Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----
Extraction of silver from silver nitrate liquid
Q. Dear sir,
I am from Kochin. I have approximately 10 liters of AgNo3 from lab waste. Can you tell me how can I separate the silver from this liquid? I need a simple method. Sir ,I am very much interested in extraction methods.
Regards,
Student - Kochin , Kerala, India
August 25, 2008
A. Add a MORE reactive metal to the AgNO3. This will dissolve in the solution and precipitate out silver metal. A copper strip is a good pick, because the silver will form little needles on the strip. You can then brush the silver off.
Jason Rothman, Chemist- Pomona, California, USA
September 6, 2008
Q. Dear sir,
I need your wise answer to my question here. I did try several coppers to extract silver from the liquid which contains silver and copper. But not all the copper that you mention can extract the silver. Why?
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
June 2, 2013
June 2013 A. Hi Lee. How do you know whether there is silver left?
Dear Sir, June 2013 |
A. Use steel wool
⇦this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links] . Cheaper than copper and works well.
Remove any remaining steel with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid (nitric would dissolve the silver) and wash before melting or you will form alloys.
You will find copper much more difficult to completely remove.
Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
June 10, 2013
Q. I am new to scrap silver collecting. I am not trying to get rich, but just starting a new hobby.
I know you can dissolve silver in a nitric acid solution. Then strain and dilute the solution. Using copper or wire wool you can recover the silver, but can you recover the other metals from the dissolved solution, such as copper or gold? (Example silver plated copper or gold plated silver).
- Clare, Michigan, USA
June 8, 2013
Q. Dear Sir
I tried steel wool but I didn't see any reaction at all. The crucible contains 75% of copper and 25% of silver. Sir do you have other alternative ways to solve my situation? Because the crucible is high of copper and the above method really didn't help to extraction of silver.
By the way, material are not from x-ray film or any computer parts unlike the rest of the people doing. My sources are from metal ore.
Thank you
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
June 18, 2013
A. Hi.
You had silver nitrate solution. You add sodium chloride or hydrochloric acid to precipitate silver chloride. Then reduce AgCl using washer (iron content). You will get cement silver.
jewellery - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
July 8, 2013
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread