Nitric Acid - cold temps

[bhilton]

Hello,

I have half a pound of gold fingers, plus lots of gold plated pins, connectors (like wifi antenna ends), and ribbon fingers. Now I'm ready to separate the gold starting with Nitric Acid & distilled water.

I attempted to keep my material clean, removing all traces of tin & solder (to the best of my ability, I'm guessing there will be the small bits of solder that I missed somewhere).

The current temperature outside is -8 C (17.6F). Will the Nitric Acid dissolve base metals in that temp or not really at all?

If the answer is "slow", how much slower - any guesses?

Can I use a hot plate on a low setting to speed the process up?


Thank you!

Bill

 

[Yggdrasil]

Hello,

I have half a pound of gold fingers, plus lots of gold plated pins, connectors (like wifi antenna ends), and ribbon fingers. Now I'm ready to separate the gold starting with Nitric Acid & distilled water.

I attempted to keep my material clean, removing all traces of tin & solder (to the best of my ability, I'm guessing there will be the small bits of solder that I missed somewhere).

The current temperature outside is -8 C (17.6F). Will the Nitric Acid dissolve base metals in that temp or not really at all?

If the answer is "slow", how much slower - any guesses?

Can I use a hot plate on a low setting to speed the process up?


Thank you!

Bill

Are you finished with your studies already??
Do you have all safety measures and waste treatment planned?
I really do urge you to study the book of Hoke from the links I gave you.

Most of us use something called a Cupric Chloride leach for taking care of the base metals from under the plating.
It will not create the dreaded Tin paste and it is cheap.

You might not be in a hurry but unless you slow down and do your studies properly,
you might end up with problems or injuries.

Youtube is probably our number one cause of trouble.
There is just a few trusted YouTube channels out there.
Like Sreetips, Aquila Owltech and a few more.

 

[bhilton]

Far from finished studying, still doing lots of research and reading. Working on a waste treatment too.

I have some safety gear already and I am still deciding which full face mask to order. I'm am making sure I understand what fumes are being released during these processes so I have the correct cartridges. * I will ALWAYS be working outside in an open area. I do not want to, and I will not, work inside a closed space. I live in the country, far from any people in the public.

Thanks for the tip on dealing with the dreaded tin paste!

 

[Yggdrasil]

Far from finished studying, still doing lots of research and reading. Working on a waste treatment too.

I have some safety gear already and I am still deciding which full face mask to order. I'm am making sure I understand what fumes are being released during these processes so I have the correct cartridges. * I will ALWAYS be working outside in an open area. I do not want to, and I will not, work inside a closed space. I live in the country, far from any people in the public.

Thanks for the tip on dealing with the dreaded tin paste!

Face masks are not for refining!!!
It can be in the lab for emergency evacuation, not for refining.
You need a fume hood with the ability to decompose the fumes.
If you are working outside you at least need a fan to be able to control which way the fumes go.

 

[4metals]

Be careful with glass beakers on a hot plate in extreme cold conditions. Consider a 5 gallon bucket with a heat band. They make heat bands for use on plastic pails.

For less fume you could consider AP to release foils from the copper underplate. Slower, but not as fume intensive, but it needs some heat as well. You. may want to read up on that process before you commit to a nitric leach. This process is best at 80-90º F. And it will take days, 2 or 3 at best. Read about it.

For an inexpensive hood, considering your rural location, I have seen a large plywood box, with a box fan pulling air out from one end. Facing downwind, this may suffice for a hobby start up. The fan will not last forever but it should last a while.

 

[bhilton]

I was thinking instead of goggles, why not just get a face mask to be extra safe.

 

[bhilton]

Be careful with glass beakers on a hot plate in extreme cold conditions. Consider a 5 gallon bucket with a heat band. They make heat bands for use on plastic pails.

For less fume you could consider AP to release foils from the copper underplate. Slower, but not as fume intensive, but it needs some heat as well. You. may want to read up on that process before you commit to a nitric leach. This process is best at 80-90º F. And it will take days, 2 or 3 at best. Read about it.

For an inexpensive hood, considering your rural location, I have seen a large plywood box, with a box fan pulling air out from one end. Facing downwind, this may suffice for a hobby start up. The fan will not last forever but it should last a while.

The only reason I was planning to do nitric leach is to avoid waiting weeks for AP. From what I've seen most people still have unreleased foils after weeks!

I'm not in a rush - but I also would prefer a method that does not involve leaving chemicals out (for the most part) unsupervised for weeks.

I'm trying to find a balance of "keep it simple stupid" and safely speeding the process up (from start to finish).

At some point I will build a fume hood, I have the materials to do it.

I will avoid the beaker & hot plate while it is cold outside for now, thank you.