I'm a novice in retrieving gold from old PC BOARDS, Cell phone's etc. Nitric acid cannot be obtained very easily in my country therefore your video just brought light to the subject. Thank you.
sreetips I came here because I usually follow you. I just wanted to reply so both of you know. You can make Nitric acid for free. If you take wood ashes as a source of potassium and your morning pee for the source of Nitric. You mix the two and boil that, the vapor that will come out as it boil will be Nitric acid. Just letting you know in case both of you didn't know.
Thanks for the chemistry class and it's exactly what I am looking for fuming red nitric acid, I need it to make mucury fulminate which is very dangerous but if stored in water it is safe as long as you don't drop it.
best detailed video thank you i always thought you had to stay at 83 C but perhaps that explains the low yield I get . The last time i bought stump remover it was $6 each now it is up to $10 for 1lbs so trying sodium nitrate which i m getting 5lbs for $20 more cost effective.
Hello - The video worked great. Was able to follow, adjust for my size equipment and the results were spot on ... The 1st time. I do have a follow on question for my 2nd and 3rd batch I did months later. Upon completion I did not have any Potassium Sulfate left over in the boiling flask. Why and what was the catalyst for this occurring? Hope you see this new question on an older comment. I enjoy the videos!
Is nice video, at the end I recommend to be use dark glass container instead transparent glass because HNO3, specifically at high concentrations forms will decomposing by the lights..
Another great video Philip. Thanks for the info and thanks to the people in the comments for the extra tips. Id add something, not very technical, but a thrift store stainless potato masher might help with breaking up the Potassium Nitrate crystals. Love your Audio track man. Dont ever change your style.
Regarding 2:03, adding potassium nitrate into water produces an endothermic reaction which is the cooling effect. On the other hand, if it had been an exothermic reaction, this would have produced a heating effect.
can i use NPK fertilizer instead of the potassium nitrates? its a fertilizer that contains nitrogen phosphorus and potassium, but about 60% if that is potassium
I appreciate the video, but I some questions. What is typically the time it takes you to do the distillation process? How do you figure out the purity of your nitric acid? Could you maintain a 290 - 300 degree temp and extend your distillation time and produce more nrtic?
@@philipbender956 that makes sense. Why is the nitric acid dense yellow at a higher concentration instead of clear? Do it contain sulphur contaminates?
@@tipxking9944 that's the brown NO2 gas, the reason it's called red fuming nitric acid. Very toxic. Above about 70% concentration it starts doing that, because some of the nitric acid decomposes into NO2. You can also dissolve NO2 back into water to produce weaker nitric acid.
The aluminum foil will insulate the distillation column. Allowing the nitric acid to boil out much quicker. As it won't be condensing at the top of boiling flask.
@@gayusschwulius8490 yes nitric acid will degrade in UV light. Especially sunlight. My lab is lit by LED lights. So the losses generally minimal if you are making nitric acid indoors.
@@Superdad0726 it will break down fairly quickly in a clear glass bottle in sunlight. If it's in tinted glass or opaque plastic. It should be okay. You can strengthen your nitric acid through distillation.
Do you have any recommendations on Laboratory Glassware brands or sources for someone just getting started? (Obviously, this reaction is far too advanced for me, but as I learn, I like to acquire the proper hardware needed)
phillip I love your work , its amazing to watch you doing all this , I also want to do this , can you name sources where I can buy these chemicals , equipments and the scraps for the experiment . Love from India. ❤️❤️
Question - On one of the videos on NileBlue (NileRed's second channel about random lab stuff and cleanups), he states that RFNA should be stored in a bottle only at like 50% of the volume, since the nitric acid fumes can build up the pressure and cause it to fail. Additionally, he said that he vents his bottle often, sometimes daily, to ensure pressure isn't built up. Do you do the same thing for RFNA storage?
I don't know about any of that stuff 😯 But just for good measure I did just check a glass bottle of concentrated nitric acid. That I made myself two years ago......... There was no pressure in the bottle. Everything looks good 🤔 Maybe Nile blue was speaking of some sort of peroxide compound. I know that can get explosive as it degrades with age.
Baking soda is my neutralizer of choice because it will not harm your skin. You can use sodium hydroxide for the cleaning phase or to neutralize your acid just don't get any on your self.
Is there a way to refine the stump out to get pure sodium metabisulfite to use as a precipitant? Or would it just be easier and cheaper to buy the sodium metabisulfite
It is cheaper and easier just to purchase sodium nitrate from Amazon. I was demonstrating that it was easily extracted from the spectrum brand of stump remover. Only the spectrum brand contains sodium nitrate. Do not use stump remover containing sodium metabisulfite.
once there was a harty scolor who is no more for what he thought was h2o was h2s04:=) i have noticed titanium camp cups and pots how hard would it be to convert one as a distillation rig as it would last a lot longer then borosilicate glassware as it would not crack from uneven heating or brake when dropped just wondering?
You can purify your potassium nitrate in any container. I used glass so you could see what was going on for the video. I normally use a stainless steel bowl to purify my potassium nitrate. As far as making and distilling nitric acid. I would definitely recommend using glass. Hot concentrated nitric and sulfuric acid are extremely corrosive.
@@philipbender956 I do not have a distiller I certainly do not have that expensive glassware. I looked to see if I could buy nitric acid but my friend told me that it is watched because of people making bombs. I want to use it for gold recovery
@@Butterflytaxidfw you can get a glass distillation apparatus off of eBay for $30. Just look up distilling kit. Also you can purchase 70% nitric acid off of eBay. the only reason the government would think you are making bombs with nitric acid is if you also purchase other bomb-making supplies and you start watching a bunch of videos on how to build a bomb.
@@Butterflytaxidfw I completely understand I definitely wouldn't want to break the law either. I don't think the feds would look into you unless you were purchasing gallons of nitric acid. Then they may be more curious as to how you're disposing of it versus whether or not you're making bombs.
