CaptainTripz

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

OK so Zurv wants a debatable thread started according to a feedback thread that I posted.  So maybe this will work:

I have read a couple articles and a bunch of technical data on nickel purification systems.  The articles and tech sheets boast the claim that it reduces the need to do full carbon treatments, to tear down and repack filters, and other maintenance tasks such as "dummying" (at the current price of nickel a rather expensive treatment this is becoming.)

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have spoken with others in the plating industry whom I have worked with and trust and they have told me that the claims are not true and prevent proper bath maintenance.  In as much as I trust people, people are often just opposed to change so I have tried to rely on my own experience with these purification systems (and by experience I mean that I am just now getting acquainted with one.)

My shop currently runs one of these units made by Atotech.  Although we use this machine regularly on all our nickel baths plantwide, we are still subject to carbon treatment, dummying, weekly filter changes, etc.  I am not completely convinced that we are doing these things unnecessarily but I don't think we are yet prepared to take that last leap of faith in this new technology.  Monitoring TOC's doesn't necessarily mean the work is coming out good so the old standby methods are easy to stick to.

This is a potential money/time/material saving piece of technology.  Who else out there uses these systems?  What success have you personally seen?  If you have indeed reduced maintenance to your nickel baths how did you step from high maintenance schedules to low maintenance schedules?

P.S. Hope this is debatable enough for you Zurv.smile

Ira Donovan

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

Captain,

As a consultant to the industry, I have seen hundreds of decorative and functional plating facilities.  I make it a point to keep up on the technological advances to reduce costs to companies such as yourself.  I have seen various devices and schemes used to reduce the need to maintain baths on a regular basis.  Some work okay and others are useless based on first hand knowledge or feedback from clients.  In my position to the industry, I am unbiased to any vendor or product line, as I am here to serve my clients.

With that said, I have seen systems that reduce maintenance cost by continuous carbon filtration that can be adjusted to the bath usage and contaminant build-up.  It was basically a "use until spent" system which was not monitored, thus increased analytical costs were required.

Another system was installed to reduce loading to the industrial wastewater treatment system by removing the nickel.  It was later modified to produce a lower current density to provide a continuous dummy cell, which had mixed results.  If loading through the bath changed, then the unit would not keep up, thus the requirement to perform a shutdown and dummy over the weekend.

I have yet to see a unit the performs an automatic peroxide treatment, but that may be the next generation of product to the market.

Ira Donovan's Website

zurv

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

CaptainTripz wrote:

OK so Zurv wants a debatable thread started according to a feedback thread that I posted.  So maybe this will work:

P.S. Hope this is debatable enough for you Zurv.smile

Awesome!! smile

I'm sure we'll get a few more replies on this topic.

Griffe Youngleson

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zurv's Website

CaptainTripz

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

Donovan,
Good information.  I trust in keeping up with new technology you came across a product called the Nikotect which is the unit we run from Atotech.  It does not dummy or provide peroxide treatment.  It uses an adsober polymer to remove contaminants.  In addition to this I have heard that another company is developing a similar system that will also remove Aluminum from nickel baths.  This is important to us since we have to do  high pH treatment with lithium hydroxide which generates a huge amount of sludge although not as much as Ni Carbonate.  While the amount of sludge is necessary it is not exactly pant-loads of fun for our pollution control fellas.  As you can understand, we are a little curious about how well this stuff works. 
Check the article "Shining Up Bright Nickel Baths" (http://www.pfonline.com/articles/120201.html)  about a large plating shop with a lot of nickel plating.  Our goal is to get to where this company is with nickel maintenance. 
Thanks for the reply.

Dedalus

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

I once did some very interesting experiments on a bright nickel bath using an anionic ion exchange resin. My customer had let the nickel crowns get way too low in the baskets, they passivated, and he got some hellacious brightener oxidation as a result.

His parts had a persistent haze on them all through the mid range. Carbon treatment did not help. I was able to get rid of it (on a Hull cell panel, anyway) by treating with IX resin. I'd love to tell you all how it worked out in the tank, but the customer did not go for the proposal.

Comments?

Dedalus's Website

Harold Evans

Re: Nickel Purification Equipment

What is dummying? What's involve? How is it done in a Triple Plating Chrome system?