me_2

Hi all, came through google on this subject. I play myself a little with chemical on a lab scale, recently a lot with bismuth. I've tried regaining Bi from Bi2O3 by electrolysis which works fine in that way that I can extract the Bi. The result is a sludge of Bi and when dryed a Bi powder. The remelting give me problems. When I heat the Bi powder, a great part transforms back to Bi2O3. The only solution I can think of is melting it under a inert atmosphere so Bi can't react with O2. Any other solutions ? -- What do you mean with 'melting under charcoal' ? Do you mean I should mix the Bi powder with charcoal and then melt it ? How do you clean up the Bi ?? I suppose there will always stay some C behind in the Bi ? Or will it float all on top ? --