Electroplating, metal industry

The use of electrodeposited metals to protect corrodible basis metals from their service environments has been well established for many years and accounts for by far the larger part of the activities of the plating industry. There are many reasons for using an electroplated metal finish in preference to an organic finish or to making the articles concerned from inherently corrosion-resistant materials. 

Johannes, R.D. et al., Electroplating/metal finishing wastewater treatment Practical design guidelines, Proc. 43rd Purdue Industrial Wastes Conference, West Lafayette, IN, 1988. 

Waste Minimization of Hazardous Waste Solutions in the Electroplating and Precious Metals Industry Using the Final... 

Most chromium is used in three basic industries chemical, metallurgical and refractory (heat-resistant) (Barceloux 1999), with the metal industry using the majority. Ferrochrome, an iron/chromium alloy, is used as an additive to produce chromium-steels which are stainless and hard. Chromic acid solutions are employed in electroplating of chromium on other metals to imPart corrosion resistance and for decorative purposes. The refractory industry has... 

Zinc mining, lead and zinc refining and non-ferrous metal industry Manufacture of cadmium compounds Manufacture of pigments Manufacture of stabilisers Manufacture of batteries Electroplating... 

For instance, electroplating is a very speciflc part of the metal industry, in which a speciflc metal salt is deposited onto a metallic object. The principal metals are nickel, chromium and copper [3]. Whereas copper is a relatively infrequent allergen, some nickel-sensitive patients also react to chromium or cobalt. However, sensitivity to nickel-plated metal seems to be a more important problem for consumers than manufacturers. 

Table 4 Typical application areas and special properties of electroplated metals used in the electronics industry...

Applications of foimaldehyde and its piodnets in the metal industries include their iiise acid inhibitoi S, reducing agents, and electroplating addition agents. 

Industrial Wastewater Treatment. Industrial wastewaters require different treatments depending on their sources. Plating waste contains toxic metals that are precipitated and insolubiHzed with lime (see Electroplating). Iron and other heavy metals are also precipitated from waste-pidde Hquor, which requires acid neutralization. Akin to pickle Hquor is the concentrated sulfuric acid waste, high in iron, that accumulates in smokeless powder ordinance and chemical plants. Lime is also useful in clarifying wastes from textile dyeworks and paper pulp mills and a wide variety of other wastes. Effluents from active and abandoned coal mines also have a high sulfuric acid and iron oxide content because of the presence of pyrite in coal. 

In the early 1970s, the first companies to apply low cost, mass production techniques to photovoltaics, a technology that had previously been considered an exotic aerospace technology, emerged. These techniques included the use of electroplated and screen printed metal paste electrical conductors, reflow soldered ribbon interconnects, and by 1977, low cost, automobile windshield-style, laminated module constmction. Such processes benefitted from a substantial existing industrial infrastmcture, and have become virtually ubiquitous in the present PV industry. 

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