Need a HCN gas detector

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anachronism said:
Haha that pretty much sums it up.
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Well, not at all.
If that were the case, they would not sell Cyanide antidote kits.
Much like drowning, a well-trained individual with access to the necessary equipment can revive a completely unconscious individual.
The exact outcome will depend on the exact level of toxicity, the correct IV infusion or simple amyl nitrite inhalation can save people who otherwise would succumb to the poisoning quite quickly.
Second count, so have the kit close to hand and have someone who knows how to use it close at hand dose save people's lives.
Or it would not be recommended by most all labs mines and plating operations.
I know the individuals working in solitude is the norm among us, but it is not always safe.
 
Very little of what we do is really safe in the hands of people ignorant of the dangers and risks involved or of the proper way of negating those dangers and risks.
Those that just leap in to this hobby/ occupation without studying are very very foolish and yes cyanide is deadly if not treated with respect and full understanding, I can remember well when Jon would hide in the house while I was using it but he learnt that if handled correctly it’s safer than many other reagents. I have never been complacent when I am using it, I know the risks and dangers and know what I can and can’t do.
In my opinion refining platinum group metals is much more scary and that’s something I did rarely as there is no way to know when you get that final dose of poisoning that will kill you very slowly and not overly pleasantly.
 
nickvc said:
Very little of what we do is really safe in the hands of people ignorant of the dangers and risks involved or of the proper way of negating those dangers and risks.
Those that just leap in to this hobby/ occupation without studying are very very foolish and yes cyanide is deadly if not treated with respect and full understanding, I can remember well when Jon would hide in the house while I was using it but he learnt that if handled correctly it’s safer than many other reagents. I have never been complacent when I am using it, I know the risks and dangers and know what I can and can’t do.
In my opinion refining platinum group metals is much more scary and that’s something I did rarely as there is no way to know when you get that final dose of poisoning that will kill you very slowly and not overly pleasantly.
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Damn right I was terrified of it until I understood the chemistry behind it. I have absolutely no problem admitting to that.
A bit of a long edit but worth it for context:
Knowing what something does is one thing. Knowing why it does it is another. It's easy to be scared of things we don't understand, so the best thing to do is hit the books and learn about it because very often (and certainly in this case) knowledge brings clarity. Nick showed me the how, which in its basic form is quite scary. Learning the why takes the mystique out of it, and the knowledge removes the unreasoned fear that's perfectly natural but ultimately springs from a lack of understanding. The why was learned in the main from a particularly knowledgeable fella who has both the chemistry knowledge and operators knowledge based upon decades of commercial experience.

Short version - if you learn why, things become a lot clearer than merely following a set of instructions.

Jon
 
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Just a very quick update on this project

This last weekend I finished up with the electrowinning part of this project - washed the chem out of the recovered gold - dried it & weighed it which came in right at 31.5 ozt.

This was done with 7 batches done in my 5 liter cell

I received 35 bottles of the PGC (Potassium Gold Cyanide) plating salts each bottle (supposedly) containing 1 ozt gold should have = 35 ozt - however - a few of the bottles where not completely full --- according to my notes on the not full bottles = "about" 2 - 2.5 ozt short of the 35 ozt (according the "bottle count")

Still need to "mop up" any traces of gold left behind (in the electrolyte) from the winning process with shredded aluminum foil to recover gold not recovered by electrowinning (cementation process) which will of course add to the current 31.5 ozt

This next weekend will be spent melting & pouring 1 ozt bars

Full report will be posted when project is "completed"

Kurt
 
Quick question for the CN pros - once I am done with cementing the traces of gold from my electrolyte (after the winning process) I am going to have something like "about" 12 gallons of CN waste that I am going to have to make safe for disposal

There are several ways to do that one of which would be the bleach method which was my first thought

However - UV is another way of destroying CN I just am not sure how effective UV is at the destruction of CN

So I am thinking of simply putting the waste out in the sun to evaporate it back down to salts

My question is will this decompose the CN such that those salt will actually then be safe for disposal (just throw them in the trash which of course then goes to the landfill) ?

Kurt
 
I am curious if one of those hand held UV phone sanitizer’s would worked. Or maybe speed up the process over sitting it in the sun. They also make larger ones that were used in some restaurants and fish markets.
 
As per Shark's comment. There are UV LED strips which if bought at the right frequency can do a good job over time if the liquid is kept moving. I think Nick would go with the Sodium Hypochlorite approach.
 
Prefaced with "I'm the opposite of a CN pro, just sharing a link and some info about LEDs"

Last I checked, UV LEDs start getting expensive when you are looking for higher optical power output at lower wavelengths like 375nm and below. Germicidal UV discharge tubes are likely still more cost-effective means of getting a good amount of UV power output, and are very short wave compared to the common cheap UV LED. But there are quite a few different types of UV discharge lamps, with varying electrical requirements to run them too.

Sorry, I know nothing at all about CN degradation under UV, but I did find this link to "Photochemical Degradation of Cyanides and Thiocyanates from an Industrial Wastewater" (2019, Mediavilla, et. al.) which uses 4 different UV lamps, and has some nice graphs to show their findings of rate of degradation. Because this is related to treating wastewater with concentrations of a couple hundred mg/L, I'm not sure how well that info can extrapolate to higher concentration solutions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480199/

Edit: missing quote marks
 
kurtak said:
I am going to be working with some potassium gold cyanide salts (plating salts) so I am wanting/needing to get a "personal" (clip on) HCN detector before starting in on the gold recovery from these salts

The only U. S. based seller I could find was this company --------

https://www.forensicsdetectors.com/products/hydrogen-cyanide-detector-1

But when I called there contact number to place an order I got a message saying to email them - or leave a message

I hate doing business with someone (company) that doesn't answer their phone with someone you can actually talk to with questions before I place an order

So I am wondering if any of our members have contact info for a U. S. based company that sells HCN detectors

I am also going to be needing a new ORP meter - so if anyone knows of a company that sells ether of those items &/or both the HCN detectors & ORP meters would be great

In other words - I looking for company contact info for more then one company so that I can review options for the items I am looking for

Kurt
Click to expand...
I ordered Forensics Detectors Hydrogen Cyanide Detector and I like it. You can try contacting them again and they are more responsive now.
 
Silver foil might be a quick and dirty detector. It should turn black quickly in the presence of HCN. From my own experience you feel ill pretty fast when exposed to HCN. I was in an Indian lab that was pretty sloppy and it was burping up from the drain.
 
Just wanted to share an update about the Forensics Detectors Hydrogen Cyanide Detector - after using it for a while now, it's proven to be a reliable tool. And you're right about their customer service - they've maintained their improved response times. Quick communication combined with quality equipment makes for a great experience. Really happy with my purchase.

 

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