@@TT-nh7rx I don't know, you would have to find one that was chemical resistant. You don't need to run this distillation under a vacuum. I just attached a vinyl hose to my vacuum take off adapter and put it directly into my fume hood.
I didn't understand this >>>>> 18:46 it creates a sort of peltier device condensing water out of the atmosphere into the nitric acid allowing the nitric acid to further reduce the copper ?????
Rooto Professional drain cleaner. I get it from my local hardware store. It's not always clear sometimes they just forget to put the dye and inhibitor in it. The reaction will still work fine if you have coloured sulfuric acid drain cleaner. Once you start the reaction the heat and acid will destroy any impurities in the mix. The solution will go clear very quickly. I hope that was helpful. I am happy you enjoyed the video
Hello man. Great video! I stumbled across this & learned alot! I'm wanting to try to make my own nitric acid as I currently have a bunch( fills up an entire 12x15 room) of computer & e scrap that I'm wanting to reclaim and refine PM's. I have some questions: 1) I'm wanting to use this single distribution simple distillation using 304 SS as the distillation tube( or as we call "the worm" instead of glass.( because I have an abundance of 304) glass filter flask as my pot, & a brown glass( lab grade that I haven't ordered yet) jar for the collection pot. Do you know of any problems this will cause? 2) After I reach 315 & stop distilling, can the sulfuric & nitrate in the still be reused or reclaimed to make future nitric acid? 3) couldn't I use the nitric to reclaim the pm from the scrap instead of AP? Seems like it would be much faster & probably produce more yield as efficiency would increase? This is a start, but can I please email you for more info?
Thank you I am happy you enjoyed the video.🤗 Yes you can use a stainless steel still. Just be sure to ensure the purity of the steel by using a magnet as 304 SS should be non magnetic. Once you have reached 315ﾟ keep driving it till It stops producing. The remaining product will be mostly Sodium bi sulphite. Not worth your time or energy trying to scavenge any remaining acid. As far as using nitric acid instead of AP. It takes about one Litre of concentrated Nitric acid. Per pound of scrap. To separate gold foils.
two quick questions... 1. are you removing the fore run and lower boiling temp distillate that comes over before you hit 135C, or are you keeping everything that comes over above a certain temperature? if not, wouldn't that result in a lower percentage final product? 2. putting the thermocouple in the glass thermometer well only gives you the temperature of the air in the well, not the vapour temperature. an alternative would be a thermometer adapter with a PTFE seal, and a PTFE coated thermocouple probe, or a regular glass thermometer. thanks for the video.
I collected the entire run into one bottle. I started with fairly dry high-purity ingredients. The resulting nitric acid is over 95%. It will instantly ignite lab gloves. You will only make water down acid if you add water at the beginning of the reaction 😉
They mix some contaminants into the stump remover. something to keep it from caking and something to keep it from absorbing water. Both of those agents could affect the outcome of your nitric acid. It is best to work with pure dry chemicals.
You should filter the potassium nitrate solution boil it until salt begins to form on a metal spoon or knife when it’s removed from the super concentrated liquid. The place in fridge for 4 hours, repeat process. Your yield will double if not triple, take less time and ultimately produce more nitric acid.
Using such a higher concentration of nitric to dissolve silver, would you recommend making two containers of 95% nitric? In a proper bottle, how long can it be stored and in what temperatures? I live in the southern nevada desert
Yes. What is left over is mostly the cutting agent. Potassium nitrate is extremely hydroscopic. It will pull moisture out of the air. I think they add something to prevent this from happening. And a small amount of dirt. Most likely from the facility where they store the potassium nitrate and mix the cutting agent. It should be safe to pour down the drain as this product is designed to be used outside in the environment. It is stump remover.
@@philipbender956 thanks for quick answer. I just crystalized some potassium nitrate from China and it was heavier going in than it was coming out. I think the stump remove is more pure. More expensive tho so crystallizing it is great for me.
Hi nice vid.Brings me back to when i was taking chemistry in school.I wondered though if it might not easier to pick up potassium nitrate from a butcher supply that sells spices and such.Might be a little easier i think.
I agree it would be easier. I have searched around. Extracting potassium nitrate from Spectracide stump remover is cheaper then just buying potassium nitrate. From 6 pounds of Spectracide stump remover you will get 5 pounds of potassium nitrate at a cost of $44.00. Every other source I have found is more expensive and has a shipping cost. With this method it cost about $55.00 per liter of %95+ nitric acid.
Ya i forgot about shipping.I have around 1200 gm of sterling that i melted down so i now i need some nitric acid for the next step.Hence me watching these videos.
@@front2760 it takes about 800 mil of the nitric acid that I make to dissolve 1000 grams of sterling silver. I will be publishing a video demonstrating such in about a week.
Probably better that you learn about it on your own. Playing with acids without any knowledge about basic chemistry isn't very safe especially if you plan to play around with nitrogen compounds. I can ship you a distillation lab I did recently. The principle is the same as what is described here and the apparatus used to distill is similar.
I have the honor of being #1000. I am not a chemist by any stretch but I would say this is a great instructional video. I was actually looking for instructions on turning the non-metallic lead in a lead-acid battery back to metal. Robert Murray Smith did one a few years ago but I think he removed it because too many people were on him about the safety of handling lead. I see quite a few guys doing battery revival videos and the not metallic lead seems to go to an undisclosed location.
Yes technically the orange color is a contaminant. The orange color is mostly nitrogen dioxide with a small amount of nitrogen trioxide. Both are caused by the decomposition of nitric acid. You can remove the orange color by bubbling dry air through the nitric acid. The orange color does not interfere with any metal refining reactions.
