The Electroplating Industry

Environmental Pollution Control Alternatives Centralized Waste Treatment Alternatives for the Electroplating Industry, Jime 1981 625/5-81-017. 

In the electroplating industry, the use of titanium as hooks " and as heating and cooling coils for temperature control of certain acidic liquors has improved the control of plating baths Perhaps the most significant... 

No acute-, intermediate-, or chronic-duration inhalation MRLs were derived for cyanide because of the limitations associated with the available studies. Many of the animal and human studies used lethality, or serious effects, such as coma, as the end point. Two epidemiological studies are available however, one study lacked good exposure data, and the other study involved occupational exposure in the electroplating industry where exposure to other chemicals may have occurred. 

Recent studies have demonstrated that simultaneous ultrasonic irradiation of electrochemical systems significantly improve electrochemical reactions [10,11]. Ultrasound has been used extensively in the electroplating industry for many years, and the literature contains many articles reporting the advantages of ultrasound in electrodeposition and plating which include ... 

The use of Zn-Cr(III) alloy plating has almost replaced the use of Cr(VI) in the electroplating industry due to its excellent corrosion resistance and its lower toxicity. Recently, a solvent extraction procedure for separating and selectively recovering the two metals, zinc and chromium, from electroplating wastewaters has been demonstrated [10]. 

Chromium is commonly released to the environment from the electroplating industry and is extremely hazardous. Some studies suggest that in minute amounts, chromium may be essential to human beings, but this has not been proven. The standard for chromium is 0.05 mg/L of water [76]. 

The formulation of the polymer used in filtration varies with the waste stream type. Different polymers have different costs. The operating expenses associated with treating wastewater contaminated with nickel and zinc from the electroplating industry was estimated to be less than 1 cent per gallon (D21214W, p. 6). 

In industry, it is used in rubber and plastic materials and in paints and sprays to neutralize unpleasant odours (Lake, 1999). In other fields, coumarin has a significant use in the electroplating industry, mostly in the automotive area, to provide high polished quality to chrome-plated steel, but this use is declining (Egan et al., 1990 Boisde Meuly, 1993). 

Regarding the personnel employed, the electroplating industry generates 13,176 jobs, 10,312 of which are contributed by the sub-sector of the micro-small-medium companies, representing 78% of the total. The large companies contribute 2,864 jobs corresponding to 22%. The regional distribution of the personnel employed is 54% in the metropolitan zone of the city of Mexico, 20% in Jalisco, 18% in Nuevo Leon and 8% in the rest of the country. 

Based on the excellent solubility and reducing properties of amine boranes, they are often used for the stabilization and purification of industrial materials. Further, they are applied as additives in hydrocarbon fuels and in lubricating oils, as polymerization catalysts, as ingredients in photographic processing and in the electroplating industry.169 High stability towards hydrolysis and oxidation makes cationic boron chelates useful as water-soluble dyes.170... 

Several basic principles well known to the electroplating industry are employed in electrolytic recovery expanded cathode surface area, close spacing between cathode and anode, and recirculation of the rinse solution. Electroplaters can design their own units by... 

Meltzer, M. 1989. Reducing Environmental Risk Source Reduction for the Electroplating Industry. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, School of Public Health, Environmental Science and Engineering Department. 

Finally, source reduction should not be taken as any more than an important component in a wel1-conceived waste management plan. Field experience and the literature show clearly that source reduction, while ripe for exploitation as a preferred method of waste management by the electroplating industry, cannot eliminate waste generation. 

The disposal of hazardous waste solutions, such as cyanide solutions, used in the electroplating industry has alwsys been a technical and economic problem. Regulations continne to become more stringent as to where and how long this waste is stored, as well as the methods of storage and disposal. Disposal costs continue to increase. Is there a solntion to this problem ... 

Silver and gold were probably the first metals to be electroplated27 and were the subject of a patent which could be said to have started the electroplating industry.28 Both metals are normally plated from cyanide baths and the processes have enjoyed some prominence since World War II as electronics technology has developed and the good electrical conductivity and chemical resistance of the metals has been attractive. 

Ampere-hour— A common unit of charge in the battery field. The amount of electricity that passes during one hour at a current of one ampere. One ampere-hour (Ah) equals 3600 coulombs. The capacity of cells and batteries is universally specified in terms of ampere-hours or milliampere-hours. The term ampere-hour as a unit of charge measuring is used also, although to a lesser degree, in the electroplating industry. 

Electro-deposition of Nickel.5—The commercial application of this process only dates back to about 1870, for, prior to that date, the difficulty of obtaining sufficiently pure nickel anodes at reasonable prices was an insuperable handicap to their extended use. When, however, improvements were instituted in the metallurgical methods of extracting nickel from its ores which rendered the production of relatively pure nickel possible at a lower cost, the future of the electroplating industry became assured. Nickel is a particularly useful metal... 

Within five years after its discovery in 1879, 7 saccharin (1) became an industrial product as the first non carbohydrate sweetener,5 and it is still holding an important position in the market.29-31 Substantial quantities are used as additives in the electroplating industry.32 Numerous synthetic approaches are known.4,29-31 More recent synthesis of 1 and derivatives substituted in the phenyl ring are based essentially on the following procedures. 

Exposure through breaks in the skin can result in the introduction of both toxins and pathogens. Toxins or toxic particles that are soluble in the blood plasma can be absorbed into the blood quite rapidly. For example, dermal exposure to chromic acid used in the electroplating industry can cause tissue damage, which then allows rapid uptake of hexavalent chromium ion and potential acute chromium intoxication. 

The Chemelec cell, Fig. 4(b), uses a fluidized bed of glass spheres as turbulence promoters to improve the mass transport to the electrodes consisting of a series of closely spaced gauze or expanded metal sheet. The residence time and the degree of conversion per pass are relatively low because the flow rate has to exceed the fluidization velocity of the bed. This cell is therefore suitable for pretreatment or recycling operations and is commonly used in the electroplating industry for maintaining a moderate metal ion concentration in a recirculated wash-water tank. 

Until the year 1890 only comparatively small quantities of the very poisonous potassium cyanide, KCN, were made, being used principally in the electroplating industry and in photography. 

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