teclu said:
Now, which is the amount of nitric 70% required to dissolve 1 gram of Pd?
Unfortunately, I am unable to answer that question. Were it my problem, I'd introduce a small amount and see how far it goes. You can then judge how much would be required. Others on the forum have the math skills and knowledge to answer your question directly.
Assuming i have 1 liter of nitric solution(50/50) with dizolvated Pd in, if I use a copper plate or sheet , which is the amount of copper consumed for cementing 1 oz of Pd, and how long is the process of cementing, approximately?
The amount of copper that would be consumed would not be extreme, but, again, I am unable to answer that question. I simply don't know.
As far as the time required, as I mentioned, the more surface area you provide, the faster it will cement. Providing even a vague answer wouldn't be prudent. You should be able to recover all of your palladium in a full day, assuming you use a reasonable amount of copper.
It is VERY important that you be able to judge what you have in solution, otherwise you may be wasting your time. Test the solution with stannous chloride, or if you have doubts about the results, use DMG. With DMG, the test will result in a brilliant yellow precipitate if you have any palladium present. It is a very sensitive test, so even traces of palladium will yield a visible amount of the precipitate.
How to wash the black powder?
I would not consider the recovered powder as having been refined, only recovered. Palladium, unlike gold, will NOT precipitate from a dilute solution. That's why I suggested you recover it with copper. I would rinse the recovered black powder well with water, dry it and then store it for the day when I had enough to re-process. I would then dissolve it in nitric, evaporate, filter, then precipitate using ammonium chloride and sodium chlorate. It is done hot, not cold. Read Hoke for clarification.
Hope this helps.
Harold