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Contamination of Nickel tanks

2005

CHRIS HAUGHAN HERE

JUST WANT TO POSE A QUESTION ON CONTAMINATION OF FOUR OF OUR TANKS IN OUR PLATING SHOP. BASICALLY WE HAVE FOUR TANKS 2 ARE NICKEL PLATE TANKS MADE UP OF -
NICKEL SULPHAMATE 280 - 340g/l
BORIC ACID 20 - 40 g/l
NICKEL CHLORIDE 2 - 4 g/l
THE TOTAL VOLUME OF THE TANK IS 2050 Litres

ANOTHER TANK IS NICKEL STRIKE MADE UP OF -
HCl ACID 87 - 135ml/l
NICKEL METAL - 50 - 187g/l
THE TOTAL VOLUME OF THAT TANK IS 2050 Litres

AND THE FOURTH TANK IS A HCl ACID TANK
ITS MADE UP OF 50 - 70% HCl ACID

THE TOTAL VOLUME IS 2050 LITRES

THESE TANKS ARE USED IN THE PLATING PROCESS OF AIRCRAFT ENGINE PARTS AND BASICALLY WE TINK THE CHEMICALS ARE BEING CONTAMINATED. WE KNOW THAT ANY ORGANIC SUBSTANCE CAN AFFECT THE TANKS PROCESS AND WE WERE JUST WONDERING IF A CHEMICAL CALLED BIO-ACT 280 E COULD HAVE THAT AFFECT AND HOW WOULD WE TRACE IT IN THE TANKS IN QUESTION. THE BIO-ACT IS NOT USED ANYWHERE IN THE PLATING PROCESS IT IS USED FOR DEWAXING OF PARTS SO CONTAMINATION IS ELIMINATED IN THE PROCESS. BUT THE TANK OF BIO-ACT RUNS AT AN OPTIMUM TEMP OF 85C WHICH MAY GIVE OFF VAPOURS WHICH OVER A PERIOD OF TIME MAY CONTAMINATE THE TANKS IN QUESTION.

KIND REGARDS

CHRIS HAUGHAN
OVERHAUL - IRELAND

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First of two simultaneous responses --

You forgot to tell us what's in that Bio-Act. If you don't know you should contact the manufacturer as a good starting point. Now, in my short and modest experience only highly sophisticated and focused labs can trace minute amounts of organics in a plating bath with the required precision.

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2005

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Second of two simultaneous responses --

Chris,

I don't know anything about your de-waxer. Can I assume your plating tanks are air agitated? If your blower inlet is around the area where your de-waxer fumes accumulate, this is a great way to introduce contaminants.
I run a full time carbon pack on my nickels to reduce organic contamination.
I would think if you gave a good lab the de-waxer and a sample of your tanks and ran them through something like a GC\MS they might be able to see a spike.

Trent Kaufman
electroplater - Galva, Illinois
2005

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THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES GENTLEMEN.

I CAN CONFIRM THE MAKE-UP OF BIO-ACT 280 E

Tetradecanoic acid, l-methylethyl ester 75 - 85%
C12 - C13 alcohol ethoxylates 15 - 25%

I'M STILL WAITING ON SOME REPLIES FROM COLLEGES AND LABS TO SEE IF THEY CAN ANALYSE THE TANKS BUT OUR STRESS TEST IS DUE THIS WEEK AND WE HAVE USED THE TANKS AND THEY HAVE PLATED SUCCESSFULLY. SO MAYBE ITS NOT AS BAD AS WE FIRST THOUGHT. THE TANKS ARE AIR AGITATED BUT THEY ARE AT LEAST 20 OR SO FEET AWAY FROM THE BIO-ACT ITSELF. AND THERE ARE OVERHEAD AIR PUMPS AND EXTRACTIONS UNITS. I THINK WE WILL FIRST SEND THE SAMPLES OFF FOR THE STRESS TESTS AND MAYBE THAT WILL HAVE SOME RESULTS.

CHRIS HAUGHAN
- Ireland
2005

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First of two simultaneous responses --

If your only problem is high stress, the likely culprit is sulphate which results from the decomposition of sulfamate.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2005

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Second of two simultaneous responses --

Make up a new bath in the lab beaker [beakers on eBay or Amazon [affil links] with d.i. water. Run a Hull Cell at 1 amp, 20 minuts, no agitation,using a basket with s-rounds for the anode. Observe the panel.

Dump in some of that stuff you call biocide and run another panel and compare the results.

Then try to carbon treat out the biocide and run another panel and see if it returns to the appearance of panel number one.

I would love to get a trip to Ireland out of this problem.

Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services

Garner, North Carolina

2005