Re: Separation of Copper from Iron Sheet

One possibility of separation is by melting it down, copper having a much lower melting-point, 1085ºC, than iron, 1538ºC, if you can control the temperature of the furnace or kiln sufficiently well, to maintain it between the melting points of the metals. Then you can pour off the molten copper, and cast it into suitable molds to form ingots.

Other than that, you could dissolve all the scrap metal in (if the scrap was not cut into small pieces) an oxidizing acid like nitric acid or aqua regia, and subject the solution, of mixed Cu(II) and Fe(II) & some (III) cations, at a suitable pH, to electrolysis at a voltage between the electrode potentials of Cu++ (standard +0.34 v) and Fe++ (standard -0.44 v) required to reduce them to the metal, using a copper cathode (-), so as to electrolyze out the copper onto the cathode. This copper would be purer than that from the first method; electrical-grade. Because the Fe plate is clad between outer layers of Cu, dissolution of the Fe cannot be easily obtained using a non-oxidizing acid such as H2SO4, unless the pieces of scrap are cut into very small pieces.

John W.

--- On Mon, 20/12/10, Rajesh Sharma <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Rajesh Sharma <[email protected]>
Subject: [The Chemistry Cluster] Separation of Copper from Iron Sheet
To: [email protected]
Date: Monday, 20, December, 2010, 7:56 PM







 



  


    
      
      
      Dear All,

 

I have metal sheet scrap, which is copper claded (seems to be cold welded) to iron sheet (2mm thich). I wanted to seprate out copper from this cladded sheet. Please advice.

 

Best regards,

Rajesh





 



  





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thechemistrycluster/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thechemistrycluster/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email protected]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/