Non-Chemical Smelting in India

[orvi]

Ashes are basic. Go from there. Predominantly carbonate based (Na, K, some Ca). And with knowledge there is possible cyanide in them, I don´t know if I will recommend anything to you, since I never smelted cyanide containing ashes...

Apart from this issue:
Good technique is shoot for stoichiometric fluxes = neutral fluxes, eg one part base one part acid. These tend to have lowest viscosities. If you have means to purchase induction furnance, completely avoid anything "sodium", and replace the flux ingredients with calcium bases. Much better fluidity, altough higher temperatures are needed.
Edit: Just to add, calcium compounds does not vaporize nearly as much as sodium ones does. No tons of white smoke when you cook it little too hot

 

[kumbirai.mhere]

Ashes are basic. Go from there. Predominantly carbonate based (Na, K, some Ca). And with knowledge there is possible cyanide in them, I don´t know if I will recommend anything to you, since I never smelted cyanide containing ashes...

Apart from this issue:
Good technique is shoot for stoichiometric fluxes = neutral fluxes, eg one part base one part acid. These tend to have lowest viscosities. If you have means to purchase induction furnance, completely avoid anything "sodium", and replace the flux ingredients with calcium bases. Much better fluidity, altough higher temperatures are needed.

️ noted

 

[Jah-nee]

They are doing the equivalent of a fusion assay on a larger scale. It would be interesting to hear the ratio of black sands to the other components, including the manure which is a carbon source to act as a reducing agent.

In the US we use white bread flour as the carbon source. But that is in the land of overweight Americans, in a country where so many are starving I guess they feed the flour to the livestock to fatten them up (or some kind of grain) and use the by product in its place.

Point observed...