Extracting the Cadmium from NiCd Batteries
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- I open a battery and find the horrors within. Subreddit: / explosionsandfire
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Music: \aleph_{0} aleph0.bandcam...
Track names:
spring song [final]
21 stamrex
01 esser 19
If you enjoyed the music in this video, it was by an artist called \aleph_{0} ( aleph0.bandcamp.com/ )
For the last few years I've been using the uncredited Aphex Twin soundcloud tracks for these video. They've been great but I'm keen to branch out. If you're an artist who makes music with the same vibes as the previous videos (so electronic music, no vocals), DM me up on Twitter to be involved if you wanna! I'm slow at replying, and quite picky with the music I choose, but I'm super keen to feature some cool beats in future videos. Thanks!!
i dont like it let me do your music
Yes!!!
Now play some camellia bgm ehehe
Looks like Board of Canada.
You should collab with the youtube channel "look mum no computer"... Your welcome!
8 months ago in your RuO4 video, you told us to remind you in 8 months to extract Calcium from bones. Here’s the reminder
Being a pure bred American, I genuinely enjoy stroopwaffels.
Being a full human being, no one cares. 🤦🏻♂️
@@Weldoholic its literally a honey waffle cookie, no way someone doesnt
@@vincedibona4687 wait until you discover that the world doesn't recover around you, it's gonna be a whole new perspective
@@WeldoholicStroopwafels*, broeder uit de koloniën
"Cadmium is extremely toxic"
*10 Minutes later*
"The Cadmium is somewhere I'm not quite sure"
It can't be that toxic. In high school, I tried to make my own NiCd battery and I was heating cadmium with a propane torch to shape it the way I wanted and I didn't realize not only could I melt it but its boiling point was low enough that I was boiling it too, and I certainly breathed in some of the vapors and never had any ill effects from it. Of course that was cadmium metal and oxides, they were probably not very soluble so I wouldn't have absorbed it.
That's not really how carcinogens work. Cadmium fumes can cause kind damage and kidney damage, but it's also a carcinogen.
the cadmium is LOOSE and it it out for REVENGE
@@medexamtoolscom That's what the romans said, and chuckled while sipping wine from their lead cups
@@medexamtoolscom good luck
"Just because a project succeeds in its goals doesn't mean its not a fucking disaster"
Thanks Tom, was struggling for a final sentence to conclude my thesis but this gets to the core of it.
top kek
😂🤣 but well done tho
Like that time the fume hood died... Just leave... Reaction was just fine!
im suppose to write my thesis right now, its 5am and it was due at 5 hours ago. this could replace everything i wrote in the last few hours
i have to remember this
As part of my degree course, I went to a chemical plant that was very pleased that it had recently worked out how to replace the Cadmium electrodes they had been using, with Lead electrodes, because Lead was so much safer.
that feels like a weird sentence considering how bad lead is as well. Lesser of two evils I guess
In 2020 I worked a bit at for an electrochem project of a doctotorant as a general lab rat.
Cleaning and polishing the used cadmium electrodes was one of my jobs. I was kinda glad I had stocked up a few micro silver filter cloth masks before habd, because if the pandemic. ^^
Not that safer though.
Lead's way better than cadmium
@@subliminalfalllenangel2108 ermmmmmm yeah it’s decently so, cadmium is fuckin scary lol
Gotta love inorganic chemistry. Always trying to kill you, but at least there's pretty colors (and no tar!)
There is no inorganic or organic chemistry. There is only molecule and "bulk" chemistry.
@@PlaqueBaka ok Mr science man
Don't worry, organic chemistry will try to kill you plenty. But fewer colors, it's all a white powder.
Idk why "and no tar" made me laugh like it did, but it made me chuckle.
Instead of tar it has brown sludge
Battery disposal industry: Incinerating batteries is absolutely fine (1)
References
1. Explosions and Fire et al: "The Atmosphere Is Nature's Bin". RUclips, 27 March 2020, 5:58
I'm my own worst enemy
No it’s not. It’s just his bin.
I have that bit screencapped for whenever my project supervisor asks how I intend to dispose of my waste.
