Reduce Waste in Metal Plating

The below lists are low cost or no cost solution to reduce waste and pollution in any metal plating company, that usually used of chromic acid, including in developing countries. All these idea have been proven to help small companies to apply on their production in order to comply with cleaner production concept that currently encourage by government.

Top Low-Cost Solutions to Increase Efficiency and Reduce Waste in Metal Plating Operations:

Method	Function
Install Spill containment	Spills can be contained and managed to prevent losses of valuable resources
Lengthen drag-out	Allows more chemical to drip back to process tank, so reduces the amount of chemical introduced in rinse water.
Establish drag-out timing	Post drag-out times on signs at thanks to remind employees. A drain time of at least 10 seconds has been demonstrated to reduce drag-out by 40% compared to the three second industry average.
Install drain boards or drip guards	Boards and guards minimize spillage between thanks and are sloped away from rinse thanks so drag-out fluids drain back to plating thanks.
Use conductivity sensors	These sensors indicate the cleanliness of the rinse water. They cost only a few hundred dollars to order, and can greatly improve plating quality and prevent unnecessary dumping of rinse water.
Agitate rinse bath	Agitation promotes better rinsing, agitate water or part manually or with mechanical means (stirring or air bubbling)
Reuse spent acid/alkaline	Spent acid can be used to neutralize an alkaline waste stream. Spent alkali can be used to neutralize an acid waste stream.
Evaporation process	Concentrate rinse water and captured drag-out liquids for reuse, the water condensate can also be reused. Evaporator or boiler can be used.
Increase bath	Evaporates bath water so relatively clean waste rinse water can be reused as bath makeup water. Reduces solution viscosity so more chemical drains back to process tank during drag-out. Don't use on Cyanide or Hexavalent chromium Baths.
Optimize bath concentrations	Run test with successively lower bath concentrations to find the minimum level needed to achieve quality. This saves money by reducing overuse of chemicals and reduces contaminations in waste water.