It is not necessary to have a comprehensive knowledge of chemistry to extract the gold contained in radio components. It is enough to follow some simple safety rules and follow the simple instructions below.
Instructions
Step 1
Read the technical data sheet of the part carefully to find out what percentage of gold is contained in this product. You will need this information in order to calculate the required amount of reagents and reaction time.
Step 2
Please note that the information contained in the technical data sheet of a part may not always accurately reflect the reality. However, if you are dealing with radio parts manufactured in the USSR before 1989, then you can completely trust the information specified in the technical passport and use it in order to extract gold.
Step 3
Put on gloves and a lab coat. Please note that all work of this kind should only be carried out in well-ventilated areas. You will need aqua regia to extract gold from radio components. If you don't know what it is, then read on. "Tsarskaya vodka" is a composition of nitric and hydrochloric acid in a ratio of 3: 1. The temperature of this mixture should be approximately 70-80 degrees.
Step 4
Take a radio component containing gold and dissolve it in a heated mixture. If there are many parts, immerse them in the mixture alternately in small portions, not exceeding 3 g, and immerse each subsequent one only after the previous one has completely dissolved.
Step 5
Start evaporating the solution to get the gold out of the radio components. Since the radio components contain copper and iron, the solution will have a dark green color. The solution must be evaporated until its volume decreases several times. Pour a few milliliters of hydrochloric acid into the solution. This is necessary in order to dissolve the brown precipitate formed by iron salts. Continuing to evaporate, add ordinary table salt to the solution at the rate of 0.2 g of salt per 10 ml of solution.
Step 6
Then after a while, add boiling water to the container and continue to evaporate. Then pour in a few milliliters of hydrochloric acid again. This is necessary in order to remove the remains of nitric acid in order to eliminate the loss of gold. Add 0.5% hydroquinone solution to the mixture at the rate of 1 ml of substance per 100 ml of solution. Leave the mixture on for 4 hours, while remembering to stir it occasionally. Strain using a thick filter. Remelt the resulting composition at a temperature of 1100 degrees under a layer of borax. Separate the gold from the frozen borax lumps.
