Reverse electroplating to recycle precious metals.
I was just wondering about reverse electroplating. I know the basic process, submerge item in an electrolytic solution and hooked up as an anode, then a second piece of metal to act as the cathode and collector. After which power is supplied the anode metal is ionized and dissolved being deposited on the cathode. After some research I have concluded that stainless steel will be the best material to use as a cathode because it is unaffected by the electricity, whereas some metals react with the electrolytic solution.
My questions are, can any electrolytic solution be used such as salt water, instead of an acid or strange chemical mixture, and will the underlying metal beneath the plating be also plated on top of the cathode also?
Things that make me wonder this are as follows.
Salt contains sodium, I am not sure how it reacts with precious metals such as platinum or gold under these conditions. I don't want displacement reaction going on here.
I was reading something about the acid providing the correct ionic compositions to carry the plated item to the cathode.
I want the underlying item to be left as is, or with as little damage as possible.
If I can find a viable solution, I would use this as a good income source. I have found some 24k gold plated titanium rings on eBay. If I can separate the gold from the titanium, then I can make nearly 100% profit from initial purchase.