Waste Help

[BRC1]

So I’m a very new small time hobbyist. I have a 5 gallon bucket that I put all my waste into which now has about 4gallons in it. At first I started with silver and then moved onto refining gold filled material. I put all liquid waste in the same bucket which I know now I should have kept separate. I want to do the right thing and make sure I remove the metals from the waste before taking to my local hazardous liquid dump. My question is, can I just follow the normal process that I’ve found on here with using copper and then iron to cement out any metals or how should I attack this? Iduno if it matter but there is what I think silver chloride in the bucket as it swirls up whenever I add new liquid.
TIA!

 

[AMS-Pro]

What are all the chemicals you have used, that could possibly be in that waste bucket?

 

[BRC1]

What are all the chemicals you have used, that could possibly be in that waste bucket?

O sorry, I have only used nitric and HCL to refine silver and gold . So just nitric and HCL and some baking soda from my first gold run where I thought it would be smart to neutralize the HCL. The solution/bucket is def back to being acidic though.

 

[AMS-Pro]

Do you have a fume hood, PPE?

 

[BRC1]

Do you have a fume hood?

Yes I do

 

[AMS-Pro]

Okay. Well mixing Hydrochloric acid, and Nitric acid creates Chlorine gas, and Nitrosyl Chloride. It will be yellow in color, as in you have a bucket full of Aqua Regia.

I will refer you to this, which I imagine you have read. If not, you should, it will be helpful.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/when-in-doubt-cement-it-out.30236/

 

[AMS-Pro]

Read through this as well.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/ar-fume-safety-prevention-treatment.613/

 

[BRC1]

Yup, aware about the AR. just didn’t know if mixing the copper nitrate and AR and everything else would cause an issue with cementing the stock bucket. I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of that thread.

 

[AMS-Pro]

Also, look up any legal questions here, to have a better understanding of things.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/forums/legal-things.36/

 

[AMS-Pro]

Yup, aware about the AR. just didn’t know if mixing the copper nitrate and AR and everything else would cause an issue with cementing the stock bucket. I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of that thread.

Of course, just follow what I shared the links to. It's a dangerous thing, and commands respect.

This link will be helpful in your future endeavors.
https://goldrefiningforum.com/threads/printer-friendly-copy-of-hokes-book.17706/
I hope that if I am missing something, that someone else will weigh in as well.

Please be safe in your endeavors.

 

[Martijn]

Okay. Well mixing Hydrochloric acid, and Nitric acid creates Chlorine gas, and Nitrosyl Chloride. It will be yellow in color, as in you have a bucket full of Aqua Regia.

Lets not overcomplicate things for the OP.

Were talking waste after recovery and refining.
After the silver steps with nitric, there shouldn't be any free nitric left in solution, so no AR is created. Same as after an AR dissolution.
Otherwise you would not have been able to collect the gold or silver after cementing or precipitating. As your stannous test will show before discarding as waste.

Traces of silver chloride may form from adding HCL waste to your copper nitrate from cementing, you could filter that out and proceed as usual to the stockpot.
The most important link for you has not been shared here yet, I see:
scroll down to 4metals post.

https://goldrefiningforum.com/posts/40800/
Martijn.

 

[AMS-Pro]

Lets not overcomplicate things for the OP.

Were talking waste after recovery and refining.
After the silver steps with nitric, there shouldn't be any free nitric left in solution, so no AR is created. Same as after an AR dissolution.
Otherwise you would not have been able to collect the gold or silver after cementing or precipitating. As your stannous test will show before discarding as waste.

Traces of silver chloride may form from adding HCL waste to your copper nitrate from cementing, you could filter that out and proceed as usual to the stockpot.
The most important link for you has not been shared here yet, I see:
scroll down to 4metals post.

https://goldrefiningforum.com/posts/40800/
Martijn.

That was not my intention, it was just to give the OP every bit of information he would need. There were a few things addressed in the OP original statement that concerned me, and I wanted it to be clear and go through the process. Since there was already multiple process of waste being combined in the same bucket, there is an elevation of concern. Then you have the OP second comment of what could be in the mixture, and that it is back to being acidic, so automatically thought process goes to the handling of a live mixture and not just waste. With the opportunity, or potential for any other chemicals to be possibly added that could produce a very different volatile reaction, it should be acknowledged and handled as it could happen. With this being a chemical science, the routine of scientific method is instilled here to keep the OP safe.
-Question, research, hypothesis, test, results, communicate.
Since there is question, then there must be research.
and that is why the links to known process, that have been verified and established, were shared.
My only intention was the make sure that the OP had the links to the right process, that will lead to a safe practice, ending in the hypothesized result, and to better prepare the OP for future experiments.

I had included the links to legal things for the waste part of it, but I do appreciate that you included a more pinpointed link into this discussion for the OP. Thank you.