rickbb
Well-known member
Probably another of my dumb questions, but.
I started with a iron exchange cartridge from an x-ray film processer, this is my 3rd from the same source.
I cut open the plastic housing, dumped it in a plastic bucket and rinsed all the black sludge off, cut open the steel mesh wrapper length wise down to the core and rinsed all the layers keeping the black sludge in the bucket and disposed of the screen mesh.
So far so good.
Let the sludge setting, siphoned off the excess water and added cold dilute sulfuric acid (30%), to dissolve any remaining iron. Let that work for several days, stirring several times a day. Siphon off the liquid and started the washing, after 3 or 4 washes I noticed an rusty iron scale floating on top of the water. So I repeated the sulfuric soak, washing until the water was clear. Took a 1/2 teaspoon of the washed black powder and melted in a melting dish, not silver, made a black glass like mess in the dish.
Hmmm I thought, I put it in HCL, got a reaction, lots of yellowish/orange color in the liquid. Washed it 3 times, water was clear. Repeated the HCL, this time on heat, yellow color, not as dark this time. Washed it until water ran clean and clear. Melted sample of the now gray not black powder, same black goo in the dish, not silver.
So, darn it, I put it in dilute nitric (30%), added low heat, (it's cold in the shop now), reaction, liquid is dark amber. The powder is now a light gray color, a drop or two of HCL in the amber nitric liquid shows no reaction at all, no white cloudy deposit.
So the question, what is this pound of now light gray powder I have? And where the heck did the silver go?
I started with a iron exchange cartridge from an x-ray film processer, this is my 3rd from the same source.
I cut open the plastic housing, dumped it in a plastic bucket and rinsed all the black sludge off, cut open the steel mesh wrapper length wise down to the core and rinsed all the layers keeping the black sludge in the bucket and disposed of the screen mesh.
So far so good.
Let the sludge setting, siphoned off the excess water and added cold dilute sulfuric acid (30%), to dissolve any remaining iron. Let that work for several days, stirring several times a day. Siphon off the liquid and started the washing, after 3 or 4 washes I noticed an rusty iron scale floating on top of the water. So I repeated the sulfuric soak, washing until the water was clear. Took a 1/2 teaspoon of the washed black powder and melted in a melting dish, not silver, made a black glass like mess in the dish.
Hmmm I thought, I put it in HCL, got a reaction, lots of yellowish/orange color in the liquid. Washed it 3 times, water was clear. Repeated the HCL, this time on heat, yellow color, not as dark this time. Washed it until water ran clean and clear. Melted sample of the now gray not black powder, same black goo in the dish, not silver.
So, darn it, I put it in dilute nitric (30%), added low heat, (it's cold in the shop now), reaction, liquid is dark amber. The powder is now a light gray color, a drop or two of HCL in the amber nitric liquid shows no reaction at all, no white cloudy deposit.
So the question, what is this pound of now light gray powder I have? And where the heck did the silver go?