recycling copper from copper coated steel wire

Originally Posted by Mulden

If there was a way you could also do it with those copper coated staples you get on cardboard boxes

The copper coating would be so thin on those staples left outdoors would rust through within weeks, the copper is plated by Immersion passing the steel through a copper sulphate soloution there is a tranferance of copper onto the steel with out the use of electricity.

I beleive the railway wire has a thin layer of copper rolled over the steel core as it passes through a die to bond the two metals together. A process similar to gold filled watch cases and jewlwery which is a thin layer of gold laminated over a cheap metal core.

In the case of the later we go after the gold only because the value makes it worth while plus the base metals are easily digested useing traditional acids or by the use of the sulfuric acid deplating cell, trying to recover plated or rolled copper will not profit you.

However there is a way to profit from the railway wire, if you digested the metal core in a dilute sulfuric acid you would have iron sulphate which you could sell to the local golf course the iron sulphate is a nutriant that the greens will thrive on.



The remaining residue would be copper sulphate which is used in treating wood as a preservative or as a spray to kill moss. Or you could evaporate the liguid down enough so that the bluestone crystals form.

Or prcipitate the copper using more iron giving you more iron sulphate an a copper matte which would have to be melted into copper bullion to have it marketable.