Wow Extractions and Ire managed to do a collab with that famous et al guy?
Welp, it's still better than the "good ol' chem pit".
I love the sketchyness of this video. It's like he knows just about the bare minimum to make everything work.
that's just how lab work is tbh. trust me on that one.
what's even funnier is that he has a phd
that is because I don't do youtube videos, imagine having less than the bare minimum and still trying, got an HCl plant project for about two years now, no proper glasware used, just some UV LEDs, mercury vapor lamp, halogen lamps(gotta have that warmth since people say that I'm just too cold), some drilled mini glass jars and test tubes, a lot of PTFE tape and epoxy, epoxy and PTFE tapes are everything to me.... got something going, gotta revive the damn thing after some new findings.... for what is worth, I managed to do it, I got about 1l of 5% HCl from the project, yes, all from table salt, water, heat, UV radiation and my hatred! no borossilicate needed, true men do chemistry without lab glassware.(of course, I might die earlier from an explosion or cancer, whatever comes first LOL)
@@deathkeys1 Just because project does its goals it doesn't mean that it isn't a fucking disaster
He's an actual chemist but started these videos when he was a child and still uses the same ghetto rigged gear. He likes to mock his own no-fricks-given persona.
Imagine inviting a friend and they see your waste bottle of green cadmium.
"There's a lot of nickel in this cadmium, have you thought about separating it?"
it's just a prank, bro
**proceeds to chug the cadmium** ya?
"Thought about it... and decided against it."
🫥
I used to make beautiful nickel sulfate crystals from the nickel oxyhydroxide I got from batteries, I left the cadmium alone. Had a whole box of the screens but misplaced them when I moved
Back in the 70's I helped build an apple press. After 300 lbs (yes, we were still using furlongs in the 70's too) of apples, the plating on all the screws was gone. A quick test in the university lab proved we had a tasty, toxic cadmium apple drink.
What kind of screw has cadmium in it?
@@sunnysuryani5674 a screwed up one
RIP
Cadmium plated screws and bolts were common. We been getting cadmium plated nuts and bolts from China for some time and folk don't know. Galvanized and zincalume may also have cadmium if from tjyna. Heat it red hot for a bit if the coating is brown it's cadmium oxide. Zinc oxide is white but happens to be yellow when still hot till it cools .
@@Philip-hv2kc cadmium is pretty common in nuts, bolts and other metal hardware... i found out after i made a bong out of the stuff...
Yellow chemistry, mate. You knew what you were setting yourself up for...
I am a fool
@@ExtractionsAndIre just remove the yellow in post.
Coloured safety goggles to remove the yellow
green is the new yellow
"What the fuck, where is my cadmium" is the same energy as where is the lamb sauce but a little bit passive-aggressive
"is nickel magnetic" tom has a chemistry degree and saying things like this is why we love him
Ok but is it though? Asking for a friend.
@12thealchemist I will inform my friend that Mr Theal Chemist says that's it's confirmed.
There's only three that are and they're all neighbours
Guys chill I know people forget stuff, it was just funny for advanced yellow science man to forget (or at the very least, be unsure of) a primary school chemistry fact.
@12thealchemist that's fuckin' weird, i didn't know that.
We had some metal bits in our science lab in high school that was meant for showing how density worked. They came in these nice old kits in plastic bags, each piece was equal in size.
Among the samples was a slug of metal that didn't look like lead, but it was very very heavy. I was curious as to what metal it could be.
Read the instructions and it turns out it was a solid lump of Cadmium. That I was handling with my bare hands.
Oops
Well, elemental cadmium isn’t all that dangerous. It’s not absorbed by the skin so you’re not going to die by holding it
@@Tactix_se same as lead or even mercury. people got mercury fillings and we still fish and hunt with lead, and its mostly fine to touch(dont eat birdshot)
"where's the cadmium?" is a scary game
bloody scary after that chemist got 2 drops on a nitrile glove and it killed her in a horrible manner. (Chubby Emu channel)
@@gordonlawrence1448 That was dimethylmercury but organocadmium compounds are arguably worse
how in comparison to where's the uranium?
