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I Forge Iron

Electrolysis tank for anvils


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So I decided to make an electrolysis tank and try it out, I got a big tub from Walmart and grabbed 2 peices of stainless from work. Worked out pretty good! Made wire wheeling this thing a dream! Before and after pics, 152 lb Budden 

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Nice looking anvil!

Problem - stainless steel contains chromium, which is consumed during the process (bet your tank turned an interesting shade of yellow) and is a known skin irritant and, ultimately, carcinogen that's rightly considered hazardous waste for disposal.  Your electrodes should be high carbon steel, not stainless.  

 

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1 hour ago, redeeman said:

I believe sugar neutralizes the hexavalent chromium particles, so before disposing of the water, pour some sugar in the water and stir

Please site your references for sugar neutralizing hexavalent chromium particles. I would like to add that information and reference to the site.

Electrolysis does clean up rust really nice, doesn't it.

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maybe also recommend to dispose of it at a municipal waste station?

Dont know about other countries, but in Denmark theres recycling centers in every municipality, and you can get rid of dangerous goods etc which is then sent to decontamination and such

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One follow-up comment on the sugar option - it seems like a majority of the harmful hexavalent chromium will bond with the sugar to form Chromium III at a 93-94% rate, not 100%.  The pollutant is still present and may require the same disposal methods as the untreated waste, I still wouldn't be pouring it onto the ground near near my house where it is likely to find it's way into the water table and ultimately my well.

I'd avoid dealing with it entirely by only using carbon steel electrodes, and even then let the liquid evaporate and then bag the resulting solid/powders as household waste to be disposed of at an approved facility the next time you drop off paints/solvents/oil/etc..  I assume many of these anvils and other tools were painted or slathered with the cheapest oil/grease available at some point in their history to prevent rust in storage/transport, and the likelihood of their being lead or other harmful chemicals present along with the rust that electrolysis removes is pretty high.

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Enter the party pooper.

The sugar that complexes with and converts poisonous hexavalent chromium to the "natural" and non-poisonous form is not common table sugar. That sugar is sucrose. The sugars that do the trick are fructose and also glucose. Fructose is known as fruit sugar. It and glucose are  mono-saccharides. Table sugar also, known as sucrose, is a double sugar (called a disaccharide). It  is a molecule made up of one glucose and one fructose. (stuck together.)

In other words, adding table sugar to a chrome-water solution will not work.

Fructose sugar can be bought but it may be expensive. But I believe, if my memory serves me, it can be obtained where canning supplies are sold. Apples have a lot of fructose and apple juice would work. But it is not that cheap.

Starch is broken down into sucrose then into it a mixture of glucose and fructose. That mixture is called invert sugar which is the preferred sugar used by bakers. That would do the job 

High fructose corn syrup would also work but I do not know where to get that. It is used in the food and drink industries.

Corn syrup is a glucose syrup, and that can be used as well.

Soooo.

to make a long story table sugar will NOT do the job. It is best used for coffee and corn flakes

SLAG.

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Ah, giving doctors a little indigestion is good for them they tend to think too much of their opinions sometimes. Nurses can be the worst for the "I'm a Medical Professional, you're just an ignorant . . . patient" attitude. A lot of that comes from having a very  hard job, not great pay, lousy if any benefits and dealing with nitwits and curmudgeons all day.

My endocrinologist and neurologist are great docs. They talk with people not at them. My general is good too but not great, her nurses are . . .typical.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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Hospital staff don't seem to have good medical plans either. Their pay isn't bad, just not really good enough to balance the unpleasantness of the work. Pay scales here are generally higher than down south but the cost of living is quite a bit higher, they almost balance out.

Frosty The Lucky.

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  • 1 year later...

Resurrecting an old topic....

Have a 170lb Fisher in a bucket for about 24 hours now and the electrolysis seems to be working well.

Can the water and sodium carbonate solution be re-used after skimming/cleaning out the rust from the solution?  If so, for how many uses does the electrolysis solution remain effective?

I've got 4 anvils and a bunch of hammers and a bunch of other smithing tools that weren't high enough off the ground when flood waters flowed through my garage and shop and I want to get them cleaned up.

Thank you.

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The electrolyte solution can be reused after cleaning it up, but if it's REALLY "crudded up", why not just go ahead and mix up a new batch.  The water and sodium carbonate are not that expensive, <wink>  I've reused mine quite a bit after doing small stuff like wrenches, horseshoes, small parts, etc.

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