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Pine Beach, NJ

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Removing copper from nickel anodes

Hello There,

Is there any compound (except cyanides) I could use to remove (strip) copper from nickel anodes. Copper from our bus bars contaminated the nickel anodes.

Thanks!

Ernesto Rodas
- Chicopee, Massachusetts

You could try a stabilized hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid solution. About 10% stabilized peroxide and about 3-5% sulfuric at about 100F should work pretty quickly.

Dan Brewer
chemical process supplier - Gurnee, Illinois

I stumbled upon a really quick and efficient way to strip copper from nickel anodes. It's probably more expensive than the peroxide/sulfuric method, but it's nearly instantaneous and can be done at room temp in a bucket.

I used 0.1 N potassium iodate solution and a little bit of 5% HCl to start the reaction. We use potassium iodate in the lab for tin titrations - it was handy and worked very well.

Debra Mansperger
- Chandler, Arizona, USA

Ernesto,

Ammonia in any concentration above 20% will dissolve copper without affecting nickel. Only problem is its obnoxious odor and difficulty to waste treat.

Good luck.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico

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