@@vincentschumann937 a lot worse considering you’d likely be fine short term from uranium depending on the amount
Hey heey pay no mind your under 18 you wont be doing any time come out and play
I have fond memories of NiCd batteries from the 1990's. I had Rc cars that used 7,2v nicd packs. I used a few of those packs almost every day of my childhood and they ALWAYS just worked. I would fast charge them on a 15 minute charger and discharge them at huge currents. I shorted them many times and all they ever did was get hot as hell. NiCd is a helluva cell and would be a great choice for EV if it wasnt so toxic.
Watching Tom descend into insanity Because of heavy metal poisoning is kinda funny.
The things we do for the advancement of science
I love the part where he loses the highly toxic metal
I came for the extractions and stayed for the ire
NiCads also can function in the cold very well, which is why they used to be the standard for military aircraft, and are currently in use for Arctic conditions.
Specifically...flooded NiCad were used. Yep. They used hydroxide electrolytes and lasted pretty much forever. Marathon was the brand.
I got a hold of a pack of these, flooded them and used them for an electric snowblower conversion back in the early 00's. You have to use nickel plated connectors because the solution is so basic.
Those batteries have some Wheaties, lots of prompt current. Need 10 cells to make a 12V jump pack. The aircraft packs are 24V or 48v usually.
Misread that as "Arabic conditions"
Was like "wait what"
20:20 "I'm getting really sick of this"
You know, you might not want to be saying that around good old cadmium...
Gotta say, I love how you just throw things at the problem until it works - much more entertaining than other chemists who follow exact steps and never make mistakes on camera
Baja Blast chemistry is my favorite personally.
It really does look like Baja Blast...
Fuck, now I really want to drink it.
Operation Soda Steal
@@leflavius_nl5370 Operation Soda Steel
@Tiddy Blaster nah man I think I was making a metal joke to reference MGS or something
Considering the battery is probably only ~5% cadmium by weight, I'd say you did well.
There's something very enlightening about how he seemingly haphazardly blows through chemical processes trying to figure it out as he goes after skimming the literature and documentation until it gets to where he wants it...and then says that he's struggling with putting together Ikea furniture which is famous for explaining the process step-by-step to make sure that even college students can get it put together.
I don't know why, but some people just inexplicably struggle with Ikea directions. I had to help a friend with his Ikea desk, after he got stuck ~6 steps in.
I appreciate the honesty of showing us the failures as well as the successes. I fear traditional publishing does not publish the failures so we never hear the reality.
You ever heard of peer review?
@@atlas42185... that's not remotely the same
@@atlas42185Pee'er review? Payer review... there it is.
From Wikipedia "Ni-Cd batteries contain between 6% (for industrial batteries) and 18% (for commercial batteries) cadmium, which is a toxic heavy metal and therefore requires special care during battery disposal."
Maybe that was all of it
holy fuck, that really might've been all of it
6% of fukk-all is fukk-all. I think you´re right.
@@Skyliner04s still, the cell should be something like 29g, he should have way more...
@@AKAtheA are we including the steel case?
@@jeremymcadam7400 yep
Man...stumbling upon your channel was like a gift bro. Seriously i watch other chemists but none of them were comedian chemists lol. Love it man gonna binge everything now.
"Just because a project succeeds in its goals doesn't mean its not a fucking disaster." I need this on a T-Shirt. It's going to be my slogan for life now.
I recall working on a submarine during a refit and was surprised to find a locarton which contained cadmium plated equipment. Lovely colour though!
This entire video was just the laugh of a broken and tortured man.
Top notch content, my dude.
You got my like for the name
Same subbed
Fucking simps… 🤦🏻♂️
"Where did the Cadmium go?" is not a question anyone wants to hear...
It's not quite up there with "where did the Mercury go?", but it's still unnerving.
where da uranium go? where da hydrochlorine go?
@@renerpho while still really bad, mercury isn't a carcinogen...
@@vincentschumann937 At least you can find your uranium with a giger counter. Sucks if it's inside you tho.
@@renerpho
I don’t know what is worse.
I like how things aligned so that you ended up with really pretty colors all around. Even the yellow looked okay next to the green and blue.
