Precious metals from water

[Naughtius Maximus]

Ken Wei at U of Idaho developed a method of extracting uranium from sea water. I haven't read his stuff but it might be interesting.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Ken Wei at U of Idaho developed a method of extracting uranium from sea water. I haven't read his stuff but it might be interesting.

There was a research group that developed a syntetic fiber that trapped Uranium in seawater.
It looked like a bunch of hair strands but wite and rather long.
If I remember correctly it collected some 82 grams over a period of 3 or 6 months.
So when/if these can be mass produced in the correct configuration some time in the future....
Who knows what can be done.

Anyway it is a world a part from what is discussed here.

 

[4metals]

I think he boils it with the Hypochlorite and then add Copperas.

I was thinking about how confusion seeps into our refining discussions and a lot comes from some of the words we use. Copperas is one of those words which has evolved from a very early meaning to what we call ferrous sulfate here on the forum. I am guilty of this too. So I pulled out a few old textbooks and looked up where the word that sounds like it means copper came to mean iron.

Back in the day sulfates were called vitriol and copper sulfate was called blue vitriol (or blue copperas) and ferrous sulfate was called green vitriol (or green copperas) When the use of vitriol was phased out somehow green vitriol became shortened to simply copperas. And that is a common use of the word today despite having absolutely nothing to do with copper.
A lot of the folks I've taught to refine use ferrous sulfate which I called copperas, but I always provided them with details of where to acquire the chemicals they needed for refining so they actually knew both names. Today I would simply use ferrous sulfate and skip the history lesson.

Same is true for sodium thiosulfate also known as prismatic rice.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Same is true for sodium thiosulfate also known as prismatic rice.

I had to look that one up back in 2018. Not much used here, but worth the reminder.

Dave

 

[Yggdrasil]

I was thinking about how confusion seeps into our refining discussions and a lot comes from some of the words we use. Copperas is one of those words which has evolved from a very early meaning to what we call ferrous sulfate here on the forum. I am guilty of this too. So I pulled out a few old textbooks and looked up where the word that sounds like it means copper came to mean iron.

Back in the day sulfates were called vitriol and copper sulfate was called blue vitriol (or blue copperas) and ferrous sulfate was called green vitriol (or green copperas) When the use of vitriol was phased out somehow green vitriol became shortened to simply copperas. And that is a common use of the word today despite having absolutely nothing to do with copper.
A lot of the folks I've taught to refine use ferrous sulfate which I called copperas, but I always provided them with details of where to acquire the chemicals they needed for refining so they actually knew both names. Today I would simply use ferrous sulfate and skip the history lesson.

Same is true for sodium thiosulfate also known as prismatic rice.

That one was just an attack of laziness, I just did not have the energy to write Iron Sulfate on my phone, so I chose the short version.

 

[4metals]

so I chose the short version.

Technically it's ferrous sulfate heptahydrate. Try typing that on a phone!!

Honestly I was not being critical of your use of the word as it is commonly used here. Besides you do an amazing job responding to every little peep that comes our way and I appreciate that.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Technically it's ferrous sulfate heptahydrate. Try typing that on a phone!!

Honestly I was not being critical of your use of the word as it is commonly used here. Besides you do an amazing job responding to every little peep that comes our way and I appreciate that.

Hmm, when it is dissolved in an aqueos solution it is no longer a hydrate is it?
That are the condition of the crystalline salt as I understand it.
Which make me wonder, do it decompose if one tries to make it anhydreous?

 

[4metals]

Hmm, when it is dissolved in an aqueos solution it is no longer a hydrate is it?

No the heptahydrate is the nice green crystalline powder. And I believe if it was anhydrous it would become ferric, this may depend on how you get rid of the water.

 

[4metals]

I remember years back I was working for a guy adding a new process and while I was there they caught a guy stealing. He didn't work in the chemical refinery but in the hallway bags of reagents were stored and apparently a bag of ferrous sulfate got wet and dripped on to the floor slowly over time and an anthill sized pile of gold colored metal accumulated. This guy saw it, and he saw no one was looking, so. he scooped it up and tried to take it home. Well they caught him and fired him. They knew it wasn't gold so they didn't press charges. Besides if the guy had to go to prison he would have been embarrassed to admit when asked what he was in for if he had to say stealing Rust!

 

[Shark]

Besides you do an amazing job responding to every little peep that comes our way and I appreciate that.

Agreed, I think he sleeps about as much as I do. Very little most days.