In the same instance, I'd have added boiling water to the crude nitrate after putting it in the beaker; just enough to dissolve them. Might speed up recrystallizing & with less H20 to get rid of. :)
@@philipbender956 cooking the mixture, of nitrate and acid, to distill off the nitric acid. you showed 2 temperatures, 245 and 315, stop at 316. how long at 245, and then how long at 315?
@@petermpeters I remove from heat once the still reaches 315 degrees. I believe the batch in this video took a round 3 and 1/2 hours to fully distill. Once you reach 315 degrees all of the nitric acid will have been driven off. This will be evident as liquid will stop distilling. You will get a very small amount of liquid that will distill over after 315 degrees up to around 638 degrees. That will mostly be water that has been freed from the sulfuric acid. Then you will distill sulfuric acid around 640 degrees. But the potassium bisulfite that is left over in the flask will most likely foam out of control before you reach that high temperature. Nitric acid will start distilling around 181 degrees. You will get the bulk of your distillate around 250 degrees. There's no set time for the distillation. It's just how long it takes to boil off.
Hey man sreetips tipped me off to ur video and I have watched an studied ur it multiple multiple times and am fixing to attempt it myself have u got any advice? Anything u have learned since the makeing of this video?
Just keep some baking soda handy in case of a spill. Also once you start the reaction don't add anymore chemicals. Drive the reaction to completion and allow the rig to cool completely. Perform this in a well ventilated area. Nitric acid fumes will melt your lungs.
So anyone else that wants to try this DO NOT use lab with any sort of rubber gaskets or seals lol it don’t work out well! I got a buy a new lab. Any recommendations Phillip?
I got thru my first run with several dumb mistakes but I did produce about 200 ml nitric acid I had to rap all rubber seals with aluminum foil to keep them from melting an contaminating my nitric even more
Yes, if you dissolve your gold pleated 925 silver in nitric acid. Depending on the thickness of the gold plating. It may float away as sheets 😉 or glitter gold. I once had a gold foil in the shape of a spoon.
thank you so much! many of the acids used in gold and silver refining is regulated in the philippines.. thats why any info on household product substitutes are very much appreciated...
I am instred about your working process and i go to start please help me about this type of ingreant process I am waiting for your respoance And how i cotact you
The ingredients are potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid. I recommend using an excess of sulfuric acid. It will help keep water out of your final acid.
@@philipbender956 But sir i am doing brass peases on gold plated so i must be remove gold in brass peses, so please help me about this process and how i contact you sir
Great video, and intresting, instead of potassium can I use sodium nitrate? A day before of watching your video I got 6 ounces of sodium nitrate from ebay and they called "nitric acid substitute. To be truth I think potassium is stronger. I'll appreciate your answer. Thanks.
Yes. You can also just let the system seal itself. Take your pic concentrated sulfuric acid or concentrated nitric acid. They're both pretty nasty when you touch them as you take apart the rig to clean it.
Add enough water so that you completely dissolve the kno3. But you want the solution to be saturated so use boiling water. As far as the na2s2o5 is concerned. That is useless for making nitric acid. Save it for precipitating your gold out of aqua regia.
You need a glass distillation apparatus. Like the one in the video 🤗 They are sold in kits on ebay. A purified nitric salt. Such as sodium or potassium nitrate. Concentrated sulfuric acid. I recommend adding extra sulfuric acid in order to remove any water.
@PhilipBender say I just made Potassium Nitrate from Instant Cold Packs which was my Calcium Ammonium Nitrate then separated to only have Ammonium Nitrate which I then added Potassium from a No sodium Salt substitute. Will this work for this Nitric acid synthesis? If not what would you recommend to purify homemade ingredients? Such as the ones that later yield such a fine chemical like Nitric Acid.
@@philipbender956 I actually tried to drive all of the acid out of some by coating the boiling flask in clay and getting it just below the softening point of the borosilicate, and then pulled some vacuum too but my probe must have been in a slightly cooler spot so was reading low. Which meant I collapsed the flask a bit and half killed it. I am always killing my flasks.
Hey, and when you're done making nitric acid, you can make some corned beef with all that salt peter...couple tea spoons to a brisket, brine for a couple weeks in the fridge.
@@philipbender956 I'm thinking they put pink dye in it so that you don't mistake it for regular salt. In many recipes & cook books it is referred to even as pink salt. It also tells you when the meat is corned(its the only way I can tell) when it turns pink. This is also what gives salami, pepperoni, corned beef, bacon, ham, pastrami etc. their respective pinkish color. I had always assumed that salt peter was pink as a chemical as a result...I definitely learned a lot from this video!
I deduced the purity from density it weighed out correctly. Also if you don't add any water and you dry your ingredients. You will always produce a very high percentage. Another trick is to add a little extra sulfuric acid to gobble up any water present.
Yes it is cheaper to make the acid. Also the acid I produce is much stronger than the store-bought. The best you can purchase online is 70% the acid I make is greater than 95%.
Would Nitric acid be the only chemical that would work in separating some heavily coated gold pins, actually idk if they are even coated. 3 pins weighs 1 gram and I just tried to grind off the coating and it is still gold. They are from the 80's I believe they are military spec hollingsworth pins. I used to work for a engineering company for 10 years and we manufactured control systems for Nuclear power plants, paper mills, the navy, etc. Heck they may be solid gold. I have a big jar of them.
Nitric acid would be the best option. The pins you speak of are most likely made of brass with gold plate. If the pins have a very heavy gold plate and you have the skill. You could try dipping them in aqua regia for a few minutes. Just long enough to dissolve the gold leaving behind the base metals. If they are magnetic. You could try boiling them in sulfuric acid. Either way I prefer the nitric acid method. Hot nitric acid will destroy most medals. Just be sure to keep any iron out of your reaction.