I'm really glad you made this video. I've been contemplating the extraction of cadmium from NiCd batteries for a couple years now as a means to add elemental cadmium to my element collection. You have made it quite apparent to me that ebay prices really aren't that bad xP
discovered this channel a couple days ago, can't stop watching. the commentary is mostly what makes it interesting for me. despite the lack of tar.
ah yes "where's the cadmium" my favourite game to play on a long car journey
Greeting from a new subscriber!
This was the first video i watched and let's just say that I really enjoyed it.
Please keep up the good work. Love the enutisiasm, anger xD and how you make "not-so-fun" scenarios fun (cleaning for example).
thank you man and if you see this I wanna wish you a safe day ^^
Thanks mate!!
It seems that whenever you try to get something from a battery, the question is always where’s the cobalt or where’s the lithium and you give up and never come back to it again.
'Moving on with my life' is the less harsh term I use to refer to giving up
That's why I stick to zinc carbon for recovering stuff. The carbon rods make half decent electrolysis rods for some purposes and I;ll be buggered with a horseshoe if I'm paying for platinum ones. Also the zinc can be useful and it's easy to clean.
@@gordonlawrence1448 +
@@ExtractionsAndIre well put!
@@gordonlawrence1448 I was just gonna say this 🤣
“absolutely do not open these”
*6 seconds later*
“oke, so my plan is to take this apart”
The camera joke at the end is your best joke so far on both channels
Tom: I'll do some inorganic chemistry to get a break from the yellow
sulphur: allow me to introduce myself
Some cadmium compounds make fine yellow pigments.
Fun fact, in Germany, you are considered worse than the devil if you trow even just one battery ever in the normal bin.
There are collection boxes in every supermarket
Good
As an artist I have to say that the sulfides and sulfoselenides of cadmium are the flat out no question best opaque yellows, oranges, and reds. They have fantastic tinting strength and they soak up oil greedily. Long Live Cad Red
Man, I love when chemistry involves lots of brightly colored liquids. Feels like cartoon science, in like a good way.
That new cam produces some crisp footage! I like! (the colors are a bit intense though, wrong base curve setting in the video editor maybe? o:)
Yeah lol I'm still learning. I can tell when it's wrong but I'm not good at correcting it yet
@@ExtractionsAndIre All good man! Just saying. ^^ Awesome video, as usual! I'm still chasing the cadmium with you, about halfway through.
All that's missing now is a proper microphone that doesn't make him look like he's doing Karaoke.
@@graealex that's why I come here. I like to pretend he's singing me sweet chemistry songs in spoken word.
@@graealex That's why we're here! Chemistry Karaoke is the best!
20:16 I absolutely love this edit with the casual "Where's the Cadmium" text
Also cadmium is really soft and you could chew on it mate
That's one way to test for cadmium I guess
Cadmium test:
Have someone drink the solutions. If they're dead, there was cadmium!
👍
@@Ninjastahr if you drink the reaction mixture, you get to use all the amazing testing equipment they have at the hospital :D
Tasting the compounds is a good method of identification and was widely done in the pre 20th century.
You always use the absolute best music in these videos!! I always love watching them and finding new amazing songs, thanks man.
Can you do the calcium from bones reaction?🙏🏼 in the spooky scary ruthenium tetroxide video@0:44 you said to remind you in 8 months time n i would love to see it 🕙.
MVP comment
@@thedude7726 Most volatile peroxide?
@@vertiform_city i love this 😂
Cadmium is very, very similar to iron-nickel when in sulfate acid, such as nitric-oxide acid, sulfuric acids, or nickel-cadmium ion acid (which you used twice)! The result will be iron-sensitivity, which is highly dissolvable with sulfuric acid, but not with fulric (or formic) acid. You were actually recreating the science of the battery itself, generating a voltage very likely by adding and removing different highly-sensitive-set ions to the solution! Great video, a lot of fun to watch! Take care, an Immortal Speaking.
Imagine how cool it would be to have toxic element goggles that could turn your work area for this project into a fun multicolored death zone
I watch tour videos and probably 95% of what you say I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but I still keep watching. You have a gift my man.
