Etching, copper plating and the cleaning steps around them all leave dissolved copper in rinse water. The RT3 captures copper in its filter columns and releases water at under 1 ppm, safely to drain by gravity, with no treatment chemicals and no hazardous sludge.
Where copper comes from
- Etch lines. Etching dissolves copper from the part into the bath and its rinses. This is one of the core applications for the RT3.
- Copper plating. Plating baths and the rinses after them carry copper into the stream.
- Pickling and cleaning. Preparation stages leach base metal into rinse water.
Why conventional treatment falls short
Chemical precipitation adds treatment chemicals and produces hazardous sludge that is costly to dewater, haul and dispose of.
How the RT3 treats copper
- Metallic exchange. Rinse water flows through filter columns packed with our patented metallic-exchange media, which capture copper as metallic copper.
- Under 1 ppm to drain. Treated water leaves at under 1 ppm heavy metals and flows to drain by gravity through 3/4″ piping.
- No chemicals, no sludge. Nothing is dosed, and captured metal stays in the columns.
- Scales with your line. 8 L/min (2.1 gal/min) with a 4-column crate, 16 L/min (4.2 gal/min) with a SuperPac-8.
- Monitored 24/7. Metatrax tracks every system and emails your team when something needs attention.
- Less water to treat. The RW3 keeps rinse tanks in spec and adds water only when conductivity calls for it.
Heavy metal treatmentRT3
→Removes Cu, Cr, Ni and Ag to under 1 ppm, safely to drain, with zero hazardous sludge.
Rinse water managementRW3
→Monitors up to 8 rinse tanks with pump-less venturi sampling and adds water only when needed.
Who uses it
Etch shops, metal finishing and electroplating lines. The same RT3 also treats chromium, nickel and silver, so one system covers a mixed stream.