Portable electrolysis unit for recovery of silver from photographic film

摘要

The device is a portable drum having a removable end cap and a removable plug. The end cap is electrically connected to an electric current and has a pair of anodes secured to the inside thereof. A cathode is mounted on the inside of the end cap, along with a perforated basket. The film is chopped up and placed in the drum. Bleach, water, and photography fixer solution are added through the plug. The solution washes the silver ions off of the film as the drum is rotated about its axis. The silver collects on the negatively charged cathode. The perforated basket prevents any pieces of film from coming in contact with the cathode. The cathode can then be removed and the silver removed from the cathode.