Electrolysis and Brass

[creshka46]

If I wanted to refine brass into pure copper, is there an easy way to do it? Would it be through Electrolysis? Does anyone know if it would work to simply dip the brass in copper sulfide with a current and let the copper collect on a copper plat? What would happen to the zinc/tin/etc? I'm not concerned about cost effectivness, I just want to know if it's possible.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

If I wanted to refine brass into pure copper, is there an easy way to do it? Would it be through Electrolysis? Does anyone know if it would work to simply dip the brass in copper sulfide with a current and let the copper collect on a copper plat? What would happen to the zinc/tin/etc? I'm not concerned about cost effectivness, I just want to know if it's possible.

It is very "do-able". The zinc and other impurities will settle to the bottom. There are some tricks to it. Like you don't want to allow your CuSO4 to overload with zinc ions. Even the zinc can be recovered if you want to do it.

Here is a website about electroplating: http://www.finishing.com/faqs/howworks.html

Youtube.com is great! There are many vids on plating copper. Here is a vid for what you want to do. WARNING! This guy is handling the wires while they are energized! DO NOT DO THAT!!! If you have to ask why, you don't know enough about electricity to mess with this stuff at all!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eleRBbbsk_4&NR=1&feature=fvwp[/youtube]

[Kurr]

or try goldrefiningforum.com they have as much info on the refining processes over there as we have on coins here.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

If I wanted to refine brass into pure copper, is there an easy way to do it? Would it be through Electrolysis? Does anyone know if it would work to simply dip the brass in copper sulfide with a current and let the copper collect on a copper plat? What would happen to the zinc/tin/etc? I'm not concerned about cost effectivness, I just want to know if it's possible.

How about an update creshka46? How is your research going?

[creshka46]

I haven't had time to really work with it. Plus I don't have any kind of circuit set up. Does anyone know where I could find a power supply that would allow me to adjust the voltage in the 1-3 volt range?

[Kurr]

A rectifier for an electric train set might work well.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

A rectifier for an electric train set might work well.

That is exactly what I use!

[creshka46]

Like you don't want to allow your CuSO4 to overload with zinc ions.

How much is too much? 1%, 10%? And how can I tell how loaded the solution is?

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Like you don't want to allow your CuSO4 to overload with zinc ions.

How much is too much? 1%, 10%? And how can I tell how loaded the solution is?

Now that is where it gets tricky. Honestly, I am not too sure myself so I change it out often. I don't do a lot of copper plating except for the pure fun of it. You need some expert advice on that and I am just a rank amateur. Maybe Kurr can jump in and give better advise.

What happens when you have too many zinc (or other metal) ions floating in the solution is they start to plate onto your anode. That will defeat the purpose of trying to extract pure copper out of brass.

Theoretically, you should be able to plate pure copper up to a point when the CuSO4 gets overloaded with impurities, such as zinc. Then you should be able to electrowinn the zinc impurities out. Electroplate puts positive ions onto the anode. Electrowinn does the reverse.

Look it up at http://www.finishing.com/faqs/howworks.html The guy that runs that site has 40 yrs plating experience.
Or, go to Kurr's site: goldrefiningforum.com Those guys are real experts who do it for a living, too.