I would give the bleach a try. It may also loosen up the
support. x-ray film, unless its from the 1930s, is probably on
some sort of safety base film. The bleach will dissolve the
gelatin of the emulsion and also any back coating. Also, a lot of
x-ray film was double coated, that is, an emulsion on both sides
to increase its sensitivity. Just soaking it in warm water may
get the sheets apart and make them easier to deal with.
I have no idea how much metallic silver may be in the
emulsion but x-ray film typically had thick emulsions so there
might be quite a bit. A web search should show the value of
silver these days. Its at least an interesting experiment and
might result in some beer money.
On 4/26/2019 4:17 PM, Bill Riley wrote:
Sorry everyone. I did not mean to strike fear in anyone. They are in fact old x-ray B&W negatives that were saturated by water and now exist as bricks of film base and emulsion.
They are not photos of political figures. My attempt at humor was poorly delivered. That’s why I’m not on the comedy circuit. :-)
I thought I might find a way separate the emulsion from the base. I understand the process of separating the silver from the emulsion. I agree that it may not be economical to recover enough silver to buy a new car. :-)
I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on removing the emulsion from a bunch of trashed film.
The bleach suggestion seems tenable.
Thanks to all for you suggestions and advice.
Bill
