55 gal drum of copper sulfate

I found a guy selling a 55 gal drum of copper sulfate. Anyone have any experience at recovering copper from copper sulfate? I am reading up on electrolysis of copper sulfate. I am wondering just how much copper is in the 55 gal drum. I am guessing not a lot, I would think it it mostly water. There doesn't seem to much of a market for that large of a quanity according to my online research. Thanks to any who might be able to help, Mike.

Is the copper sulphate hydrated or anhydrous?? or is it copper sulphate solution?
If it is hydrated (blue) copper sulphate, from a full 55 gallons I calculate 268.1lbs of copper by mass.
If it is the anhydrous (pale green/grey) copper sulphate I calculate 660.8lbs of copper by mass.

This calculation assumes that all space is occupied which it won't be as there will be small gaps between the crystals so it's minus a small amount.

If all you have is copper sulphate solution then it's anyones guess as you don't know how much copper sulphate was dissolved in the first place.

Easy is right though, if you can find a buyer/buyers you will get more as copper sulphate. It is the most commonly used algaecide in the US, this is where your bulk buyers would be from.

The cheapest I have seen it for in bulk buy of 100kg+ is $1.96lb. Most likely it is The hydrated blue copper sulphate that Mike is speaking of. This means he has an approximate weight of 1047.3 lbs of CuSO4.5H2O
now with a value of $2052.71.
With smaller volumes ie 5lb bags, prices are as high as $4 a lb giving a value of over $4000.

Again this assumes all space in the container is occupied. Please allow a small amount for the gaps between crystals. Also if it is just copper sulphate is just waste the solution then the darker blue it is the better but I wouldn't offer very much at all and probably not bother unless I got it for next to nothing. That is unless he can tell you the solution concentration.

I have had an old milk can that was in the barn when I bought the place filled with a blue solution. It doesn't seem to freeze in the winter. Sounds like copper sulfate, might have been used on fruit, fumigating grain? or put in water for chickens( they used to have 10,000 of them here.) I wondered about using electrolysis to get the copper in it to stick to a copper pipe electrode, but was afraid I would be left with a few gallons of sulfuric acid. That's what they use to make the stuff, by dissolving copper metal into acid. Thanks to this forum, I have learned something, and I just put an ad on Craigslist for it. Wish the milk can was worth more but they are kind of hard to sell around here, folks dont seem as interested in them as they used to be.

Assuming it isn't antifreeze, Copper sulphate won't freeze in the winter but if it was of high concentration some of it should have recrystallised. Recrystallise the copper sulphate from solution by evaporation, If you do it slowly it will form large pretty crystals but these will stick to the can and be hard to remove when there is a lot of it. Simply boil the water off, then you will know how much you have and be able to get the proper value from it as buyers will know what they are getting. As it is they have no idea how much to pay for an unknown concentration. Alternatively you could find the concentration by titrating with starch/ sodium thiosulphate/ potassium iodide.

Originally Posted by tdean

I have had an old milk can that was in the barn when I bought the place filled with a blue solution. It doesn't seem to freeze in the winter. Sounds like copper sulfate, might have been used on fruit, fumigating grain? or put in water for chickens( they used to have 10,000 of them here.) I wondered about using electrolysis to get the copper in it to stick to a copper pipe electrode, but was afraid I would be left with a few gallons of sulfuric acid. That's what they use to make the stuff, by dissolving copper metal into acid. Thanks to this forum, I have learned something, and I just put an ad on Craigslist for it. Wish the milk can was worth more but they are kind of hard to sell around here, folks dont seem as interested in them as they used to be.

I'm surprised the copper has not precipitated into its elemental form. According to the electromotive series of metals your copper sulfate coming into contact with iron would have precipitated the copper out of solution back into pure copper as a beautiful red powder.

Well I have finally asked the lister exactly what he has and the price he wants for it. I will be surprised if I can get it at a cheap enough price to ensure I will make money at it. But no one suceeds without taking a chance. Best to all, Mike

Originally Posted by gustavus

I'm surprised the copper has not precipitated into its elemental form. According to the electromotive series of metals your copper sulfate coming into contact with iron would have precipitated the copper out of solution back into pure copper as a beautiful red powder.

Yeah slipped my mind totally that teh can would probably be made of metal. I guess it's antifreeze after all.

Originally Posted by harrisvh

Yeah slipped my mind totally that teh can would probably be made of metal. I guess it's antifreeze after all.

If your still unsure hang a clean nail into it for a few minutes, the nail will acquire a copper coat. Process is called plating by immersion.

thanks, I will try the nail. It is such a brilliant blue, I always think of antifreeze being yellow green buy perhaps they took it out of a tractor nyears ago when antifreeze was blue. Any ideas of what would be left after putting low current through a copper electrode in this stuff, if it is copper sulfate?

Let me rephrase the last bit, Generally, most other metals will give you metal sulphate salts of the metal used.

Originally Posted by gustavus

I'm surprised the copper has not precipitated into its elemental form. According to the electromotive series of metals your copper sulfate coming into contact with iron would have precipitated the copper out of solution back into pure copper as a beautiful red powder.

A while ago I picked up a metal tin when scrapping, inside it were several copper coloured silver coins & other coins.
I couldn't figure out the copper coloured silver coins till I read about this.

The copper coins had electroplated the silver coins by using the iron in the metal box, the box was outside & got filled with rain water.

Shouldn't this go into the questions and answers forum instead of the dismantling forum?