CASE STUDY

1. Electroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal. Electroplating is basically used for depositing a layer of material to bestow a desired property (e.g., abrasion and wear resistance, corrosion protection, lubricity, aesthetic qualities, etc.) to a surface that otherwise lacks that property. Another application uses electroplating to build up thickness on undersized parts. The process used in electroplating is called electrodeposition. It is analogous to a galvanic cell acting in reverse. The part to be plated is the cathode of the circuit. In one technique, the anode is made of the metal to be plated on the part. Both components are immersed in a solution called an electrolyte containing one or more dissolved metal salts as well as other ions that permit the flow of electricity. A power supply supplies a direct current to the anode, oxidizing the metal atoms that comprise it and allowing them to dissolve in the solution. At the cathode, the dissolved metal ions in the electrolyte solution are reduced at the interface between the solution and the cathode, such that they "plate out" onto the cathode. The rate at which the anode is dissolved is equal to the rate at which the cathode is plated or the current flowing through the circuit. In this way, the ions in the electrolyte bath are continuously replenished by the anode.

Process:
The anode and cathode in the electroplating cell are both connected to an external supply of direct current a battery or, more commonly, a rectifier. The anode is connected to the positive terminal of the supply, and the cathode (article to be plated) is connected to the negative terminal. When the external power supply is switched on, the metal at the anode is oxidized from the zero valence state to form cations with a positive charge. These cations associate with the anions in the solution. The cations are reduced at the cathode to deposit in the metallic, zero valence state. For example, in an acid solution, copper is oxidized at the anode to Cu2+ by losing two electrons. The Cu2+ associates with the anion SO42- in the solution to form copper sulfate. At the cathode, the Cu2+ is reduced to metallic copper by gaining two electrons. The result is the effective transfer of copper from the anode source to a plate covering the cathode.

The plating is most commonly a single metallic element, not an alloy. However, some alloys can be electrodeposited, notably brass and solder. Many plating baths include cyanides of other metals (e.g., potassium cyanide) in addition to cyanides of the metal to be deposited. These free cyanides facilitate anode corrosion, help to maintain a constant metal ion level and contribute to conductivity. Additionally, non-metal chemicals such as carbonates and phosphates may be added to increase conductivity. When plating is not desired on certain areas of the substrate, stop-offs are applied to prevent the bath from coming in contact with the substrate. Typical stop-offs include tape, foil, lacquers, and waxes.

Strike:
Initially, a special plating deposit called a "strike" or "flash" may be used to form a very thin (typically less than 0.1 micrometer thick) plating with high quality and good adherence to the substrate. This serves as a foundation for subsequent plating processes. A strike uses a high current density and a bath with a low ion concentration. The process is slow, so more efficient plating processes are used once the desired strike thickness is obtained. The striking method is also used in combination with the plating of different metals. If it is desirable to plate one type of deposit onto a metal to improve corrosion resistance but this metal has inherently poor adhesion to the substrate, a strike can be first deposited that is compatible with both.

Brush electroplating:
A closely related process is brush electroplating, in which localized areas or entire items are plated using a brush saturated with plating solution. The brush, typically a stainless steel body wrapped with a cloth material that both holds the plating solution and prevents direct contact with the item being plated, is connected to the positive side of a low voltage direct-current power source, and the item to be plated connected to the negative. The operator dips the brush in plating solution then applies it to the item, moving the brush continually to get an even distribution of the plating material. Brush electroplating has several advantages over tank plating, including portability, ability to plate items that for some reason cannot be tank plated (one application was the plating of portions of very large decorative support columns in a building restoration), low or no masking requirements, and comparatively low plating solution volume requirements. Disadvantages compared to tank plating can include greater operator involvement (tank plating can frequently be done with minimal attention), and inability to achieve as great a plate thickness.

Electroless deposition:
Usually an electrolytic cell (consisting of two electrodes, electrolyte, and external source of current) is used for electrodeposition. In contrast, an electroless deposition process uses only one electrode and no external source of electric current. However, the solution for the electroless process needs to contain a reducing agent so that the electrode reaction has the form:

In principle any water-based reducer can be used although the redox potential of the reducer half-cell must be high enough to overcome the energy barriers inherent in liquid chemistry. Electroless nickel plating uses hypophosphite as the reducer while plating of other metals like silver, gold and copper typically use low molecular weight aldehydes. A major benefit of this approach over electroplating is that power sources and plating baths are not needed, reducing the cost of production. The technique can also plate diverse shapes and types of surface. The downside is that the plating process is usually slower and cannot create such thick plates of metal. As a consequence of these characteristics, electroless deposition is quite common in the decorative arts.