I’m really liking this slightly more high end/main channel editing keep it up!
Tom, you can probably increase the yield if you bubble H2S through a longer tube and for longer period of time. It looks like your tube was just in the solution and H2S does not have enough surface area to react with the solution. Love the videos, keep them coming :)
This was a wild episode of Cadmium Pranks!
Gotta love when what was expected to be a 5 minute project takes months!
I like that this shows the whole process of the project including ideas and fails. It is filmed with the camera in one hand and also the mic at the beginning just makes it so amateur and genuine.
It is the first video I have watched on the this channel and it seems to be the complete opposite of NileRed's videos. I like both.
Dude, I love your videos, I know very little about chemistry and will never try any of this, but it is truly fascinating. Keep it up and don't get cancer or melt your face off.
Have you ever had things go property-damage bad? Or hospital bad? Or police-called-on-me bad?
Viewer questions video in the future?
Thanks mate!
I've watched this and most of your vids multiple times. I'm not a chemist or anything like that. Idk... it just seems comforting to hear you speak about toxic chems and explosions
Katie~ she/her
When you put H2S into the Cd(NO3)2 solution it decreases the PH again by regenerating the acid:
Cd(NO3)2 + H2S -> CdS + 2HNO3
I'm pretty sure that's the reason for the low yield.
Solution: buffer the shit out of it!
My guess is that within a weeks time, most of the CdS oxidised into some mixture of sulphite and sulphate. Cadmiumsulphate is fairly soluble in Water at 772 g/l.
@@marinahildebrand5868 Cadmium sulfide was used as a pigment in paint, so it should be fairly resistent to oxidation, but according to Wikipedia, it does react with HCl.
@@hammerth1421 Yeah, I think adding sodium acetate to the solution should do it.
Turn that arrow into an equilibrium arrow and I think you have your answer. Once CdS reacts with acid, the H2S can just fly away as a gas.
it hadn't even occurred to me until I saw that yellow at 18:30, that's the same cadmium yellow that's used in oil paints isn't it?
I could never do anything like this it scares me to heck. You videos are a great way for me to act like I am a smart scientist and I am with you in the lab. Bravo on the content and who you are as a person
As much as I love your talking, watching your face and laughing the jokes (and I do, don't go changing), I enjoy this format too.
I was torn between listening to you and grooving to that beat. Chills.
Seeing that cadmium just PLUMMET out of solution was amazing. Good work!
Changing the color of the nitric acid solution was genius subtle humor
The production quality has become quite a lot better, well done mate :)
"Let's play a little game called 'WHERE'S THE CADMIUM?'"
Answer: IN MY BLOODSTREAM!
The time line on the "easy to assemble" home cabinet (IKEA) to the week later for the first result of the experiment was awesome!
All of this top notch chemistry and all I could focus on was the Melbourne Bitter can hanging out in the background 😄
The pained laughter throughout
I used to open batteries on my free time back in like 2012, I found a ton of different materials used but I did it for the little button batteries you often found. There was a black colored powder, slight yellow fluid, and once the cadmium. I never had any bad experiences, so never thought about why i shouldn't. Now I now that cadmium batteries exist and are highly toxic.
Somehow the struggle of getting the chemistry to work is enjoyable when it is someone else struggling, and it takes less than an hour to sort out on vid... Somehow even super low yields are amazing... Sorry bud. Keep up the great work! Test the ph in the solution after it stagnates... I think the hydrogen sulfide is bringing the solution back around... Try buffering the hell out of it?
I live on Long Island, New York. My Parents live upstate. There are lots of ways for me to get from where I am to where my parents are. The shortest route mileage-wise, and the one the GPS almost always selects, is on a road called the Cross-Bronx- Expressway. This road is always a bad decision, because no matter what time of day, day of the week, or day of the year, the traffic is always jam packed. No matter how many road signs say it will take 10 minutes to cross it, no matter how much the GPS wants me to take it, and no matter how tempted I am to do so, I have trained myself to drive twice the distance (frequently in half the time) to avoid it, because once I get on this road, life sucks.
Yellow Chemistry is your Cross-Bronx-Expressway. Always a bad decision. :-)
Glad you're back making videos! You have been missed. I hope the internship went well.
