What is silver in and how to extract it?

Silver - a noble metal, one of the aristocratic triad, which also includes gold and platinum. It is quite common in nature: about 60 minerals are known to contain silver. But it can be isolated not only from ore.

This metal possesses high electrical and thermal conductivity, lends itself well to processing and is excellent for alloys with other metals. In addition to being used in the jewelry industry, it is widely used in radio-electronic products.

The list of sources containing silver is pretty decent. Among radio components, it is found in microcircuits, especially the Soviet period, capacitors, resistors, transistors and aircraft wires. This precious metal is often coated with contacts of various starters.

Also silver is present in photo and film, but it can only be obtained from them with special equipment. Also, this metal can be found on various objects: sports cups, tableware, jewelry and other silver-plated items.

Silver is valued somewhat cheaper than other precious metals, but its scope is wider and easier to mine. Today it is not difficult to get silver at home, for this big expenses and specific skills are not required.

There are three main ways to extract silver from other compounds.

To get silver, you just need separate it with pliers from some types of contacts.

It happens that the first method cannot be used, then you have to try heat the part with a blowtorch. At high temperatures, silver separates well from other elements.We need pliers, a gas torch or cutter, and a knife or screwdriver with a wooden handle. To get pure silver, we heat the plate to which it is attached, and then, using a screwdriver, remove it with a slight movement.

This method is used when selecting silver radio parts... However, it requires a lot of concentration and care. The process can be hazardous to health if safety measures are not taken care of. Work should be carried out in a well-ventilated room with an exhaust hood, or better generally in the fresh air. It is imperative to use goggles for eye protection and rubber gloves for hands. To get silver we need:

• glass flask or other container;
• quartz stick for stirring;
• copper;
• nitric acid solution, concentration 8%.

After all the preparations, we do solution of acid and distilled water in proportions 1: 1. After all, we put the prepared parts on the bottom of the flask and fill it with acid. We'll have to wait about 10 hours. After the silver is completely dissolved, copper must be added. Thanks to this, the process of obtaining the noble metal will be significantly accelerated.

The fact that the chemical reaction has ended will be clear from the silver precipitate on the bottom of the flask and the cooled solution.

The next stage is filtration of the solution. Here you will need a watering can, coffee filters and a container. First, filter the solution well and get rid of copper residues. At the final stage, we evaporate moisture from the remaining liquid, remelt the remainder and get pure metal.

Silver mining can be a good source of side income, but it needs to be figured out. Although this process is quite laborious, it makes sense to do it.

The largest percentage of this noble metal is found in military or civilian devices of the Soviet era.

To independently determine the presence of silver in alloys, it is recommended to use several methods.

1. Drop nitric acid on a piece of metal, and if smoke appears, then silver is present there.
2. A solution of sodium dichromate and nitric acid in equal proportions, upon contact with the alloy containing the desired metal, changes color to red.
3. There is also a simple folk method that does not require any special skills and accessories. Place the product in a crumb of brown bread. If it does not darken in a day, then this is what you need.

In order not to miscalculate when handing over metal to buyers, you need to know exactly where to go.

You can learn how to melt silver at home in the next video.