IonnetX™

The Problem

• Removing the metal content from large volumes of solutions that contain either heavy or precious metals dissolved within them.
• Recovering these metals easily and economically for reuse or sale.

The Solution

The lonnetX™ system. It was designed after 15 years of observation of our earlier lonnet™ system’s performance. The lessons learned from that experience in the field were the driving forces to redesign what we felt could be done better. And the lonnetX™ is the result of all of those changes.

How does it work?

As the metal-bearing stream enters the lonnetX™ cell, it is channeled in a serpentine path through a series of electrolytic chambers, each containing two anodes sandwiching a cathode. The turbulence created at the cathode interface insures high plating efficiency, translating into fast plate-out to very low concentrations. The metal deposits on and within the cathode. Any non-adherent solids which tend to accumulate during the electrowinning process are swept to the cell bottom and contained for convenient draining (the electrodes are raised 3” above the cell floor to eliminate the possibility of the solids causing a short circuit). Each lonnetX™ cathode can hold up to thirty five lbs. of metal (depending upon several parameters), 350 lbs. for the whole cell. The system is designed for easy access to all electrodes.

What distinguishes the IonnetX™ from other electrowinning systems?

Many things: The expanded-surface area cathodes, the unique solution flow design that creates turbulence, the improved contact system with quick disconnect user- friendly contacts, the direct current individual cell fusing system, the plastisol encased bus bars, to name a few.

What are some of the applications for the lonnetX™?

The lonnetX can be used to remove and recycle metals in the following ways:

• On a batch basis from a spent plating bath or other metal-bearing solution
• On a continuous basis from a primary drag-out rinse in order to obviate the need for precipitation or ion-exchange
• On a batch basis to recycle ion-exchange regenerant

What are some of the various solution types for typical applications?

Any copper-sulfuric acid dumps, including:

• Copper plating bath or drag-out rinses
• Micro-etch and sulfuric acid dumps
• Acid cleaner dumps
• Ion-exchange regenerations
• Silver, gold and palladium rinses and dumps
• Silver, gold and palladium cyanide stripper solutions
• Entek dumps
• Electro-less copper bailouts
• Nickel plating drag-out rinses and dumps
• Cyanide cadmium plating solutions, rinses
• Acid cadmium plating solutions, rinses
• Cyanide zinc plating solutions
• Cyanide copper plating solutions, rinses

Where are my cost savings using the lonnetX™ system?

When you remove your metals directly from your drag-out tank by electrolysis, you say good bye to the purchase of caustic soda for precipitating your metals as metal-hydroxide sludge in batches. You say good-bye to the labor and energy required to take that sludge out of solution, dewater it, and pack it. You say good-bye to shipping these containers of waste out at all. You no longer have a landfill liability. What you get instead is saleable scrap metal. In many cases, the scrap more than pays for the operating costs of the lonnetX™ system.

How low can you go and how quickly?

The lonnetX system is designed to afford the best possible conditions to allow a plating rate as close to the theoretical limit as possible at various concentration levels. This theoretical limit is based on the “electrochemical equivalence” of a particular element. The point is that this system is in a class by itself in terms of speed and limits. At high amperage we are able to get full efficiency at concentrations above 1 gram/liter and at low concentrations, our efficiency while not full, is maintained so that we typically bring solution metal concentration to levels close to and often lower than 1 milligram/liter. In many cases, this is below current environmental limits of discharge.

Is the concentration of cyanide affected by use of the Ionnet®?

Yes, it has been reported that 99+% of the total cyanide in a 500 gallon solution was destroyed in 96 hours of operation at 400 amps. In fact, some of our customers have reported that the “external economy” of cyanide destruction is more important to them than the metals recovery aspect. Any cyanide destruction is helpful to the ultimate disposal of the solution.

What about safety?

There are two risk factors associated with electrolytic systems: The possibility of a fire resulting from short-circuiting of the electrodes and the possibility of explosion from the combustible gases that can sometimes accumulate. Every individual cell in the Ionnet® system is fused. In addition to this, the rectifiers that we can provide have a DC overload relay circuit that we consider important. With regard to explosion, our system is designed to eliminate any confined area where gases can accumulate. As a result, this risk is minimal.

Specifications

• Power Requiremnents: 220 V. AC 3 Phase
• Maximum Output Current: 500 AMPS. DC
• Maximum Output Voltage: 9 V.
• Total Cathode Surface Area: Approx. 100 ft2
• Operating Temperature: Room Tem to 135° F
• Footprint Dimensions: 24” x 22” x 28”
• Recovery Capacity: > 150 lbs.
• Shipping Weight: Approx. 170 lbs.

Conclusion

Wherever possible, the first line of attack should be electrowinning. Even if electrowinning cannot completely solve the problem, any reduction of sludge attained through electrowinning will mean a large cost savings. The lonnetX™ system is, by far, the least expensive alternative to attain this goal.

For more information please take a look at our full IonnetX™ Catalogue.pdf