. Happy to help, can it be ***-for-tat and I get some ICP-OES work on the house ?

Typically, we press a pellet, XRF to get a rough idea of what we're looking at, then digest accordingly.

I gues I should have mentioned that the samples are mostly ore con's and tails. I'll try the yttirium spike.

I can see what I can do on the ICP work, my boss man is usually cool with a few samples getting slipped in as long as it doesn't disrupt the normal work flow. Aside from the ICP-OES we also have two ICP-MS's, one of which is being outfited with a laser ablation unit.

 

[snowdog20]

Actually I have used a microwave kiln before. In the process of learning how to use one I practically destroyed it. Nonetheless they work. I honed in my skill with one using copper. Instead of the 30 mins it takes that they advertise, it actually takes around two hours of microwaving time with a 1,200 watt oven. You have to be absolutely strict about not letting you're crucible boil over. This is a given in any smelting attempt. The ceramic tiles will hold overflow material, but this is how I messed up mine. Happened enough times that it broke in half. My assessment is that it's a decent smelting method if you have limited funds, however on the flipside you'll have to exercise greater diligence in safety precautions.