They are a bright yellow gold. They are not like most of the pins I see on here they are shiny gold beautiful.. If I boil them in sulfuric acid, how would I know when to stop? I am not a chemist such as yourself. Although I know a little
Yes definitely need to do in metric sorry all chemists in the U.S do measurements and volumes in grams and millilitres. Also I agree with other comment endothermic reaction is when heat is absorbed! Exothermic is giving off heat when dissolving or mixing with water ie concentrated Sulphuric acid
8:16 the thermometer looks a bit low for a distillation, doesn't it? The bulb should be just below the side outlet in the still head, I think. And it looks like that batch could maybe use another distillation, should be somewhat clear. Regardless, great upload!
I'm a novice in retrieving gold from old PC BOARDS, Cell phone's etc. Nitric acid cannot be obtained very easily in my country therefore your video just brought light to the subject. Thank you.
Thankful for you and your videos. I appreciate your precision and how this video describes the whole process with the upmost detail.
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Nice work, I'll have to give this a try. Thank you.
sreetips I came here because I usually follow you. I just wanted to reply so both of you know. You can make Nitric acid for free. If you take wood ashes as a source of potassium and your morning pee for the source of Nitric. You mix the two and boil that, the vapor that will come out as it boil will be Nitric acid. Just letting you know in case both of you didn't know.
That would make a very interesting video.
Sreetips, the beginning of this video reminds me of your videos about precipitating gold from chloroauric acid solutions only backwards. :-)
@@tchouwie wow did u try that yet?
88888980ijhyu9
Fascinating and very informative. Would love to observe first hand.
Absolutely awesome information. I am happy I stumbled across a bright mind like you. Keep up the good videos. Can't stop watching them.
Thank you, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Thanks for the chemistry class and it's exactly what I am looking for fuming red nitric acid, I need it to make mucury fulminate which is very dangerous but if stored in water it is safe as long as you don't drop it.
You're a great teacher.
Thanks, be sure to treat other chemistry channels as a class. You will learn more from many 🤓
can we use sodium nitrate instead of pottasium
The golden color is so gorgeous!
You can make it from thin air and electricity as well
Nice vid
thank you
not so easy though
best detailed video thank you i always thought you had to stay at 83 C but perhaps that explains the low yield I get . The last time i bought stump remover it was $6 each now it is up to $10 for 1lbs so trying sodium nitrate which i m getting 5lbs for $20 more cost effective.
Hello - The video worked great. Was able to follow, adjust for my size equipment and the results were spot on ... The 1st time. I do have a follow on question for my 2nd and 3rd batch I did months later. Upon completion I did not have any Potassium Sulfate left over in the boiling flask. Why and what was the catalyst for this occurring? Hope you see this new question on an older comment. I enjoy the videos!
It sounds like you used an excess of sulfuric acid.
Thanks. Will pay more attention.
Saw my error. Potassium nitrate measured in grams. Sulfuric acid measured in ml. Next batch went perfect. Thanks again!
Good video! Practical- esp when seeing the price of nitric online and the ultra-high expense of hazard shipping! You’re like paying double for it
Distill battery acid, it’s cheaper and you can find it locally
@@thehatedones5153that’s sulfuric acid, not nitric
Is nice video, at the end I recommend to be use dark glass container instead transparent glass because HNO3, specifically at high concentrations forms will decomposing by the lights..
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
Another great video Philip. Thanks for the info and thanks to the people in the comments for the extra tips. Id add something, not very technical, but a thrift store stainless potato masher might help with breaking up the Potassium Nitrate crystals.
Love your Audio track man. Dont ever change your style.
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
Regarding 2:03, adding potassium nitrate into water produces an endothermic reaction which is the cooling effect. On the other hand, if it had been an exothermic reaction, this would have produced a heating effect.
Yes I misspoke during the narration.
can i use NPK fertilizer instead of the potassium nitrates?
its a fertilizer that contains nitrogen phosphorus and potassium, but about 60% if that is potassium
You would need to extract the potassium nitrate 1st
@@philipbender956
using the same method you did at the begining of your video or there is another method for that?
I appreciate the video, but I some questions. What is typically the time it takes you to do the distillation process? How do you figure out the purity of your nitric acid? Could you maintain a 290 - 300 degree temp and extend your distillation time and produce more nrtic?
You could measure the density. Also once the boiling point passes whatever temperature you target you will no longer distill anything.
Very good 👏👏👏👏 Nice👍
I'll have to give this a try. Thank you so much for the explain
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Im a Casual Observer and im on board thanks for the video.
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Is it possible to use the bottom of a stainless steel distiller to heat the mixture and the rest of the process in glass tubes?
Yes just make sure it's high-quality non-magnetic stainless steel.
Thanks keep up the video man now I can refine some silver
Thank you. I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Thank you for this description. Please how can I use sulphuric acid deluted 32% ?
I am not sure if you can. 🤔 I am happy you enjoyed the video.
Would it have been easier to dry the potassium nitrate chrystals in a oven with a slight heat for quicker drying process?
Yes but it is a waste of energy.
@@philipbender956 that makes sense. Why is the nitric acid dense yellow at a higher concentration instead of clear? Do it contain sulphur contaminates?
@@tipxking9944 that's the brown NO2 gas, the reason it's called red fuming nitric acid. Very toxic. Above about 70% concentration it starts doing that, because some of the nitric acid decomposes into NO2. You can also dissolve NO2 back into water to produce weaker nitric acid.
Why does wrapping with foil aid distilation?
The aluminum foil will insulate the distillation column. Allowing the nitric acid to boil out much quicker. As it won't be condensing at the top of boiling flask.
@@philipbender956 Nitric acid vapor is also extremely sensitive to light, meaning that isolating it from it will lead to a much purer solution.
@@gayusschwulius8490 yes nitric acid will degrade in UV light. Especially sunlight. My lab is lit by LED lights. So the losses generally minimal if you are making nitric acid indoors.
@@philipbender956 How badly will nitric acid degrade if left in sunlight? Can it be strengthened?
Thank you! Your video is great!
