Efficient recovery and treatment of actual electroplating wastewater using stable electrocatalyst-coupled super-stable mineralizer

Abstract

Electroplating plays an indispensable and pivotal role in various aspects of industrial production, but its wastewater contains a large number of heavy metal ions, resulting in huge discharge pressure. The recovery of metals in wastewater, while meeting discharge standards, has become an urgent issue that requires a simple and efficient solution. In this work, a stable electrocatalyst-coupled with super-stable mineralizer structure has been developed for the recycling and treatment of wastewater. Using actual high-concentration copper electroplating wastewater (5330 mg/L) as a model, we successfully recovered 91.1 % copper by electrolysis process using a low-cost and stable lead dioxide electrode. Following the addition of a super-stable mineralization treatment utilizing layered double hydroxides (LDHs), the resultant pollution water successfully attained the prescribed threshold, specifically below 0.5 mg/L for Cu2+, with reduction of about 90 % of hazardous waste sludge. This new method of recycling heavy metals from wastewater is expected to be both environmentally friendly and sustainable, while also being cost-effective and efficient.