Cupellation is a refining process in metallurgy in which ores or alloyed metals are treated under very high temperatures and subjected to controlled operations to separate noble metals, like gold and silver, from base metals, like lead, copper, zinc, arsenic, antimony, or bismuth, present in the ore.[1][2][3] The process is based on the principle that precious metals typically oxidise or react chemically at much higher temperatures than base metals. When they are heated at high temperatures, the precious metals remain apart, and the others react, forming slags or other compounds.[4]
Since the Early Bronze Age, the process was used to obtain silver from smelted lead ores.[5][6] By the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, cupellation was one of the most common processes for refining precious metals. By then, fire assays were used for assaying minerals: testing fresh metals such as lead and recycled metals to determine their purity for jewellery and coin making. Cupellation is still in use today.[4][7]
^Rehren, Th., Martinon-Torres, M, 2003
^Bayley, J., Rehren, Th. 2007
^Craddock, P. T. 1995
^ abBayley, J. 2008
^Rehren, Th., Eckstein, K. 2002
^Wood, J.R.; Hsu, Y-T.; Bell, C. (2021). "Sending Laurion Back to the Future: Bronze Age Silver and the Source of Confusion". Internet Archaeology. 56 (9). doi:10.11141/ia.56.9. S2CID 236973111.
Cupellation is a refining process in metallurgy in which ores or alloyed metals are treated under very high temperatures and subjected to controlled operations...
material often used in cupellation, a process by which precious metals (such as gold and silver) are removed from base metals. In cupellation, base metals in...
assayed by an assay office. Silver is assayed by titration, gold by cupellation and platinum by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry...
separate base metals from noble metals. This process is known as cupellation. Cupellation started long before the Post Medieval period, however, the first...
then be recovered with cupellation. Gold can also be parted using salts or using mercury. Large scale cupellation using a cupellation hearth is also covered...
chloride produced to the metal. The situation changed with the discovery of cupellation, a technique that allowed silver metal to be extracted from its ores...
metallurgical technology developed (hammering, melting, smelting, roasting, cupellation, moulding, smithing, etc.), more metals were intentionally included in...
is the fire assay, or cupellation. As applied to gold bearing metallics, as in hallmark assaying, it is also known as cupellation and can have an accuracy...
John Percy (1870). The Metallurgy of Lead, including Desiverization and Cupellation. London: J. Murray. p. 67. Retrieved 2013-04-06. Y. C. Zhou; H. Y. Dong;...
smaller amounts of gold include parting and inquartation as well as cupellation, or refining methods based on the dissolution of gold in aqua regia....
John (1870). The metallurgy of lead: Including desilverisation and cupellation. J.Murray. pp. 148. Office, Patent (1861). Patents for inventions. Abridgments...
Alchemical symbol Corentin Louis Kervran § Biological transmutation Cupellation Historicism History of chemistry List of alchemists List of alchemical...
Illustrations of the cupellation process used to separate silver from base metals. Source: Biringuccio, Vannoccio, De la pirotechnia, 1550, Vinegia, Giovan...
which an ore reduces to its metal Copper extraction techniques Clinker Cupellation Lead smelting Metallurgy Metallurgy in pre-Columbian America Pyrometallurgy...
output, making metallic iron available at a lower price. In addition, cupellation, developed in the 8th century, was more often used for the refinement...
that the Gundestrup cauldron was created, silver was obtained through cupellation of lead/silver ores. By comparing the concentration of lead isotopes...
from church roofs. Metallic lead was demanded in quantity for silver cupellation, and the resulting litharge could be used directly by glassmakers. Lead...
and spread to China and Feudal Japan. The industrial process involved cupellation, and was a contributing factor to the large amount of silver traditionally...
as furnace linings. In fire assay, magnesite cupels can be used for cupellation, as the magnesite cupel will resist the high temperatures involved. Magnesite...
pre-refinement processes. The metals are separated by distillation. Cupellation removes gold and silver from mixtures containing lead and other metals...
electronic devices, especially computers.[citation needed] Atomic theory Cupellation History of chromatography History of electrochemistry History of energy...
Cupel may refer to: A porous pot used in cupellation Cupel, Białobrzegi County in Masovian Voivodeship (east-central Poland) Cupel, Legionowo County in...
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