@@Superdad0726 it will break down fairly quickly in a clear glass bottle in sunlight. If it's in tinted glass or opaque plastic. It should be okay. You can strengthen your nitric acid through distillation.
Do you have any recommendations on Laboratory Glassware brands or sources for someone just getting started? (Obviously, this reaction is far too advanced for me, but as I learn, I like to acquire the proper hardware needed)
phillip I love your work , its amazing to watch you doing all this , I also want to do this , can you name sources where I can buy these chemicals , equipments and the scraps for the experiment . Love from India. ❤️❤️
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀 Try searching "gold fingers" on eBay. You can also find all the equipment and chemicals there.
Amazon is also good they have the best price on potassium nitrate. Pyrotechnic grade.😀
@@philipbender956 edward scizor hand.
Thank you from Pakistan
Simply beautifull.
Could you tell me how much quantity you get of nítrico acid using that 800 of PN, and 600 of Sulfúric ac?
About 500 mil
Can you put the nitrate mixture in a plastic container in the fridge with a lid on it?
Yes, happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
When potassium nitrate dissolves in water, it is an endothermic reaction as the temperature drops.
Question - On one of the videos on NileBlue (NileRed's second channel about random lab stuff and cleanups), he states that RFNA should be stored in a bottle only at like 50% of the volume, since the nitric acid fumes can build up the pressure and cause it to fail. Additionally, he said that he vents his bottle often, sometimes daily, to ensure pressure isn't built up. Do you do the same thing for RFNA storage?
I don't know about any of that stuff 😯 But just for good measure I did just check a glass bottle of concentrated nitric acid. That I made myself two years ago......... There was no pressure in the bottle. Everything looks good 🤔 Maybe Nile blue was speaking of some sort of peroxide compound. I know that can get explosive as it degrades with age.
@@philipbender956 nope, it was RFNA. go to 1:30 in this video: ua-cam.com/video/SRj7GpL3Reo/v-deo.html
wHY NOT USESALTPETER FOR THE NITRATE SOURCE?
Yes that will work also.
Great video dude!
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video. 🤗😀
Is the baking soda and water the way to neutralize the acids? Or is it only good for the cleaning phase?
Baking soda is my neutralizer of choice because it will not harm your skin. You can use sodium hydroxide for the cleaning phase or to neutralize your acid just don't get any on your self.
Cool, thanks. Now I just have to get some scientific glassware
@@sass1ap Try Ebay. I use the seller, deschem. Cheap glass from from China works very well.
Is there a way to refine the stump out to get pure sodium metabisulfite to use as a precipitant? Or would it just be easier and cheaper to buy the sodium metabisulfite
It is cheaper and easier just to purchase sodium nitrate from Amazon. I was demonstrating that it was easily extracted from the spectrum brand of stump remover. Only the spectrum brand contains sodium nitrate. Do not use stump remover containing sodium metabisulfite.
@@philipbender956 okay, thanks.
once there was a harty scolor who is no more for what he thought was h2o was h2s04:=)
i have noticed titanium camp cups and pots how hard would it be to convert one as a distillation rig as it would last a lot longer then borosilicate glassware as it would not crack from uneven heating or brake when dropped just wondering?
Sounds like a good idea.
Do you have to a glass beaker to do this? Can you use a metal pan?
You can purify your potassium nitrate in any container. I used glass so you could see what was going on for the video. I normally use a stainless steel bowl to purify my potassium nitrate. As far as making and distilling nitric acid. I would definitely recommend using glass. Hot concentrated nitric and sulfuric acid are extremely corrosive.
@@philipbender956 I do not have a distiller I certainly do not have that expensive glassware. I looked to see if I could buy nitric acid but my friend told me that it is watched because of people making bombs. I want to use it for gold recovery
@@Butterflytaxidfw you can get a glass distillation apparatus off of eBay for $30. Just look up distilling kit. Also you can purchase 70% nitric acid off of eBay. the only reason the government would think you are making bombs with nitric acid is if you also purchase other bomb-making supplies and you start watching a bunch of videos on how to build a bomb.
@@philipbender956 Cool I will check it out, I just do not want the feds knocking on my door. Thanks
@@Butterflytaxidfw I completely understand I definitely wouldn't want to break the law either. I don't think the feds would look into you unless you were purchasing gallons of nitric acid. Then they may be more curious as to how you're disposing of it versus whether or not you're making bombs.
How do I do this when I don't have sulfuric acid?
Very helpful brother 😎👍
I need only a little nitric can i use one bottle instead
Yes 😀
What else can you use? Havent found any stump remover in canada.
Sodium metabi sulfide
Why is it amber and not clear as other nitric acid I’ve seen/used?
Dissolved nitogen oxides
Would any basic distillation kit work for this, or should I buy a certain kind? Sorry for my ignorance
Hi. Thanks for all the videos. Can you use a nitric acid substitute instead of the stump out
You can get potssium nitrate from a fertilizer bag containing the salt
What would be the best tubing to use to connect to a vacuum pump for making nitric acid?
Vinyl seems to give the best resistance to nitric acid. I purchased mine from a store that had aquarium supplies.
@@philipbender956 cool, thanks for that. Finally... what kind of air vacuum pump do you use for this?
@@TT-nh7rx I don't know, you would have to find one that was chemical resistant. You don't need to run this distillation under a vacuum. I just attached a vinyl hose to my vacuum take off adapter and put it directly into my fume hood.
@@philipbender956 Thanks for your help dude 👍🏻
Hi
Excellent video
Is this caustic soda
I didn't understand this >>>>>
18:46
it creates a sort of peltier device condensing water out of the atmosphere into the nitric acid allowing the nitric acid to further reduce the copper ?????
What is the name brand for the sulfuric acid drain opener? It’s looks so clear!
