Here is my question. I have recovered some silver plated items using reverse electrolysis. Now I want to refine it to a higher purity than the 800 that it is. Does anyone know of a way to do this? I have read the book page 179 to be exact and it talks about disolving in acid from the get go which I am trying to avoid so that I don’t have too many buckets of solution laying around. Any help would be appreciated.
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Bullion.Forum
Silver plate refining
- Thread starter Mac1969
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There isn't really a way to refine silver without acid. The best way would be to deal with your waste before it piles up. That also makes it easier to work with in smaller quantities. You can also learn to clean up your nitric acid from dissolving the silver and reuse much of it again. It really depends on how much you want to learn and the amount of effort you want to apply to it.
So if I want to refine the recovered silver plate that I have can it be done? If so how.
Yes, it can be done. But it needs acid, nitric acid would be my first choice. Heat it to a low red heat, let cool, and dissolve it in nitric acid. Once dissolved, cement the silver out using copper. Rinse with water well and, when done right, can give 98 + pure silver.
Long way around, dry it, weight it. Add copper until your silver is 5% or less of the weight. Melt it into a bar or bars and run it in a copper cell. The dark slimes left will hold your silver and a good cell will leave high purity copper as well. The slimes will need further refining and more acids.
This why the nitric route is most often chosen to refine silver. Both work, both take time, and both can give decent quality silver. The entire "how to's" are posted in the forum but it takes time and study to get them down really well.
These are just brief outlines of how to do it. It will take more study to get it all down.
Long way around, dry it, weight it. Add copper until your silver is 5% or less of the weight. Melt it into a bar or bars and run it in a copper cell. The dark slimes left will hold your silver and a good cell will leave high purity copper as well. The slimes will need further refining and more acids.
This why the nitric route is most often chosen to refine silver. Both work, both take time, and both can give decent quality silver. The entire "how to's" are posted in the forum but it takes time and study to get them down really well.
These are just brief outlines of how to do it. It will take more study to get it all down.
What about using AR? Would that purify it? I don’t mind using the acids it more if there is a household chemical way it’s easier to get.
I believe I may have come up with a way to refine silver plating.
After doing a reverse electroplate collect silver and mix it in a solution of HCL and Potassium Nitrate (this should make a low form of nitric) along with more HCL which should give a low grade Aquia Regia solution. Let it dissolve into the solution then use the lye and sugar method to refine it to somewhat pure silver.
Any input would be appreciated.
After doing a reverse electroplate collect silver and mix it in a solution of HCL and Potassium Nitrate (this should make a low form of nitric) along with more HCL which should give a low grade Aquia Regia solution. Let it dissolve into the solution then use the lye and sugar method to refine it to somewhat pure silver.
Any input would be appreciated.
Silver do not dissolve in AR, HCl or other Chlorine containing media.
This mean it will not create much Silver Chloride at all.
If you dissolve itbin Nitric and add HCl or other Chloride it will form Silver Chloride.
No, it will not dissolve in KNO3 and HCl. The Cl in the HCl will stop it from dissolving.
You can add KNO3 to Sulfuric acid and create a poor mans Nitric and dissolve it in that.
H2O cell is the easiest to learn. Most methods mentioned for refining silver plate was meant for the recovery of the object being plated and not for the silver. This way a badly plated surface can be removed and the valuable item can be recovered and replated.
For using home made nitric search for "Poorman's Nitric".
Butcher (RIP) had post that is helpful along the lines of "killing two birds with one stone". Having done both methods I would look into the H2O cell. Maybe @Martijn could be of more help as well. He is fairly versed in it.
For using home made nitric search for "Poorman's Nitric".
Butcher (RIP) had post that is helpful along the lines of "killing two birds with one stone". Having done both methods I would look into the H2O cell. Maybe @Martijn could be of more help as well. He is fairly versed in it.
Martijn
Well-known member
I am too impatient for the H2O cell so I added salt to increase current flow.
It needs more attention and base metals are also dissolved in time.
I use a brush to clean items up in the cell until all silver is off.
I limit the current so not too many bubbles are formed at the cathode.
What I think happens as I observed the pH, lye is formed by the salt water electrolysis and reduces silver chloride to oxide, releasing Chlorine to bind back to newly formed silver oxide into silver chloride and keep conductivity high by keeping Cl and Na ions in solution. Or it simply turns into a sodium hydroxide electrolyte if chlorine gas escapes before it can bind to silver ions.
Not sure.
I collect the silver oxide/chloride slimes by decanting the clear water and the slimes are washed in waste sulfuric several times to dissolve any base metal oxides.
I then converted the silver back with the iron sulfuric method, as it was washed with sufuric. A lye sugar conversion should also be doable.
I did not continue with it as i have other things to do.
Need to experiment a bit more.
