Trivalent Chromium Plating Conversion Case Study

Independent Plating, Worcester, Massachusetts

Faced with new regulations restricting emissions of hexavalent chromium (hex-chrome) from
various plating operations, and increasing requests from its customer base for products that are
environmentally preferable, Independent Plating (Independent) decided to explore converting
one of its plating lines from hexavalent to trivalent chromium. Such a conversion is consistent
with Independent’s overall approach, which relies on substitution and prevention as their
principal techniques for toxics use reduction. Their philosophy emphasizes source reduction,
drawing heavily on research and implementing new safer and greener alternatives. With a
commitment to providing safer, high-quality metal finishing in an environmentally sound
manner, Independent plans to continue its proactive approach to growth well into the future.

Background
Independent Plating is an employee-owned metal finishing company that has been in business
since 1941. For more than 70 years, Independent has been finishing an array of primarily
aluminum and stainless steel tubing and wire products for a variety of products – from school
furniture to high end retail displays to medical devices to law enforcement tools.

Metal finishing processes conducted at Independent include zinc plating, electroless nickel
plating, black oxide, nickel chrome plating, phosphating, pickling and powder coating. These
processes contain various heavy metals, acids and other hazardous substances, which pose
potential negative impacts on the environment and workers. Consequently, Independent’s
metal finishing operations are subject to many environmental and occupational regulations,
including new emission standards recently finalized by the US Environmental Protection
Agency 1.

The specific processes used by metal finishers for various products are traditionally dictated by
the demands of their customers. This often limits a finisher’s choices when it comes to
selecting the highest quality finish while reducing potential impacts on human health and the
environment. Ten years ago Independent attempted to switch its nickel chrome line to

1
US EPA National Emissions Standards for Chromium Emissions from Hard and Decorative Chromium
Electroplating and Chromium Anodizing Tanks

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trivalent chromium, but found that the technology available at the time did not achieve the
quality their customers required. However, Independent continued to stay informed about
new technological advances in metal finishing and, when customer demands for products with
a lower environmental footprint began to increase, they made another concerted effort to find
an alternative.

Assessment of Trivalent Chromium

Independent Plating took a systematic approach to exploring its options for implementing a
trivalent chromium (tri-chrome) system. The first step was to conduct research into the
technologies now available, and the experience of their peers with the various options. One
area of particular interest to them was corrosion resistance. Because Independent primarily
does plating on tubular products, they were concerned with assuring that their plating
treatments minimized corrosion on the insides of tubes.

Research - Independent spent considerable time researching different tri-chrome systems to

decide which would best meet all of their needs as well as the needs of their customers. They
paid particular attention to the uniformity and thickness of coverage and the color achievable
by the various options, as well as ease of system maintenance and the level of support
expected from the vendor. They visited several plating shops that are currently using various
tri-chrome systems, to learn about the operational requirements of their tri-chrome lines and
to get feedback from these platers about their experiences with various vendors.

Based on this research, Independent identified the following benefits and challenges of
converting to a tri-chrome system:

Benefits of Trivalent Chromium Challenges with Trivalent Chromium

Improved quality: superior throw, better coverage around
Cost: implementation and chemical costs
holes, less burning and whitewash, easier cleaning. Need
are higher than hex-chrome.
for color buffing is nearly zero.
Appearance; although generally acceptable,
Increased throughput: larger load sizes are possible.
tri-chrome colors are not quite identical to
Increased rack density possible
hex-chrome
Less hazardous waste generated. Lower cost of
Technical capabilities: tri-chrome is not
hazardous waste management
capable of replacing every hex-chrome
Lower toxicity (hex-chrome is a carcinogen) requirement and/or specification.
Bath control: tri-chrome baths require
Minimizes employee exposure: potential employee
increased testing and maintenance, and
exposure to toxic air emissions reduced
operate with higher current requirements
Still contains very small amount of hex
Less likely to trigger future regulatory restrictions
chrome in solution

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Decisions – After six months of research, Independent chose three vendors for further
consideration. They sent each vendor parts that represented a range of products with which
they typically work to assess the uniformity and thickness of coverage achieved, as well as their
ability to closely match the bluish color of hex-chrome plated parts. Eventually, Independent
decided on the vendor that provided a sulfate-based electroplating system (PAVCO, Inc.).
Important factors in this decision included consistency of coverage, ability to most closely
match the color of their customer’s parts, operating cost savings (the sulfate system uses
approximately one half the electric energy required for the chloride-based system), and vendor
support.