Rooto Professional drain cleaner. I get it from my local hardware store. It's not always clear sometimes they just forget to put the dye and inhibitor in it. The reaction will still work fine if you have coloured sulfuric acid drain cleaner. Once you start the reaction the heat and acid will destroy any impurities in the mix. The solution will go clear very quickly. I hope that was helpful. I am happy you enjoyed the video
to make the crystals do you put in the freezer or just in the regular part of the fridge.
To make crystals you need to chill the solution but not freeze it. I would advise you place in the refrigerator not the freezer.
Damn... Those crystals are too pretty to break! You should see how big of a single crystal you can grow.
I have no desire to make nitric acid, but the chemistry of it is most interesting.
You can make hno3 with sodium metabisuplhate and something else what is it and uh calcium nitrate is itm
Hello man. Great video! I stumbled across this & learned alot!
I'm wanting to try to make my own nitric acid as I currently have a bunch( fills up an entire 12x15 room) of computer & e scrap that I'm wanting to reclaim and refine PM's. I have some questions: 1) I'm wanting to use this single distribution simple distillation using 304 SS as the distillation tube( or as we call "the worm" instead of glass.( because I have an abundance of 304) glass filter flask as my pot, & a brown glass( lab grade that I haven't ordered yet) jar for the collection pot. Do you know of any problems this will cause?
2) After I reach 315 & stop distilling, can the sulfuric & nitrate in the still be reused or reclaimed to make future nitric acid?
3) couldn't I use the nitric to reclaim the pm from the scrap instead of AP? Seems like it would be much faster & probably produce more yield as efficiency would increase?
This is a start, but can I please email you for more info?
Thank you I am happy you enjoyed the video.🤗 Yes you can use a stainless steel still. Just be sure to ensure the purity of the steel by using a magnet as 304 SS should be non magnetic. Once you have reached 315ﾟ keep driving it till It stops producing. The remaining product will be mostly Sodium bi sulphite. Not worth your time or energy trying to scavenge any remaining acid. As far as using nitric acid instead of AP. It takes about one Litre of concentrated Nitric acid. Per pound of scrap. To separate gold foils.
M>Frost hallo what is the abbrevation MP and AP ?
@@RandyManu-jk1yn PM=Precious Metals
AP= Acid/Peroxide (a process to refine precious metals)
@@cadillac8597 okei!!! Thanks 💡
two quick questions...
1. are you removing the fore run and lower boiling temp distillate that comes over before you hit 135C, or are you keeping everything that comes over above a certain temperature? if not, wouldn't that result in a lower percentage final product?
2. putting the thermocouple in the glass thermometer well only gives you the temperature of the air in the well, not the vapour temperature. an alternative would be a thermometer adapter with a PTFE seal, and a PTFE coated thermocouple probe, or a regular glass thermometer.
thanks for the video.
I collected the entire run into one bottle. I started with fairly dry high-purity ingredients. The resulting nitric acid is over 95%. It will instantly ignite lab gloves. You will only make water down acid if you add water at the beginning of the reaction 😉
I wish I had a nicer thermal couple 🤓 I'm just grateful that I'm not stuck using the alcohol thermometer that came with the set 😳
what happens if we are emercing 14k gold in nitric acid
Dude I love your videos
😌😅🤗😎
Why crystallize the stump remover instead of just adding sulfuric?
They mix some contaminants into the stump remover. something to keep it from caking and something to keep it from absorbing water. Both of those agents could affect the outcome of your nitric acid. It is best to work with pure dry chemicals.
@@philipbender956 awesome, thanks! I was looking to see if it was able to save time
You should filter the potassium nitrate solution boil it until salt begins to form on a metal spoon or knife when it’s removed from the super concentrated liquid. The place in fridge for 4 hours, repeat process. Your yield will double if not triple, take less time and ultimately produce more nitric acid.
Can we used calcium nitrate directly substitution of potassium nitrate?
Yes, any nitrate salt will work.
Using such a higher concentration of nitric to dissolve silver, would you recommend making two containers of 95% nitric? In a proper bottle, how long can it be stored and in what temperatures? I live in the southern nevada desert
I have bottles of nitric that are 3 years old. It may be a good idea to keep it out of direct sunlight.
When you make the potassium nitrate crystals do the excess additives pour off down the drain?
Yes. What is left over is mostly the cutting agent. Potassium nitrate is extremely hydroscopic. It will pull moisture out of the air. I think they add something to prevent this from happening. And a small amount of dirt. Most likely from the facility where they store the potassium nitrate and mix the cutting agent. It should be safe to pour down the drain as this product is designed to be used outside in the environment. It is stump remover.
@@philipbender956 thanks for quick answer. I just crystalized some potassium nitrate from China and it was heavier going in than it was coming out. I think the stump remove is more pure. More expensive tho so crystallizing it is great for me.
@@imsidetracted you can purchase pyrotechnic grade potassium nitrate off of Amazon. And it's cheaper than stump remover 😎
@@philipbender956 I did 10lbs. Weighed it then crystalized it and it lost weight.
Hi nice vid.Brings me back to when i was taking chemistry in school.I wondered though if it might not easier to pick up potassium nitrate from a butcher supply that sells spices and such.Might be a little easier i think.
I agree it would be easier. I have searched around. Extracting potassium nitrate from Spectracide stump remover is cheaper then just buying potassium nitrate. From 6 pounds of Spectracide stump remover you will get 5 pounds of potassium nitrate at a cost of $44.00. Every other source I have found is more expensive and has a shipping cost. With this method it cost about $55.00 per liter of %95+ nitric acid.
Ya i forgot about shipping.I have around 1200 gm of sterling that i melted down so i now i need some nitric acid for the next step.Hence me watching these videos.
@@front2760 it takes about 800 mil of the nitric acid that I make to dissolve 1000 grams of sterling silver. I will be publishing a video demonstrating such in about a week.