Yeahhhh funny Aussie chem man is back
I know I'm late to this party but the H2S is probably reacting to make some Sulfuric acid as it bubbles through the solution, dropping the PH and increasing the solubility of the cadmium in solution. This would explain why it seems the reaction stops after a certain amount of time. To keep it constantly going you would probably need to adjust the PH back to slightly acidic when the reaction stops.
Extracting Cadmium - From Battery ✔️
Extracting Gallium - From LCD ✅
Extracting Indium - From LCD ✅
Then make CdSe and InGaP quantum dots. I used to make these extensively.
extract Gallium from duckweed
Extracting Europium from old Vakuumtube monitors.
What the fuck are all you guys extracting this shit for, domestic terrorism?
Indium from LCD? Sounds tough as balls.
Interesting journey, enjoyed the progression of the process and problem solving. The only other time I have seem Cadmium recovery from a battery was at a company who will remain nameless and the process was a vapor extraction and condensation in a sealed steel retort, direct from mechanically prepared cells. It was quite effective but I didn't envy the staff who were running the process - even with PPE.
Always remember, if you're not satisfied with your yield percentages, just say the purpose of this test was qualitative, not quantitative.
My heath thanks you i source a lot of things and was going to open some of these up and well your video stopped that thanks again. Cant see anything about Australia without thinking about Steve
RIP Steve Erwin. Will always be missed by very many people.
Damn, bud, yellow really is your nemesis. Regardless; awesome video. Inorganic Chem is always cool to watch because of the pretty colors 😎
Been watching the channel for a while. Just noticed the transpride flag on your chalkboard. I am absolutely here for it
just to cheer you up, this is a good video that shows how scientific thinking and scientific method solve problems trough variuos experiments.
This channel is pure gold. Whereas eg. NileRed is concentrated knowledge, you're memeing and cursing while doing amazing chemistry
When you said "glassware graveyard" I was laughing so hard 😂😂😂
DUDE. I just found this video and your channel feels like chaotic NileRed, I FUCKING LOVE IT.
You gained a subscriber :)
I want to thank you for making great content. It inspired me to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. Also NiCd batteries are only 6-18% cadmium, that would be part of the reason for the low overall yield. Dismantling larger cells would be a better option as they require a similar amount of time to open as the small ones and would have more cadmium . Best source would be old drill battery packs.
Wow, you really uped your quality since I was last on your channel. Keep it up! :)
thanks!
God, i am loving this new camera. I can see every little detail of your face!
I love that you're coming back I hope everything with your phd went very well
This has been one hell of an odyssey with you, E&F. My favorite part was when we all lashed you to the mainsail so you could listen to the wisdom of the Sirens. Lost a lot of stout men that day... Don’t remember that? No, I don’t suspect you would…
yer drunk, ye old sod! drunk on moon pies and jellied barnacles, i say!
13:06 I believe the very good test you were about to mention was drinking the beaker of mystery goop and if you die its cadmium
Yellow+Blue= Green! Such a pretty green too.
So glad you're back bud, missed the content, it's really helped me though a tough lockdown 👍😊
Gotta love the midnight upload schedule keep it coming
You have given me two things that I like, Color changes and Battery recycling which makes me feel better.
So, is green your "new" yellow? And, yes, nickel is ferromagnetic.
I love this channel! Gives me a glimpse at chemistry and processes Ive never studied
Lab coat in the summer ✅
Short sleeve in the winter ✅
I fkn love you man, keep doing anything on video, you're great to watch!
It wasn’t just incineration that was a problem with ni-cad batteries it was cadmium leeching into ground water from landfill disposal. That’s still a problem with the old landfills that are full of these.
I'd hate to think what other heavy metals are in the run off from landfills. Probably all of them
@@ExtractionsAndIre collect runoff from landfill, extract heavy metals. profit?
@@ExtractionsAndIre pretty much.
Well done! A fusion of formidable intellect, life & comedy! Bravo! Perfect Perscription...
7:52 thats how i imagine what the start of an accidental nuclear explosion looks like
**screwdriver slips**