Solution isn't blue

[disPaw]

Hey folks...I dissolved 71.5g of sterling in sulfuric and have silver chloride dropped in two beakers (one was a smaller test sample). The "left over" solution in the smaller beaker turned blue while this larger solution stayed white(ish).

I let it settle overnight and nothing else drops if I add HCl...am I missing something or am I over analyzing this?

 

[Elemental]

Solutions of copper sulfate different concentrations.

The three test tubes contain solutions of different concentrations of copper sulfate in water. Left to right: 0.5M, 0.15M, and 0.05M.

You've got 5.36grams of copper dissolved in approx 4 liters. So you have a very dilute solution of copper sulfate. Looks like everything is alright once your copper chloride settles fully.

A piece of advice: in the future use less water. You're creating a larger waste stream than you need. Your copper sulfate solution will need to be treated before being disposed of.

Elemental

https://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=85&t=10539

 

[disPaw]

Solutions of copper sulfate different concentrations.

The three test tubes contain solutions of different concentrations of copper sulfate in water. Left to right: 0.5M, 0.15M, and 0.05M.

You've got 5.36grams of copper dissolved in approx 4 liters. So you have a very dilute solution of copper sulfate. Looks like everything is alright once your copper chloride settles fully.

A piece of advice: in the future use less water. You're creating a larger waste stream than you need. Your copper sulfate solution will need to be treated before being disposed of.

Elemental

https://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=85&t=10539

Ah...well, I feel a bit buffoonish not thinking about dilution.

I, most certainly, appreciate the waste stream advice. I had it stuck in my head that the solution needed to be extremely dilute for the reaction to occur properly and deduced I was wrong afterwards. Thank you for that confirmation! I'm storing everything in 5 gallon buckets and planned on going the copper > iron > pH balance route. Unfortunately, since I used so much water, I've tied up a lot of real estate.

Thanks again for all of this!

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Storing your waste is a not the best practice. You should process it through your stock pot system as you generate it. Otherwise, you can become overwhelmed by the volume, and trying to deal with it all at once will become frustrating.

Dave

 

[orvi]

Hey folks...I dissolved 71.5g of sterling in sulfuric and have silver chloride dropped in two beakers (one was a smaller test sample). The "left over" solution in the smaller beaker turned blue while this larger solution stayed white(ish).

Silver sulfate is not very well soluble in water and dilute aqueous sulfuric acid, but much much more soluble in concentrated sulfuric acid. Diluting the solution, there could be significant losses due to precipitation of silver sulfate out of the solution.

Sreetips has excellent video on YTube about this refining method