Recovering from AR spill

[brettsacto]

Hi all,

Newbie, first post - and of course it is asking for assistance. I think I know the answer, I just am looking some confirmation.

I had my work box setup with some foam inside a cardboard box on the workbench to pad the beakers - and with my luck the process generated enough heat to allow the foam to melt and the whole AR beaker with solution tipped and spilled across the foam and box.

I had a lot in solution (and a lot of heat) so I'm just confirming that I can break down what I have that is coated in the solution once it dries and re-AR it, or I can even cut out the parts of the cardboard and burn them to ash and recover the gold from the ash with AR.

The last of it I am will dry onto the surface and can be swept up once completely dry and re-washed and re-AR'd

Specific questions

Although it will release fumes, I can burn all of the stuff in a beaker, and once in carbon form - the gold is still gold and is within the ashes - correct?

The spill soaked through the foam and cardboard - any other bright ideas? I'd really hate to run foam and cardboard through AR and end up with the muck - but there's enough gold to make it worth while if burning and reducing to ash won't work.

Uhg what a waste of chemicals!!!

Thanks in advance for any answers and maybe even other ideas on how to recover the spilled gold.

For the record, the safety measures I took worked, nobody was affected or harmed, and the spill was contained in a safe place. Now it's just a recovery problem!

 

[Harold_V]

Incinerate in a beaker?
Not a good idea, at least not from my perspective. They tolerate heat well, but they do not tolerate thermal shock, which is most likely going to break the beaker. You will be unable to heat it to the point where carbon ignites. If you don't heat that hot, you have not properly incinerated.

Try using a stainless fry pan, one that is no longer needed, as it will be destroyed in the process of heating excessively. It will be fine for incineration, but no longer suited to frying those eggs and bacon you enjoy.

My personal opinion?

No one in their right mind processes substances that can be incinerated without doing so, in particular if they offer the risk of creating explosive substances, or substances that burn rapidly. Nitric acid has a way of doing just that.

Do keep in mind, I did all of my incinerating in a hood with a filter system, so values were not lost.

Harold

 

[brettsacto]

Thanks for the reply Harold,

I know that whatever I use will become a "throw away" but my big concern is that there is a lot of gold sitting in sludge throughout the material. I don't mind sacrificing a pan or 3 for this amount of gold, I am just looking for the gotchas involved.

I am going to try and bathe it all in a big tub and recover that way first - a lot less hassle and although will cost more in chemicals, I feel safer about it. The last resort would be to burn the material.

All the logic and knowledge in my head tells me that the gold won't burn up and will be present after all the material is burned off, I just wanted someone to confirm (or deny!) that if I choose this method, that the gold will be recoverable after all the materials are burned.

After many small batches run successfully, I decided to "go big" and get the most use out of the chemicals I had and didn't properly anticipate the heat. Failure I can accept, but throwing the gold out with the bathwater is not acceptable.

Cheers!

 

[qst42know]

The cardboard will turn to cellulose pulp and dissolve no further and the foam depending on the type may just turn to goo.

Best to follow Harold's advice and cut your losses.