Design – Compared with hex-chrome, tri-chrome takes approximately three times as long, at a
reduced electric current (i.e., 3 minutes at 50 ASF) to achieve the desired thickness.
Independent was able to modify one of its plating lines for the tri-chrome installation in a way
that allowed
them to meet
the requirements
of their
customers and
get the proper
thickness of
coverage.
Specifically, the
process flow was
redesigned by
moving from a
1400 gallon tank
(for the hex-
chrome system)
to a 3500 gallon
tank for tri-
chrome (see
Figure 1.1).

The new tank was built in-house, which resulted in significant savings and allowed them to
control the design and installation process. In addition, Independent was able to modify an
existing line to run either hex-chrome or tri-chrome (see Figure 1.2), thereby cutting down on
the time and costs of the project. This also allowed them to pilot the tri-chrome system
without any interruption to service for their customers.

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Equipment Specification – Independent worked closely with PAVCO to choose the appropriate
process operating and control equipment. Specifically, the choice of automatic amp meter
feeder and bath filter was vital to assure consistent quality and uniformity of the new plating
process, and reduced much of the guesswork in maintaining correct process parameters. Much
of the equipment required for the new tri-chrome system (e.g., filters, rectifiers, etc.) was
already available in-house at their Worcester facility, which helped keep costs down.

Installation – With the dedication and hard work of Independent’s facilities staff and finishing
line operators, installation of the new tank and equipment into the existing plating line went as
anticipated and was completed without any interruption of service. The total time required to
redesign the process flow and complete tank fabrication and installation was approximately 8
weeks.

Training – Independent worked closely with PAVCO to train its lab personnel and metal
finishing managers. The new system uses a dual pump amp meter feeder for automatic bath
make-up additions. It was essential for operators to know how to properly use the automatic
pH and temperature controllers, and analyze the tri-chrome bath for contaminant drag out and
build up in the tanks. Operators were also trained in use of the new rectifier settings to
improve the current density of the tri-chrome process. Performance training focused on
maximizing the throwing power of tri-chrome, visually inspecting parts to detect potential
chrome burn (characterized by white or yellow spots on the plated surface) and modifying
racking procedures to maximize rack densities. Overall, Independent found that their line
operators required very little training to master the new tri-chrome system.

Results
Product Quality
Upon implementation of the new tri-chrome system
Independent immediately noticed a reduction in
rejects associated with whitewash and chrome
burning. With tri-chrome they were able to virtually
eliminate the need for color buffing. In addition to
the reduction in reject rate, the superior throwing
power and coverage of the tri-chrome system
resulted in improved quality. The key factor,
however, has been their ability to closely match the
color of final products required by their customers. Typical product with nickel trivalent
chromium plating
This color matching allows customers to easily commit

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to the switch from the hex-chrome plated parts to the new tri-chrome plated parts.
Additionally, the increased throw of the tri-chrome bath means better plating coverage on part
crevices, internal openings and penetrations, thus improving overall product quality.

A unique capability of this new line is its ability to run a variety of parts through at the same
time and to increase the overall racking density without fear of developing chrome burn.
Although not yet realized due to the large size of parts currently being finished, Independent
anticipates that they may be able to increase the number of parts per load by 15% or more
once the size range of parts processed in this system expands. In addition, the superior rinsing
characteristics of the tri-chrome system allow them to reduce most of the cleaning steps
further improving process throughput potential.

O&M Costs
Independent has experienced increased costs associated with maintenance and analysis with
the new tri-chrome line. The filters on the tri-chrome line turn over 3500 gallons of solution
five times an hour, resulting in the need for frequent filter maintenance and cartridge
replacement. In addition, although an automatic amp meter feeder is used for additions to the
tri-chrome bath, analysis of the bath concentration and make-up needs to be performed twice
daily (as opposed to the weekly analysis associated with the previous hex-chrome system).

Impurities
Trivalent chromium baths tend to be more sensitive to metallic impurities than hexavalent
chromium baths. One of Independent’s main concerns was its ability to minimize metal
impurities, specifically iron, in the tri-chrome bath. They also needed to watch for a buildup of
hex chrome, which can result from ionic conversion of tri chrome in the bath from the anodes.
Impurities are removed from the Independent system using hydrogen peroxide as a
precipitating agent followed by filtration.
However, addition of too much peroxide in
the bath can lead to an increase in sludge
formation that impacts subsequent waste
treatment steps.