Can you link to a place to get all the glassware you use in your distillation setup? Or a list of pieces? Thanks
Probably better that you learn about it on your own. Playing with acids without any knowledge about basic chemistry isn't very safe especially if you plan to play around with nitrogen compounds. I can ship you a distillation lab I did recently. The principle is the same as what is described here and the apparatus used to distill is similar.
Much Respect 💪
I have the honor of being #1000. I am not a chemist by any stretch but I would say this is a great instructional video. I was actually looking for instructions on turning the non-metallic lead in a lead-acid battery back to metal. Robert Murray Smith did one a few years ago but I think he removed it because too many people were on him about the safety of handling lead. I see quite a few guys doing battery revival videos and the not metallic lead seems to go to an undisclosed location.
It's an endothermic not exothermic reaction
Is the orange colour a contaminant?
Yes technically the orange color is a contaminant. The orange color is mostly nitrogen dioxide with a small amount of nitrogen trioxide. Both are caused by the decomposition of nitric acid. You can remove the orange color by bubbling dry air through the nitric acid. The orange color does not interfere with any metal refining reactions.
In the same instance, I'd have added boiling water to the crude nitrate after putting it in the beaker; just enough to dissolve them. Might speed up recrystallizing & with less H20 to get rid of. :)
Can I use Ammonium Nitrate instead?
Yes any concentrated nitrate will work.
A few couple questions , I heard that high purity nitric acid will decompose - how to stop that ?
Use of brown glass for storage ?
Thanks
Yes, use Brown glass for long-term storage. Then keep in a cool dark place away from UV light.
how long do you cook it at 250 degrees, then how long do you leave it at 315 degrees?
250 degrees for 3 hours will sufficiently dry your potassium nitrate.
@@philipbender956 cooking the mixture, of nitrate and acid, to distill off the nitric acid. you showed 2 temperatures, 245 and 315, stop at 316. how long at 245, and then how long at 315?
@@petermpeters I remove from heat once the still reaches 315 degrees. I believe the batch in this video took a round 3 and 1/2 hours to fully distill. Once you reach 315 degrees all of the nitric acid will have been driven off. This will be evident as liquid will stop distilling. You will get a very small amount of liquid that will distill over after 315 degrees up to around 638 degrees. That will mostly be water that has been freed from the sulfuric acid. Then you will distill sulfuric acid around 640 degrees. But the potassium bisulfite that is left over in the flask will most likely foam out of control before you reach that high temperature. Nitric acid will start distilling around 181 degrees. You will get the bulk of your distillate around 250 degrees. There's no set time for the distillation. It's just how long it takes to boil off.
@@philipbender956 i really appreciate that info. and your video is the best, by far. your 12 liter silver cell video is awesome too! 5 star.
If you are going to go to the trouble of crystallizing the KNO3 for purity, you should filter the solution before cooling to eliminate any insolubles.
Hey man sreetips tipped me off to ur video and I have watched an studied ur it multiple multiple times and am fixing to attempt it myself have u got any advice? Anything u have learned since the makeing of this video?
And my condenser is not a straight tube it’s the worm style will that make a difference?
Just keep some baking soda handy in case of a spill. Also once you start the reaction don't add anymore chemicals. Drive the reaction to completion and allow the rig to cool completely. Perform this in a well ventilated area. Nitric acid fumes will melt your lungs.
So anyone else that wants to try this DO NOT use lab with any sort of rubber gaskets or seals lol it don’t work out well! I got a buy a new lab. Any recommendations Phillip?
I got thru my first run with several dumb mistakes but I did produce about 200 ml nitric acid I had to rap all rubber seals with aluminum foil to keep them from melting an contaminating my nitric even more
@@kimberlynolz5725 You can use sulfuric acid to seal your joints. Also vinyl and Teflon are fairly resistant to nitric acid
0:50 but this is the one you want to use for dropping that gold once you get it into solution
can i use this to remove the gold plating on my 925 silver jewelry?
Yes, if you dissolve your gold pleated 925 silver in nitric acid. Depending on the thickness of the gold plating. It may float away as sheets 😉 or glitter gold. I once had a gold foil in the shape of a spoon.
thank you so much! many of the acids used in gold and silver refining is regulated in the philippines.. thats why any info on household product substitutes are very much appreciated...
Hi please do you have Someone on web to buy nitric acid cheap price please ? I'm from Paris ,
I am instred about your working process and i go to start please help me about this type of ingreant process
I am waiting for your respoance
And how i cotact you
The ingredients are potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid. I recommend using an excess of sulfuric acid. It will help keep water out of your final acid.
@@philipbender956 But sir i am doing brass peases on gold plated so i must be remove gold in brass peses, so please help me about this process and how i contact you sir
@@ashishkamadiya6541 if you are dissolving gold plated brass. Just use nitric acid.
How did you make so much i wanten to calculate you yield percentage but it s over a 100% i did 1600÷101.1×63.01=~1000×1.513=~700ml
Your calculation is correct. I get about 700 mill per batch. The end bottle was a combination of 2. It looked better for camera if it was full🙂
Congratulations 😊
What's the point in dissolving the potassium nitrate if you don't filter out the crap? You put the cloudy solution right into the cooler.
The anti caking agent remained dissolved in the water.
Great video, and intresting, instead of potassium can I use sodium nitrate? A day before of watching your video I got 6 ounces of sodium nitrate from ebay and they called "nitric acid substitute. To be truth I think potassium is stronger. I'll appreciate your answer. Thanks.
Yes you can use any nitrate. I believe potassium nitrate is the cheapest to purchase. You can get pyrotechnic grade from Amazon.
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
Freeze drying possible?
Yes you could freeze dry.
7:20 in a sense. its used to not let it degrade the joint grease causing a leak. thats why sulfuric acid is used bc it wont degrade it.
Yes. You can also just let the system seal itself. Take your pic concentrated sulfuric acid or concentrated nitric acid. They're both pretty nasty when you touch them as you take apart the rig to clean it.
