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Electroplating
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From: Hollmike-at-aol-dot-com [SMTP:Hollmike-at-aol-dot-com]
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 1998 5:56 AM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Electroplating
Jim, Max,
Glad to hear that there is another chemist on the list. My bounce a few
questions off of you in the future. I don''t know how you came up with the
high cost estimate of a plating process, and why you say that the results
would be unsatisfactory however. I have been doing electroplating
tests(actually electrowinning to be precise as this is a step in the
processing of ore materials) since February. I have obtained some beautiful
cathodes of cobalt, nickel, copper, and silver. There is work involved in
the set up and disposal, but it is not that bad. The costs shouldn't be more
than buying a spun aluminum toroid if one buys the ingredients from the right
source.
A copper sulfate plating bath can be treated easily by adding sodium
hydroxide to precipitate the copper and neutralize the acid. The copper
hydroxide can either be settled out and the liquid decanted from it or by
filtration. The solids can then be thrown away and the solution poured down
the drain without harm. Cyanide plating baths can be destroyed with
bleach(this can generate some acid, so make sure the pH is above 11). A
silver nitrate bath can be treated with table salt to precipitate the silver
chloride then settle and decant or filter as above.
These are time consuming, but if plating is the desired choice, it is not
such a horrible problem. I do this just about every day at work these days
and don't mind it at all.
Mike Hollingsworth.