Recovery of selenium and selenium alloys by hydraulic lathing

Abstract

The present invention is a method for recovering selenium or an alloy thereof from the surface of an endless xerographic belt which comprises a ductile metal substrate having on its outer surface a thin layer of an organic resinous material which is overcoated with a relatively thicker layer of selenium or a selenium alloy. The method comprises the steps of: 1. mounting the belt on a rigid mandrel having a ribbed outer surface; 2. subjecting the surface of the belt to one or moe jets of high pressure water, said jets being expelled from one or more nozzles at a pressure of from about 8,000 to 11,000 pounds per square inch, to strip the selenium or selenium alloy from the belt without substantially affecting the layer of organic resinous material. During this step a water slurry of selenium is formed; 3. the last step of the method involves removing the water from the slurry to obtain substantially pure selenium or an alloy thereof.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.