Cleanliness:
Cleanliness is essential to successful electroplating, since molecular layers of oil can prevent adhesion of the coating. ASTM B322 is a standard guide for cleaning metals prior to electroplating. Cleaning processes include solvent cleaning, hot alkaline detergent cleaning, electro-cleaning, and acid treatment etc. The most common industrial test for cleanliness is the water break test, in which the surface is thoroughly rinsed and held vertical. Hydrophobic contaminants such as oils cause the water to bead and break up, allowing the water to drain rapidly. Perfectly clean metal surfaces are hydrophilic and will retain an unbroken sheet of water that does not bead up or drain off. ASTM F22 describes a version of this test. This test does not detect hydrophilic contaminants, but the electroplating process can displace these easily since the solutions are water-based. Surfactants such as soap reduce the sensitivity of the test and must be thoroughly rinsed off.

Problems:
The problem and difficulties on a big electroplating bath is when electroplating process being operated many of gas will vapour from the bath. To make an electroplating process on a closed system is very difficult because if no ventilation system on the equipment, the gas will exposed to the room and will danger to the operators who control the process. The main source of exposure to the room is tank content such as mists, gases, vapours that become airborne due to tank agitation, tank temperature, dipping of parts, parts moving along on hanging on hanging conveyors as well as batch changing activities and tank recharging. Before plating, most metal surfaces are cleaned in a degasser, conditioned for the plating process in a series of acid and caustic baths and then rinsed to remove remaining bath liquids. The most hazard of electroplating process commonly because of some acids like sulfuric acids, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and nitric hydrofluoric acid. Also the substance called a bright dip, this is a sulfuric acids are combined to give a shiny, mirror like surface to metals and alloys such as cadmium, copper, and silver metal. Direct contact to those kinds of acids can injure to the skin, like skin burns, if repeated contact can cause scarring and open wound, ulcerated wounds which are slow to heal, if contact to eye can make impaired vision and even blindness. Concentrated sulfuric acid can cause unusually severe burns and eye damage. Hydrofluoric acid in contact with skin destroys tissue. It penetrates deep where it can destroy soft tissue and bone, and cause electrolyte imbalance. These acids can release vapours, gases and mists which can cause serious damage to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Vapours and mists release by acid baths can dissolve in the moist tissue of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs can cause irritation and burns of the tissue. Before this vapour get deep into the lungs, it will irritate the respiratory system, the nose and throat and also in the eyes. A chronic exposure can discolour damage and even dissolve the surface enamel of the teeth. In particular, hydrogen chloride, fluorine, and nitric acid vapour can discolour the teeth, and both sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid vapour can also cause erosion of the enamel in exposed teeth. In the case of sudden and extreme exposure, these vapours can reach deep into the lungs and cause severe lung reactions and even death, usually from pulmonary edema (build-up of fluid in the lungs).

Environmental Effects:
The Chemicals used in various electroplating operations are numerous. These chemicals can be classified generally as (i) Acids and Alkalis for cleaning purpose, (ii) inorganic Chemicals, particularly heavy metals, which take part in reactions pertaining to plating and (iii) organic chemicals which help in achieving certain properties or to enhance the process of plating. Often, some of these chemicals are unknown to both users and traders, as they are traded as proprietary items manufactured by Chemical companies. The environmental effects are caused by several routes (I) by directly reacting with air, water and soil, resulting in degeneration or disintegration, (ii) by accumulating as persistent chemicals (geo-accumulation (iii) by entering environmental pathways and transcending from non-living to living beings, causing toxicity to living organisms and (iv) entering into food chain finally affecting humans and cattle. Some are carcinogenic, while others are mutagenic. Central and most important in this matter are health effects on workers, who are exposed routinely and persistently. Over a period of time such exposures, even at a low level, have been known to cause diseases and various infirmities. Moreover, the pollutants can enter the environment through air (particulates, gases and vapours), water (both in soluble and suspended form) and soil (as sludge, and leachate reaching groundwater). The toxicity of these metals has also been documented throughout history: Greek and Roman physicians diagnosed symptoms of acute lead poisoning long before toxicology became a science. Today, much more is known about the health effects of heavy metals. Exposure to heavy metals has been linked with developmental retardation, various cancers, kidney damage, and even death in some instances of exposure to very high concentrations.

