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Waste disposal of Acid Copper solution

I am the manager of a small plating shop. In our acid copper baths, the copper content rises above 29 oz/gal about once a month. I must then remove about 50 gallons of acid copper plating solution per month and replace it with water. How can I dispose of this excess acid copper solution safely?

Alan Bussie
Custom Coatings Corp
1999

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1999

1. What percentage of the total solution is 50 gallons?

  
Tom Pullizzi
Falls Township, Pennsylvania

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Copper metal growth in an acid copper bath is not an unusual problem. The excess copper concentration can be reduced by electrowinning (dummying) it out with insoluble anodes. Unlike many other plating baths, this does not seem to destroy the brighteners.

Lyle Kirman
consultant - Cleveland Heights, Ohio
1999