News

Treatment of galvanic zinc-nickel wastewater

11.09.2013

Safe heavy metal precipitation by using HydroMet Eco-4515

An electroplating contractor, operating on a sustainable basis in the zinc-nickel plating industry, contacted Färber & Schmid to optimise its wastewater treatment process.
In particular, with traditional wastewater treatment methods highly active complexing agents like chelating polyamines used in acid and/or alkali zinc-nickel baths cause heavy metal problems in precipitation and subsequent discharge.
The aim of the optimisation was to achieve reliable and reproducible discharge values for the metals, and to improve the sludge quality and floc structure for optimum phase separation and pressing by means of a chamber filter press.
Waste water concentrations of above 1000 ppm zinc and 50 ppm nickel can be treated in one process step to values below discharge levels, by using the new metal precipitation agent “HydroMet Eco-4515”. Using this revolutionary new product has now consigned previous difficulties and problems in treating complex zinc-nickel wastewater to the history books! Optimised process management has improved the quality of both the clarification phase and the sludge as requested.