Questions about tin chloride

[glondor]

Hey all. I had a solution with a lot of tin in it. Lots of foils as well. I managed to wash out most of the tin using a plastic coffee filter that has a real fine gold screen.

I was trying to reduce the tin while I was waiting for other processes to work. Just killing time really. It worked fairly well to remove most of the tin and retain the small foil flecks in the coffee filter screen.

I decided to try an experiment, I put the foils and tin chloride in a beaker with a bit of water... Rather than incinerate to denoxx and destroy the nitric I added a few lye crystals. Poured off the lye solution and added HCL and dissolved the tin. The process made a yellow solution that was negative for gold. Easily filtered that solution off and ended up with the little gold foils clean and intact.

I did this with very small amounts of chemicals and materials to see if it would work. It worked well. As I said, just an off the cuff experiment.

My question is>>>> Is this chemistry safe? I don't want to make any kind of explosive material.

 

[Geo]

so the original solution was a nitric solution? tin should have presented as metastannic acid which is insoluble and should not dissolve in hcl.

quote : I decided to try an experiment, I put the foils and tin chloride in a beaker with a bit of water... Rather than incinerate to denoxx and destroy the nitric I added a few lye crystals

 

[glondor]

OK I am not sure what I am dealing with then. I did this experiment based on Harold's description of tin chloride control. I just substituted chemical destruction of the Nitric vs incineration.

When the slime washes away the remainder does act with the hcl to make a yellow solution leaving the gold flakes untouched. There is also a white crystal salt present in the filter that goes into the hcl as well. It is not lead as there is no reduction of the white material with hot water. What could it be? The mother material is some nice pins. I assumed it was tin chloride.

 

[Geo]

could it be copper chloride? it will dissolve with hcl.

could be zinc from the brass pins.

 

[glondor]

Does zinc turn to slime in Nitric?

 

[Geo]

not sure about slime, but as i remember, it makes a brownish sludge.

 

[butcher]

HCl + NaOH = table salt and water.

Other base metals in solution can form oxides or hydroxides with the caustic solution.

nitric and sodium hydroxide can form sodium nitrate, and water.

 

[glondor]

Thanks guys. I am not sure what the white slime goo is but I know more of what it is not. I will work on the process a bit as time and material allow. Just worried about making something that would go boom.