Common silver salts and compounds in water

Silver nitrate is a soluble source of silver, whereas several silver halides and silver sulfide have low water solubility. In real waters, chloride, sulfide and complexing ligands can change the balance between free silver ions, dissolved complexes and solids.

See also silver in water and the silver element page.

Selected salts and compounds

This is a practical selection, not a ranking of abundance in every water. Qualitative solubility descriptions refer to the stated compound; hydration, temperature, pH and complexation can change its behaviour. A soluble starting salt does not necessarily remain unchanged after addition to water.

Removal, purification and recovery

Separate particulate silver from dissolved or complexed silver before choosing a recovery process. Clarification and filtration address particles; they do not necessarily remove dissolved silver complexes. For suitable concentrated process streams, precipitation, metal recovery or selective ion exchange may be evaluated. The chemistry of photographic or plating solutions differs substantially from dilute natural water.

Do not infer treatment performance from a pure-salt solubility alone. Thiosulfate, ammonia and other ligands can change silver solubility and media uptake. Test representative water, measure total and dissolved silver, and assess the composition and destination of the recovered solid, spent resin or concentrate.

Information for process selection

Useful inputs include flow, pH, temperature, salinity, total and dissolved silver, other metals, suspended solids and known complexing constituents. Define the treated-water target and whether recovery is an objective. Laboratory or pilot testing can establish performance for the actual feed rather than a simplified salt solution.