not a dumb question , only dumb answer I can think of, electricity and chemicals do work very similar, they can remove electons from metals atom, just like in a chemical solution one metal will plate to another so it will also in electolisis, both of these methods are used in refining and recovery of metals, acid eating metals does not by itself create electricity, but two disimilar metals in an electrolyte will create electricity, the electrolyte can be acidic or basic, one metal looses an electon and that atom become an ion going into solution as and the other metal being higher in electromotive series attracts this ion and plates it to itself, this is a chemical reaction, a battery, and will produce a current if wires are tied to the metals, the potiential voltage produced is determined by the difference in metals, the current or amperage can be size of these metals etc. when you charge up this battery you created you are making the metals go back were they came from.also metals are positive and acids are negative the come together to make a salt example copper Cu (+)and ntric acid HNO3 (-) make a salt of copper nitrate Cu+NO3-, or if we mixed hydrochloric acid HCL and NaOH caustic soda (sodium hydroxide)(lye)(red devil drain cleaner) together we make somthing we eat on our french fries, --HCL + NaOH-->NaCL(table salt)+H2O (water),either of these can be dangerous to us but mixed we eat them, funny a stong acid and a strong base neutralize to flavor our food.john hope this gets you to look into this more , there are no dumb questions if we will learn from them, only people who are affraid they may sound dumb and give up asking something that may help them learn now that would be dumb not to ask questions. one question can open a world of information to you keep seeking the answers.
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To remove and recover remaining impurities from lead bullion, either pyrometallurgical or electrolytic refining is used; the choice between the two methods is dictated by the amount of bismuth that must be eliminated from the bullion and by the availability and cost of energy.
The Parkes zinc-desilvering process is the most widely used pyrometallurgical method of refining lead bullion. As in smelting, the lead is first melted and again allowed to cool below the freezing point of copper, which crystallizes and, along with any remaining nickel, cobalt, and zinc, is removed by skimming. The lead mix then passes to a reverberatory 'softening' furnace, where the temperature is raised and the molten lead is stirred. A blast of air oxidizes any remaining antimony or arsenic, both of which harden lead (hence the term softening furnace), and these are skimmed off to be recovered later.
After softening, the lead goes to desilvering kettles, where small quantities (less than 1 percent by weight) of zinc are added. With stirring, the molten zinc reacts to form compounds with gold and silver, both of which are more soluble in zinc than in lead. The compounds are lighter than the lead, so that, on cooling to below 370 °C (700 °F) but above the melting point of lead, they form a crust that is removed and taken to a parting plant for recovery of the precious metals. The remaining zinc is then removed by reheating the molten lead to 500 °C (1,100 °F) and creating a vacuum over the surface. The zinc vaporizes, and the vapour is condensed as metal on the cool dome of the vacuum vessel, where it is collected for reuse.
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The Harris process of softening and dezincing is designed to remove impurities from desilvered lead by stirring a mixture of molten caustic salts at a temperature of 450'500 °C (840'930 °F) into the molten lead. Metallic impurities react with the chemicals and are collected in the form of their oxides or oxysalts.
Lead bullion containing more than 0.1 percent bismuth can be purified by the Betterton-Kroll process, which usually follows softening, desilvering, and dezincing and involves treatment of the melt with calcium and magnesium. Bismuth unites with these metals to form compounds that rise to the surface. The compounds are skimmed off and treated for recovery of bismuth, a valuable by-product.
The Betterton-Kroll process produces a refined lead with bismuth contents of 0.005 to 0.01 percent. When a refined lead of higher purity is required, or when a lead bullion high in bismuth has to be refined, employment is made of electrolytic refining. This process is costly, but it has the major advantage of separating lead from every impurity except tin in one vessel or one stage, and it does so without emitting lead-bearing fumes or gases. The bullion is cast into large plates, which are hung as anodes in electrolytic tanks where they dissolve. Pure lead is deposited on a thin sheet of lead that serves as the cathode. Impurities left behind can be recovered by many complex operations.
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