detinning
metallurgy
detinning, recovering tin from tinplate scrap. The scrap is placed in a solution of hot caustic soda to dissolve off the tin. The tin may then be recovered from the solution in various ways: in the form of sodium stannate, by evaporation and crystallization; in the form of metallic tin, by electrolysis; or in the form of hydrous stannic oxide, by precipitation with acid.