In the electroplating/electro polishing/metal finishing industry acidified metals such at chromium, nickel and copper are manipulated in a series of dip and rinse stages so that the metals are permanently deposited on the hard metal or plastic parts being manufactured. This process is used both to make shiny decorative parts for things like cars, cell phones, and to provide corrosion resistance in things like titanium orthopedic joints. Click on the inserted graphic to view what a typical electro plating line looks like.

In operation, pure DI water is used to constantly provide a cascading rinse to wash the acidified metals off of the parts being plated. To keep the water pure a mixed bed exchange tank deionizer is used to constantly remove the metals from the rinse water allowing the parts to rinse spotless without damage.

The challenge you see is that the exchange tank deionizer has a fixed capacity and after processing a given amount of water, must be sent back to the water company for regeneration. The resin in these expired tanks are considered by the EPA to be F006 Hazardous waste. There are only two facilities in the US that can regenerate/rejuvenate this resin. As you might guess, in the absence of competition the fee for tank regeneration can be prohibitively expensive.

Enter Glanris, with a unique, economical, innovative technology to improve this process. By placing a disposable Glanris 901X filter at the outlet of the DI tank, t the life of the DI tank can be extended by as much as 33%. The unique thing about this technology is that while the DI tank is at maximum capacity, the Glanris filter is passive. However, when the DI tank begins to exhaust and pass metals, the Glanris filter will capture those metals thereby maintaining rinse quality, subsequently squeezing every possible bit of capacity out of the DI tank, allowing it to last longer.

If you are using DI tanks for the removal of F006 classified metal in your electroplating/electropolishing/metal finishing application, there is a great process augmentation available to you.