@@philipbender956 really???? ive never heard of doing that. ive always been told to grease with sulfuric with highly corrosive/basic distillations.
Nice,
Sir please tell me which chemical is used for smelting silver ore it will be your most kindness
you *smelt* silver ore with heat not chemistry.
Hello,
How many grams of KNO3 and Na2S2O5 should be added to water ?
Add enough water so that you completely dissolve the kno3. But you want the solution to be saturated so use boiling water. As far as the na2s2o5 is concerned. That is useless for making nitric acid. Save it for precipitating your gold out of aqua regia.
it was claimed saltpeter was added to our food in navy bootcamp 45 years ago ...
William Russell yes it was supposed to curb masturbation
Nothing short of amputation will stop an 18 yr old from doing the deed. Lol.
Good very nice vedio.
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
@@philipbender956 Thank u very much Sir.
Very nice I would like to start making nitric acid myself can you please message me what all I need to get started thank you
You need a glass distillation apparatus. Like the one in the video 🤗 They are sold in kits on ebay. A purified nitric salt. Such as sodium or potassium nitrate. Concentrated sulfuric acid. I recommend adding extra sulfuric acid in order to remove any water.
@@philipbender956 thank you
@PhilipBender say I just made Potassium Nitrate from Instant Cold Packs which was my Calcium Ammonium Nitrate then separated to only have Ammonium Nitrate which I then added Potassium from a No sodium Salt substitute. Will this work for this Nitric acid synthesis?
If not what would you recommend to purify homemade ingredients? Such as the ones that later yield such a fine chemical like Nitric Acid.
@@b.wakegijig2625 yes, purchase it from Amazon.
Can anyone suggest any decent uses for the Potassium Sulphate that was neutralised and went down the drain?
If it went down the drain then there's not much more you can do with it 😏
@@philipbender956Nice one Science Jokester.. Funny guy.. i.e. fungi, which makes me wonder if plants might like it
@@philipbender956 I actually tried to drive all of the acid out of some by coating the boiling flask in clay and getting it just below the softening point of the borosilicate, and then pulled some vacuum too but my probe must have been in a slightly cooler spot so was reading low. Which meant I collapsed the flask a bit and half killed it. I am always killing my flasks.
@@waynoswaynos just be sure to use at minimal concentrations.
Well done. Why you chose potassium nitrate? Can I do this reaction with calsium nitrate
Yes I believe any nitrate salt will work.
@@alienrocketscienceshared8454 it's just spelling mistake nothing to do with the job
@@anarhuseynov4162 What job?
Hey, and when you're done making nitric acid, you can make some corned beef with all that salt peter...couple tea spoons to a brisket, brine for a couple weeks in the fridge.
Although the stuff I have is pink...potassium nitrate is white. So I wonder if it is just a mixture of salts I have...
@@peterlamont647 the pink stuff maybe an anti-caking agent.
@@philipbender956 I'm thinking they put pink dye in it so that you don't mistake it for regular salt. In many recipes & cook books it is referred to even as pink salt. It also tells you when the meat is corned(its the only way I can tell) when it turns pink. This is also what gives salami, pepperoni, corned beef, bacon, ham, pastrami etc. their respective pinkish color. I had always assumed that salt peter was pink as a chemical as a result...I definitely learned a lot from this video!
Did you titrate it which you said its 95% ? or by density ? if from density you should first remove no2 or freeze that to clear the acid
I deduced the purity from density it weighed out correctly. Also if you don't add any water and you dry your ingredients. You will always produce a very high percentage. Another trick is to add a little extra sulfuric acid to gobble up any water present.
Yes
Your acid is RFNA due the dissolved excess NO2 which forms as N2O4 in that but it has less than 2 percent water
is this process significantly cheaper than buying Nitric Acid? Or are there other reasons for using this process?
Yes it is cheaper to make the acid. Also the acid I produce is much stronger than the store-bought. The best you can purchase online is 70% the acid I make is greater than 95%.
Very nice, thank you for sharing
Thanks, I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗 😀
Nicely explained but temps given in degrees. Degrees what? Kelvin, Celcius, Farenheit?
ﾟF
@@philipbender956 Thanks Philip. I should have known but wasn't fully awake at the time. The joys of watching youtube in the early hours :)
@@planetzogg1 no problem. I am happy you enjoyed the video 🤗😀
Would Nitric acid be the only chemical that would work in separating some heavily coated gold pins, actually idk if they are even coated. 3 pins weighs 1 gram and I just tried to grind off the coating and it is still gold. They are from the 80's I believe they are military spec hollingsworth pins. I used to work for a engineering company for 10 years and we manufactured control systems for Nuclear power plants, paper mills, the navy, etc. Heck they may be solid gold. I have a big jar of them.
Nitric acid would be the best option. The pins you speak of are most likely made of brass with gold plate. If the pins have a very heavy gold plate and you have the skill. You could try dipping them in aqua regia for a few minutes. Just long enough to dissolve the gold leaving behind the base metals. If they are magnetic. You could try boiling them in sulfuric acid. Either way I prefer the nitric acid method. Hot nitric acid will destroy most medals. Just be sure to keep any iron out of your reaction.
@@philipbender956 they are not magnetic at all even with the strongest magnet
They are a bright yellow gold. They are not like most of the pins I see on here they are shiny gold beautiful.. If I boil them in sulfuric acid, how would I know when to stop? I am not a chemist such as yourself. Although I know a little
Yes definitely need to do in metric sorry all chemists in the U.S do measurements and volumes in grams and millilitres. Also I agree with other comment endothermic reaction is when heat is absorbed! Exothermic is giving off heat when dissolving or mixing with water ie concentrated Sulphuric acid
8:16 the thermometer looks a bit low for a distillation, doesn't it? The bulb should be just below the side outlet in the still head, I think. And it looks like that batch could maybe use another distillation, should be somewhat clear. Regardless, great upload!