Trionetics - Wastewater Treatment: Ion Exchange, Electrowinnings and Plating Lines

Founded in 1987, Trionetics builds highly automated but simple-to-use industrial wastewater treatment / recycling equipment and plating lines. We serve the electronics, printed circuit board and metal-finishing industries.

ION EXCHANGE - CONTAMINATED ION ABSORPTION FROM POLLUTED WATER

Most soluble chemical compounds, when dissolved in water, become ionized; that is, their molecules dissociate into positively and negatively charged components called ions.

As the name implies, ion exchange systems do not just absorb contaminant ions from polluted water, they exchange harmless ions for unwanted ions. The actual exchange of ions occurs in pores of special plastics called resins.

Ion Exchange (or IX) systems come in three basic configurations:

Selective ion exchange - resin can be made very selective for a specific ion. Usually, they are designed to eliminate metallic ions such as copper, nickel or gold.

DeIonization (DI) - by treating water with two different resins, one to eliminate positively charged ions (cat-ions) and another to eliminate negatively charged ions (anions), it is possible to remove all contaminants, producing ultrapure water.

Electro-DeIonization (EDI) - this process also treats water with both cat-ion and anion resins to remove all contaminants, producing ultrapure water. Regeneration is accomplished without chemicals, however, resulting in less waste disposal. This is also called chemical free ion exchange.

ELECTROWINNING - METAL RECOVERY FROM CONCENTRATED PROCESS STREAMS

Trionetics' unique patented rotating cathode cell provides rapid recovery of metals from concentrated process streams in readily recoverable nugget form for reclamation or reuse. Rotating cathodes and turbulent solution flow through pure seed media provides high yield and lower overall operating costs.

Electrowinning is very similar to electroplating. Electric current is run through a solution with metal dissolved in it and the metal plates out onto the negative electrode (cathode). In electroplating, the anodes are typically made up of the same metal being plated out so that they continuously dissolve and provide more metal to be plated out. In electrowinning, the anodes are made of precious metal that does not dissolve so that the concentration of metal in solution decreases.

With the rotating cathodes, plating efficiencies decrease after about 0.5ppm, so plating down to discharge limits is not feasible. A typical use is regenerant recovery: ion exchange regenerant can be treated and reused again and again.

If necessary, the rotating cathode barrel can be replaced with a high efficiency cathode (mailbox) that will allow plating down to discharge limits.

Larger units can be delivered with an integral hoist to make unloading easier. Difficult or dangerous chemistries can be treated with anode membrane isolation to prevent the formation of dangerous gasses.

Modular design permits purchasing a smaller capacity today and expanding with more electrowinning cells as your recovery needs increase.

Rota-Cats have been used to successfully recover copper, nickel, gold and lead.

PLATING LINES

Trionetics manufactures:

• Barrel plating lines - for volume plating of small parts
• Rack plating lines - production runs of plumbing fixtures, tools, etc
• PCB plating lines - electroless or pattern plating

All of our plating lines feature computer control to reduce the need for operator intervention and guarantee consistency and quality. With multiple plating tanks, rinse cells, activation baths and an integrated hoist, the only steps that require an operator are loading and unloading. The computer controls all steps of the plating process, timing and even sets the plating currents by communicating with intelligent rectifiers.