The revolutionary Atotech technology is driving the zinc-nickel industry towards sustainability by drastically reducing water consumption, waste and wastewater production andCO2 footprint.
MKS is leading the zinc-nickel industry towards sustainability with the Atotech Compact Membrane Anode (CMA) Closed-Loop System. The innovative technology significantly reduces water consumption, waste and wastewater production as well as theCO2 footprint. The closed-loop system comprises membrane anodes, chemical additives, a vacuum evaporator and a freeze-out unit, which together reduce the environmental impact and improve the service life of the system.
Typical CMA installation in a drum coating lineThe innovative Atotech CMA closed-loop technology prevents the formation of organic degradation products such as cyanides and thus significantly reduces sludge formation. The freeze-out unit removes accumulated carbonate and plays a crucial role in purifying the electrolyte, ensuring exceptional quality and improved performance throughout the plating process. In addition, the evaporator system separates the zinc-nickel electrolyte and water and returns both separately to the plating tank and rinses. This recirculation reduces zinc-nickel waste water disposal and treatment by an impressive 90 %.
The Atotech CMA Closed-Loop system enables a 20-30% increase in cathodic current efficiency, achieving 65% for rack and an impressive 80% cathodic current efficiency for barrel applications. The energy consumption associated with compact membrane anode technology can be reduced by 32%, significantly improving the carbon footprint. In addition, the use of CMA Closed-Loop technology leads to significant savings by reducing additives, NaOH and metal consumption.
The Atotech CMA Closed-Loop technology was recently certified by TÜV Rheinland, a globally recognized independent testing service provider. This certification, as part of the evaluation of our customers' electroplating lines, proves the reduction of waste water and rinse water as well as the reducedCO2 footprint and confirms the reliability and accuracy of the data collected by MKS.