In addition, due to the configuration of the

Independent line with hex- and tri-chrome
baths running in parallel (see Figure 1.2),
they were concerned about the possibility
of hex-chrome carrying over into the tri- New tri-chrome line showing movable
chrome bath. To reduce the potential for this isolation wall
contamination they designed a movable isolation wall that was installed between the two
tanks.

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Wastewater Treatment and Hazardous Waste Generation
There are important advantages associated with converting from hex-chrome to tri-chrome.
Trivalent chemistries use lower concentrations of chromium in the bath, generally 5-7.5 g/L of
trivalent chromium compared to 130-225 g/L for hexavalent chromium. Therefore, much less
chromium enters the wastewater treatment process. Potential exposure of workers to toxic
chemistries is also significantly reduced.

Moreover, the reduction step associated with converting the highly toxic hexavalent chromium
to trivalent chromium in wastewater treatment process is not required. This eliminates the
need for reducing agents like sodium bisulfate and additional acid for pH control, and
significantly reduces the volume of sludge produced. In addition, anodes in hex-chrome
systems deteriorate over time, creating an additional source of hazardous solids in the waste
stream. The tri-chrome process produces approximately one-tenth the sludge volume of the
hex-chrome system, which significantly reduces associated hazardous material handling and
disposal costs.

Comparison Data
The following table summarizes key data associated with the two systems:

Trivalent Chrome Hexavalent Chrome

Chromic Acid (oz/gal) 1.15 30.73
Current/Duration 50 ASF for 3 min 150 ASF for 1 min
Operating Temperature (range) 126° F (122° to 136°) 105° F (86° to 122°)
Plating Time Per Part 20 seconds 80 seconds
Treatment Chemical Costs:
Sodium Metabisulfite N/A $0.55/lb
Sodium Hydroxide N/A $0.55/lb
Estimated Chemistry Costs per
$0.04 $0.02
Square Foot of Part Plated
Iridium-oxide coated
Anode Lead
titanium (40”x 65”)
Equipment/Maintenance:
Anode Replacement 18-24 months 40+ years
Filter Cartridge Replacement Every 2 weeks N/A
Automatic Pump Feeder Every 5 years N/A
Low (white wash and As much as 15% (tendency to
Reject Rate
burning not likely) white wash or burn)

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 Conclusions
Independent Plating has a philosophy of staying ahead of regulatory restrictions, responding to
customer demands, and optimizing the safety of its occupational environment while continuing
to maintain its competitive edge. With an emphasis on source reduction and relying heavily on
researching and implementing new safer and greener alternatives, they have successfully
demonstrated the ability to shift their nickel chrome plating line from the use of hex-chrome to
tri-chrome. As they continue to work with customers to convert specific product lines to the
new tri-chrome process, Independent has had no customer complaints with respect to color or
coverage quality.

Although the operational costs associated with tri-chrome are higher than those for hex-
chrome, Independent is finding that as they gain more experience with tri-chrome, its costs are
still coming down. Moreover, improved product quality, reduced reject rate, and the increasing
desire for ‘green’ products among its customers is helping Independent gain an ever-more-
important market advantage.

Independent intends to increase its use of tri-chrome and other potential alternatives to hex-
chrome, with a goal of complete elimination of hexavalent chromium in the next several years.
It is not a simple conversion, however, and requires the commitment and dedication of skilled
operators and engineers to be successful. It also requires constant communication with
customers to demonstrate that this safer process can produce the quality and reliability they
demand. This is a challenge that Independent Plating has been willing to make – for its
employees, for its customers, and for the environment.

To learn more about Independent Plating’s metal finishing capabilities or to discuss how your facility might
be able to implement similar process modifications to reduce your use of hexavalent chromium, contact
Mike Nahorniak, General Manager, 508-756-0301 ext. 100, or [email protected]

For more information about the Toxics Use Reduction Institute Industry Incentive Grants program, contact
Pam Eliason, Industry Research Program Manger, at 978‐934‐3142, [email protected] or Joy Onasch, Small
Business and Community Program Manager, at 978-934-4343, [email protected].

For information about the on‐site confidential technical assistance services provided by the Office of
Technology and Technical Assistance (OTA), contact Bill McGowan, Technical Services Chief, at
617‐626‐1078 or [email protected]

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