Electropolishing, electroplating, pickling, and galvanizing operations all share the same underlying cost driver: acid baths accumulate dissolved metals and organic contaminants over time.
Once a bath becomes too contaminated, it must be drained and manifested as hazardous waste, and fresh acid must be purchased to replace it. Both sides of that cycle, disposal and replenishment, are expensive, and both carry ongoing environmental and regulatory exposure.
The Pro-pHx Solution
Pro-pHx is a catalytic reagent chemistry, developed by Dr. John C. Wagner and in commercial use since 1999. It is a blend of soluble silicates that reacts with dissolved metal ions to form stable, insoluble metal silicates, removing them from solution by filtration rather than by dumping the bath.
The same chemistry also breaks down organic contaminants such as oils, greases, and chelating agents. The result: existing acid chemistry stays in productive service instead of being discarded.
The Three-Step Maintenance Protocol
- Treat: Add Pro-pHx at 1% of total acid/water volume at initial makeup. When acid is spiked to maintain strength, add Pro-pHx at 1% of the spike volume. Below 0.5% by volume, Pro-pHx is not effective.
- Filter: Continuous filtration removes precipitated contaminants. Most systems run effectively at 20-micron filtration (1–75 micron range depending on process); favor larger micron sizes for high-organic loads and smaller sizes for primarily metallic contamination.
- Titrate and Adjust: Analyze acid strength at least weekly and restore to target concentration, maintaining consistent Pro-pHx dosing with every fresh acid addition.
There is no dumping, no hazardous acid disposal, and no production slowdowns from tank turnovers.
Proven in Real-World Production — Not Just the Lab
Allbright Stainless Steel Electropolishing in Clearwater, Florida, began treating two 900-gallon electropolishing tanks with Pro-pHx in early 2004, after one tank was on its last legs and a second was unusable. Within 48 hours, both tanks were operating within normal parameters. By 2005, Allbright began returning previously decanted spent acid back into production rather than disposing of it, cutting virgin acid purchases from $23,040 in 2003 to $1,500 in 2007, a reduction of more than 95%.
Hazardous waste volume fell from more than 38 drums (27,700+ lb) per year to a total of 832 lb generated since September 2005 — almost entirely spent filter cartridges. Annual waste hauling costs dropped from over $7,000 to $798 total over that same multi-year period. Allbright's results led Florida DEP to reclassify the shop from a Large Quantity Generator to a Small Quantity Generator, and the company achieved zero wastewater discharge by pairing Pro-pHx with sodium hydroxide pH control in its rinse tanks.
Amplate has gone even further: its nitric acid bath, previously disposed of roughly every six months, has run continuously since Pro-pHx treatment began in March 2001. Its hydrochloric acid bath, previously disposed of every 7–10 days, has run continuously since November 2000. Both systems remain in daily production more than 26 years later, without a single bath disposal.
What Pro-pHx delivers:
- Zero acid bath disposal
- 70–90% reduction in virgin acid consumption
- Major reduction in hazardous waste handling and hauling costs
- Reduction in organics and metals entering conventional in-house wastewater treatment
- Stable, consistent bath performance and product quality
- Reduced regulatory exposure and corporate liability for off-site disposal
Pro-pHx is proven across electropolishing and electroplating operations worldwide, with over 26 years of real-world production history.
For Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, contact Paul Cook at 313-820-8172 or sales@getmetalsrx.com, and visit www.themetalsrx.com. For all other states, contact David French, Vice President at Pro-pHx Technical Services, at 704-607-0191, davidfrench@pro-phx.com, and www.Pro-phx.com.
