Copper waste

SemiadditiveMethod. The semiadditive method was developed to reduce copper waste. Thin 5.0 lm (4.5 mg/cm ) copper foil laminates are used, or the whole surface may be plated with a thin layer of electroless copper. Hole forming, catalysis, and electroless copper plating are done as for subtractive circuitry. A strippable reverse—resist coating is then appHed. Copper is electroplated to 35 p.m or more, followed by tin or tin—lead plating to serve as an etch resist. The resist is removed, and the whole board is etched. The original thin copper layer is quickly removed to leave the desired circuit. This method wastes less than 10% of the copper. 

This system treats about 15 gpm of chelated copper waste streams (including EDEA-chelated copper) and recovers up to 7 kg/day of the metal. It eitploys a... 

Other examples of such mixed potential models include that developed by Macdonald and Urquidi-Macdonald to predict water radiolysis effects in thin condensed water layers on metal surfaces (24), and the models of Marsh and Taylor (25), and Kolar and King (22) to predict the corrosion of carbon steel and copper waste containers surrounded by a low permeability material such as clay. 

The factors that determine the choice lof solvent for a given ore are dependent on the nature of the mineralization and association of the metal values with the unwanted bulk of the ore. Since in the process of dissolution of the desired metal, other metals are also simultaneously going into solution, the minimization of the unwanted side reactions becomes very important in the final choice of a solvent. It must be remembered that the concentration of the recoverable metal in the ore very seldom exceeds 1% and in most cases is only a fraction of 1%. In the dump leaching of copper waste dumps, an average value of 0.30% is... 

In various technical processes metallic copper wastes are generated in the form of turnings, snips, or filings with various contaminants. They can be attractive raw materials for copper compounds. 

Figure 14. Simplified process flow sheet to recover cobalt from copper waste streams The economics of such a process must be examined but they were favourable when the process was developed, and large volumes are involved. 

It is important to evaluate the waste generated in printed circuit board manufacturing in terms of the relative amounts of copper wasted from different processes in order to prioritize efforts at waste minimization. A waste audit should be performed to determine the types and amounts of waste generated. Figures 60.1 and 60.2 present two comparisons of copper-bearing wastes. The data presented are from two different printed circuit board fabrication facilities. 

FIGURE 60.1 Amount of copper wasted for various waste streams expressed as a percent of total... 

Spent Baths. Certain spent baths can be bled into the ion exchange system.These typically inclnde the copper sulfate electroplating dragout, acid cleaners, predips, microetch and rinses, rinses following cupric chloride and ammoniacal etchants, and copper waste from electrowinning after reduction to 1.0 ppm or less. 

The examples in the preceding section, of the flotation of lead and copper ores by xanthates, was one in which chemical forces predominated in the adsorption of the collector. Flotation processes have been applied to a number of other minerals that are either ionic in type, such as potassium chloride, or are insoluble oxides such as quartz and iron oxide, or ink pigments [needed to be removed in waste paper processing [92]]. In the case of quartz, surfactants such as alkyl amines are used, and the situation is complicated by micelle formation (see next section), which can also occur in the adsorbed layer [93, 94]. 

The upper outlet for water from the condenser should be above the jacket so as to ensure that the condenser is full of water. If the rubber tube, which carries the waste water to the sink, tends to kink, a short copper spiral, made by winding a length of copper wire round a glass tube, may be slipped over the end attached to the condenser. 

In electrogalvanizing, copper foil, and other oxygen-evolving appHcations, the greatest environmental contribution has been the elimination of lead-contaminated waste streams through replacement of the lead anode. In addition, the dimensionally stable characteristic of the metal anode iatroduces greater consistency and simplification of the process, thus creating a measure of predictabiUty, and a resultant iacreased level of safety. 

Many electroless coppers also have extended process Hves. Bailout, the process solution that is removed and periodically replaced by Hquid replenishment solution, must still be treated. Better waste treatment processes mean that removal of the copper from electroless copper complexes is easier. Methods have been developed to eliminate formaldehyde in wastewater, using hydrogen peroxide (qv) or other chemicals, or by electrochemical methods. Ion exchange (qv) and electro dialysis methods are available for bath life extension and waste minimi2ation of electroless nickel plating baths (see... 

Skiving is a variant in which the base metal surface oxides are mechanically removed foUowed immediately by pressure rolling of a precious metal or alloy strip. This is commonly used for inlays for electrical contacts and for jewelry fabrication. The common inlay materials include gold, silver, copper, brass, and solder. No heat is needed, and the coating is appHed only to designated areas so there is Htde waste (3,50). 

Air oxidation of dyestuff waste streams has been accompHshed using cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonate catalysts (176). Aluminum has been colored with copper phthalocyanine sulfonate (177,178). Iron phthalocyanine can be used as a drier in wood oil and linseed oil paints (179). 

The first equation is an example of hydrolysis and is commonly referred to as chemical precipitation. The separation is effective because of the differences in solubiUty products of the copper(II) and iron(III) hydroxides. The second equation is known as reductive precipitation and is an example of an electrochemical reaction. The use of more electropositive metals to effect reductive precipitation is known as cementation. Precipitation is used to separate impurities from a metal in solution such as iron from copper (eq. 1), or it can be used to remove the primary metal, copper, from solution (eq. 2). Precipitation is commonly practiced for the separation of small quantities of metals from large volumes of water, such as from industrial waste processes. 

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