The Metal Refinery

Metal refinery involves the removal of impurities from a metal. Unlike other processing methods, refinery does not cause any chemical changes to the end product.

Ca, AZ (prHWY.com) August 18, 2012 - Metal refinery involves the removal of impurities from a metal. Unlike other processing methods, refinery does not cause any chemical changes to the end product. Chemical processes may be involved in metal refinery, but they do not alter the chemical composition of the end product. Among mostly purified metals include Lead, Copper, Iron and precious metals. The precious metals include Silver, platinum and Gold.

Metal refinery takes different forms depending on the type of metal. Copper is usually refined through an electrolytic process. This involves creating a cell using impure copper as the anode, pure copper as the cathode and Copper Sulphate as the electrolyte. Once a current is passed, copper from the anode dissolves in the electrolyte and is then deposited at the cathode.

Metal refinery for Iron involves removal of Oxygen from the ore. The Lead ore is usually an Oxide of Iron. To remove the Oxygen, heat and other chemical elements are usually used. The most commonly used element is Carbon. Carbon binds with Oxygen to form Carbon Dioxide gas which escapes to the atmosphere. The form of Iron formed is called wrought Iron. To purify it further, limestone is added to wrought Iron and the mixture is heated at higher temperatures. Limestone contains Calcium which bonds with Silicates in the Iron forming a mixture which floats leaving pure Iron also known as pig Iron.

Lead is purified by subjecting it to high temperatures. The temperature should be higher than its melting point. Silver and gold impurities are removed by adding Zinc. Zinc is used since silver and gold dissolve faster and easily in Zinc compared to Lead. Once they dissolve the mixture floats at the top leaving pure Lead. The impurities are then separated and pure Lead is cooled.

Precious metal refinery is very common especially with the increased use of precious metals in production of various valuable commodities. Gold refinery is done after smelting so as to separate pure gold from other metals. The most common impurity found in gold is silver. Once the gold smelters are through, they pass the impure gold on for refining. During gold refinery process, borax and soda ash are added to the impure gold to remove impurities. This is usually done to liquid gold. The purity of the gold is then tested in the lab. Usually pure gold will show a percentage purity of 99.9. The purity however varies depending on the refining agent used.

Silver refinery can be done using three methods which include cupellation, amalgamation and electric refining. All these methods can be used to separate silver from gold. During the cupellation method impure silver is mixed with Nitric acid and then subjected to high temperatures in a cupellation heating system. Sodium Carbonate can be added prior to heating so as to avoid the release of poisonous gases. Amalgamation involves mixing the ore with salt and liquid Mercury. Its then crushed and distilled. During electric refining, electric waves are passed through the impure Silver over some period of time until a pure form of Silver is obtained.
Contact Us:
Metal Refinery
20925 Milburn Livonia, MI 48152, US
Website: http://www.metalrefinery.com

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Contact Us:
Metal Refinery
20925 Milburn Livonia, MI 48152, US
Website: http://www.metalrefinery.com

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