scrap barber blades

[arthur kierski]

I have used barber inox blades with platinum edges--thinking of extracting the pt edges-- it is a inox stell blade with a thin layer of pt in its edge--Any sugestion from members? Thanks

 

[Martijn]

If the platina plating does not come off with nitric; My hobbyist idea:
Get the Pt off with molten lead? Cupel the lead and you're done. One knife at a time in a small long stainless container on a hot plate. or even a drop on a soldering iron could dissolve it? Not sure how long it takes to go in solution. I looked up dissolution rates of Pt in lead, but all articles talk about lead free solder, which dissolves pm's faster as i understood. don't know if you can cupel Sn.

 

[Justincase]

Stainless steel can be pacified by what is referred to as "Reverse AR".
Same process as stainless steel watch bands.

 

[arthur kierski]

Stainless steel can be pacified by what is referred to as "Reverse AR".
Same process as stainless steel watch bands.

Yes,you are right--I am going to use reverse Ar to separate the Steel(stainless) from the PT

 

[Justincase]

Yes,you are right--I am going to use reverse Ar to separate the Steel(stainless) from the PT

It can be a little bit tricky to get right.
Enough Hydrochloric to digest the target element, but not so much as to rupture the pacifying layer on the S.S.
A very fine line that will blow up in your face if you get it wrong.
You will want a good reaction vessel with reflux and fume mitigation to process anything over experimental quantities.
Also, I use an overflow path for run-away-reactions, just in case what can go wrong does go wrong.

 

[arthur kierski]

If the platina plating does not come off with nitric; My hobbyist idea:
Get the Pt off with molten lead? Cupel the lead and you're done. One knife at a time in a small long stainless container on a hot plate. or even a drop on a soldering iron could dissolve it? Not sure how long it takes to go in solution. I looked up dissolution rates of Pt in lead, but all articles talk about lead free solder, which dissolves pm's faster as i understood. don't know if you can cupel Sn.

Martijn,as you mentioned,the stainles does not separate from the Pt with nitric--Justincase in a thread above reminded me of pacification of the steel with reverse AR--after pacification,i will separate the now Iron, with sulfuric acid from the platinum--Perhaps my English is confused--sorry and regards.

 

[arthur kierski]

It can be a little bit tricky to get right.
Enough Hydrochloric to digest the target element, but not so much as to rupture the pacifying layer on the S.S.
A very fine line that will blow up in your face if you get it wrong.
You will want a good reaction vessel with reflux and fume mitigation to process anything over experimental quantities.
Also, I use an overflow path for run-away-reactions, just in case what can go wrong does go wrong.

I will take great care.Thanks for warning me-i had a problem similar with, pd and nh4cl,i made a bomb(thanks GOD,nothing very seriously happened)Regards, Arthur.

 

[Justincase]

Martijn,as you mentioned,the stainles does not separate from the Pt with nitric--Justincase in a thread above reminded me of pacification of the steel with reverse AR--after pacification,i will separate the now Iron, with sulfuric acid from the platinum--Perhaps my English is confused--sorry and regards.

If you would like me to walk you through my understanding of the process.
Please do feel free to PM me.
In this process we are using Nitric as the main acid as it pacifies stainless steel and small amounts of Hydrochloric.
The exact opposite to most A.R. Digestions.
And as such, you will have to evaporate a great deal of nitric acid before precipitation.
The process is very wasteful and causes large amounts of corrosive vapours.
Please address the safety and fume mitigation necessary to operate safely and without danger to the people close to you before going forward.
Platinum Group recovery and refinement are amongst the most demanding and dangerous elements to work with.
There must be an industrial processor who would undertake the contract.
Gold you can sell in small quantities anywhere, but unfinished P,G,M's can not be readily liquidated in small quantities.

 

[arthur kierski]

Thanks again,i will take great care before doing anything-When i have tricky extractions,i always asked advice from other members--Thank you again .Yours Arthur Kierski

 

[Justincase]

Thanks again,i will take great care before doing anything-When i have tricky extractions,i always asked advice from other members--Thank you again .Yours Arthur Kierski

Ms Hoke's ultimate lesson to us was when it is profitable for us to refine metals.
This seems to be somewhat lost on most people.
It is ultimately uneconomical to chase small returns for high costs.
I have all my P,G,M, s from almost twenty years of processing.
I still can not find a way to liquidate them transparently, yielding more than 50% of their approximate value.
matthey.com has a monopoly that requires a very large lot.