Hello members,
I have been processing my waste liquids and everything has gone off without a hitch. To see the process of placing copper in the bucket and then filter that solution and then place steel in it and then filter that, and then put baking soda in it to drop out the steel is very exciting, although I haven't filtered my copper out of the solution yet. I'll probably do that today sometime.
But here is what I have. After I placed my copper in the solution, it took approximately 2+ weeks for most of the copper to dissolve. After another week and the remaining copper wouldn't dissolve, I knew that stage of the waste disposal was completed. I then filtered the solution into another 5 gallon bucket, leaving all the sludge in the original bucket. I then poured the sludge into a 2000mL beaker and I filled it with water. The solution was blue. After letting it settle for a few days, I decanted the liquid out, and filled it up again and decanted that until my solution was clear and my pH test was at 7.
After I new the sludge was free of the chemicals and now pH balanced, I added approximately 400mL of water to the beaker and added approximately 40mL of Nitric Acid to the water and placed it on low heat. The beaker eventually started getting red/brown and I knew the Nitric was dissolving something in the sludge. After the reaction stopped and after turning up the heat to high, nothing happened, so I added just about 10mL more of Nitric to see if it would start browning the solution or not. After I exhausted all the Nitric Acid in the solution, I let it sit overnight.
When I decanted the nitric acid from the solution and put it into a smaller beaker, I noticed that the next day when I looked at it, the spent nitric solution looks just like gold standard. So, as I pulled up the forum to post this, something told me to go and do a stannous test on it. So, I went and did a stannous test on the nitric solution and then it stared turning dark, almost like a brownish color, and at the bottom of that beaker, there is some sludge in it too.
My questions are:
a) should I place copper in the solution to see what may drop out of it or,
b) should I add SMB to it to see if it'll drop out any gold.
The sludge have since been dissolved with AR and I have dropped the gold with SMB, and have been rinsed well enough to place the pH level to a 7. Now I have to add either some muriatic acid or I could use some nitric to dissolve anything not gold and rinse again and then dry it and then on to the melt.
Below are the pictures of what I'm talking about.
Any insight is welcome.
Thanks!
[UPDATE @ 3:45PM CST] I just checked the spoon and the brown is now gone, and the solution is still the color it was in the beginning.
I have been processing my waste liquids and everything has gone off without a hitch. To see the process of placing copper in the bucket and then filter that solution and then place steel in it and then filter that, and then put baking soda in it to drop out the steel is very exciting, although I haven't filtered my copper out of the solution yet. I'll probably do that today sometime.
But here is what I have. After I placed my copper in the solution, it took approximately 2+ weeks for most of the copper to dissolve. After another week and the remaining copper wouldn't dissolve, I knew that stage of the waste disposal was completed. I then filtered the solution into another 5 gallon bucket, leaving all the sludge in the original bucket. I then poured the sludge into a 2000mL beaker and I filled it with water. The solution was blue. After letting it settle for a few days, I decanted the liquid out, and filled it up again and decanted that until my solution was clear and my pH test was at 7.
After I new the sludge was free of the chemicals and now pH balanced, I added approximately 400mL of water to the beaker and added approximately 40mL of Nitric Acid to the water and placed it on low heat. The beaker eventually started getting red/brown and I knew the Nitric was dissolving something in the sludge. After the reaction stopped and after turning up the heat to high, nothing happened, so I added just about 10mL more of Nitric to see if it would start browning the solution or not. After I exhausted all the Nitric Acid in the solution, I let it sit overnight.
When I decanted the nitric acid from the solution and put it into a smaller beaker, I noticed that the next day when I looked at it, the spent nitric solution looks just like gold standard. So, as I pulled up the forum to post this, something told me to go and do a stannous test on it. So, I went and did a stannous test on the nitric solution and then it stared turning dark, almost like a brownish color, and at the bottom of that beaker, there is some sludge in it too.
My questions are:
a) should I place copper in the solution to see what may drop out of it or,
b) should I add SMB to it to see if it'll drop out any gold.
The sludge have since been dissolved with AR and I have dropped the gold with SMB, and have been rinsed well enough to place the pH level to a 7. Now I have to add either some muriatic acid or I could use some nitric to dissolve anything not gold and rinse again and then dry it and then on to the melt.
Below are the pictures of what I'm talking about.
Any insight is welcome.
Thanks!
[UPDATE @ 3:45PM CST] I just checked the spoon and the brown is now gone, and the solution is still the color it was in the beginning.
