Silver, What ever U want to call this!!

[Harold_V]

Dilute the solution, which should then be allowed to settle well. Decant, and recover silver on copper. A few drops of nitric acid introduced to the decanted solution would most likely be desirable.

In regards to the solids, I would recommend a sample be taken and dried. It should then be incinerated, with the ash either processed with dilute nitric acid, or processed in the furnace with soda ash and borax. If there's any silver in the solids, it will report in those two processes. It also may be rinsed out of the solids to satisfaction by simply adding distilled water. I expect there's not a huge amount of silver present, so don't get your hopes too high.

Harold


Edit: My comment about rinsing with water would apply only if the silver is in solution, not cemented or otherwise reduced, and certainly not if the material has been incinerated. At that point, any remaining silver will most likely be elemental.

 

[jjohio]

thanks so much Harold!! Gonna give these a try 8)

 

[jjohio]

This is the mud @ bottom of barrels!!

 

[jjohio]

The silver nitrate in solution!!

 

[jjohio]

Solution after being evaporated down in crock pot

 

[butcher]

Can you test a small filtered sample of the liquid with salt or HCl, to see if it turns white and clowdy or silver chloride precipitates?

 

[Harold_V]

This is the mud @ bottom of barrels!!

I'd strongly recommend incineration, which will eliminate the vast majority of contaminants, leaving you with something that can be tested.
Don't be bashful with this stuff. If there's value there, it won't be a lot, so you can afford to waste a little in the learning process. I generally don't recommend re-inventing the wheel, but this is a rather unique case, where you must determine what will work best, if at all.

I went through that very thing the first time I processed a carpet for gold. Amazing, but there's one process that works, and very well, while all other things I tried failed miserably.

You may experience the same thing. Just remember that you can reduce silver chloride to elemental silver with soda ash and borax (in the furnace) and that dilute nitric acid will dissolve silver, which can then be recovered with copper. Variations of these themes in the proper combination will lead to success, assuming there's anything of value present. The next thing to determine is if it is worth the price of recovery.

Harold

 

[jjohio]

ill keep you all posted!!

 

[jjohio]

Ok, Now will the silver precipitate and stick on the copper pipe or will the copper pull and drop the silver to the bottom?

 

[Geo]

if you are cementing silver with copper pipe, the silver crystals will accumulate on the pipe and drop off to the bottom. thats why the solution needs to be clean and the pipe and container needs to be clean. the silver will pile up below the copper. you may shake the piece of copper ever so often to dislodge the silver crystals to expose more copper to the solution.

 

[jjohio]

Dilute the solution, which should then be allowed to settle well. Decant, and recover silver on copper. A few drops of nitric acid introduced to the decanted solution would most likely be desirable.

In regards to the solids, I would recommend a sample be taken and dried. It should then be incinerated, with the ash either processed with dilute nitric acid, or processed in the furnace with soda ash and borax. If there's any silver in the solids, it will report in those two processes. It also may be rinsed out of the solids to satisfaction by simply adding distilled water. I expect there's not a huge amount of silver present, so don't get your hopes too high.

Harold


Edit: My comment about rinsing with water would apply only if the silver is in solution, not cemented or otherwise reduced, and certainly not if the material has been incinerated. At that point, any remaining silver will most likely be elemental.

Harold, will soda ash have a different outcome than baking soda? Thanks, JJ

 

[butcher]

In my opinion baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) (NaHCO3) would not work as well as the soda ash.

Soda ash (sodium carbonate), (washing soda) (Na2CO3), can be found in washing powders some types of automatic dishwasher soaps are almost pure washing soda,


Baking soda NaHCO3, can be made into soda ash Na2CO3, very easily by just heating it to about 200 deg C.

2 moles of NaHCO3 ----Heat----> Na2CO3 + H20 + CO2 gas

 

[old thompson]

In my opinion baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) (NaHCO3) would not work as well as the soda ash.

.... ....
Baking soda NaHCO3, can be made into soda ash Na2CO3, very easily by just heating it to about 200 deg C.

2 moles of NaHCO3 ----Heat----> Na2CO3 + H20 + CO2 gas

I did not know that Butcher, sounds easier than buying a separate box of soda ash for the small amount I use.

Did I miss that in Hoke's book?

Edit: isn't baking powder sodium bicarbonate? I always mix up podwer and soda. One I use to brush my teeth and nutralize acids, the other is for baking.

 

[Geo]

baking powder and baking soda is two different things.baking powder is sodium bicarbonate and yeast.

 

[old thompson]

baking powder and baking soda is two different things.baking powder is sodium bicarbonate and yeast.

Note to self: I must remember to properly label the Arm and Hammer. :shock:

 

[butcher]

:lol: well look on the bright side it was not the Preparation-H you brushed your teeth with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder

be careful brushing it can be hazardous.