Exposure to high levels of mercury, gold, and lead has also been associated with the development of autoimmunity, in which the immune system starts to attack its own cells, mistaking them for foreign invaders Autoimmunity can lead to the development of diseases of the joints and kidneys, such as rheumatoid arthritis, or diseases of the circulatory or central nervous systems. Once emitted, metals can reside in the environment for hundreds of years or more. Evidence of human exploitation of heavy metals has been found in the ice cores in Greenland and sea water in the Antarctic

2. Environmental Testing
i. Salt Spray test: The salt spray test is a standardized test method used to check corrosion resistance of coated samples. Coatings provide corrosion resistance to metallic parts made of steel, zamak or brass. Since coatings can provide a high corrosion resistance through the intended life of the part in use, it is necessary to check corrosion resistance by other means. Salt spray test is an accelerated corrosion test that produces a corrosive attack to the coated samples in order to predict its suitability in use as a protective finish. The appearance of corrosion products (oxides) is evaluated after a period of time. Test duration depends on the corrosion resistance of the coating; the more corrosion resistant the coating is, the longer the period in testing without showing signs of corrosion. Salt spray testing is popular because it is cheap, quick, well standardized and reasonably repeatable. There is, however, only a weak correlation between the duration in salt spray test and the expected life of a coating, since corrosion is a very complicated process and can be influenced by many external factors. Nevertheless, salt spray test is widely used in the industrial sector for the evaluation of corrosion resistance of finished surfaces or parts.

Salt Spray Cabinet

The apparatus for testing consists of a closed testing chamber, where a salted solution (mainly, a solution of 5%sodium chloride) is atomized by means of a nozzle. This produces a corrosive environment of dense saline fog in the chamber so that parts exposed in it are subjected to severely corrosive conditions. Typical volumes of these chambers are of 15 cubic feet (420 L) because of the smallest volume accepted by International Standards on Salt Spray Tests - ASTM-B-117, ISO 9227 (400 litres) and now discontinued DIN 50021 (400 litres). It has been found very difficult to attain constancy of corrosively in different exposure regions within the test chambers, for sizes below 400 litres. Typical coatings that can be evaluated with this method are:

Phosphated surfaces (with subsequent paint/primer/lacquer/rust preventive) Zinc and zinc-alloy plating (see also electroplating). See ISO 4042 for guidance Electroplated chromium, nickel, copper, tin Coatings not applied electrolytically, such as zinc flake coatings according to ISO 10683 Organic coatings. Damp Heat test: This test will be performed to evaluate the properties of material as they are influenced by the absorption and diffusion of moisture and moisture vapour. Hygroscopic materials are sensitive to moisture, and deteriorate rapidly under high humidity conditions. Absorption of moisture by many materials results in swelling, which destroys their functional utility, and causes loss of physical strength and changes in other important mechanical properties. Insulating materials that absorb moisture may suffer degradation of their electrical properties. This method, while not necessarily intended as a simulated tropical test, is of use in determining moisture absorption of materials. Thermal shock chamber: A system of sufficient thermal capacity shall be used to change ambient conditions to meet test requirements and to reach specified temperature conditions. The supply air temperature of the chambers shall reach the specified temperature within a recovery time of 5 minutes after the specimens have been transferred to the appropriate chamber.

ii.

The samples shall be analysed and measured 3 times: Before the test after 4 hours drying. At high humidity. Upon completion of the exposure period, and while the specimens are still in the chamber, the specified measurements shall be performed. These measurements may be compared to the initial measurements. After drying period. Upon completion of the exposure period or following measurements at high humidity if applicable, the specimens shall be conditioned at room ambient conditions for not less than 1 hour, or more than 2 hours unless otherwise specified. The specified measurements shall be performed at room ambient conditions. The damp heat test shall be executed in accordance with IEC 60068-2-78 Test Cab: Damp heat, steady state.

Conclusion:
In case of salt spray we check for corrosion resistance of samples where as in damp heat test we check the moisture presence in the sample. Salt spray method is preferred since it is cost effective and less time consuming. Dry heat needs more time due to the need to analyse 2 or 3 times to get exact results and in proper conditions. Hence, each one has its own uses and can be used according to the needs.

ISO14001
The concept of an environmental management system evolved in the early nineties and its origin can be traced back to 1972, when the United Nations organized a Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was launched (Corbett & Kirsch, 2001). These early initiatives led to the establishment of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) and the adoption of the Montreal Protocol and Basel Convention. In 1992, the first Earth Summit was held in Rio-de-Janeiro (Jiang & Bansal, 2001), which served to generate a global commitment to the environment (RMIT University). In the same year, BSI Group published the world's first environmental management systems standard, BS 7750.[1] This supplied the template for the development of the ISO 14000 series in 1996, by the International Organization for Standardization, which has representation from committees all over the world (ISO) (Clements 1996, Brorson & Larsson,

1999). As of 2010, ISO 14001 is now used by at least 223 149 organizations in 159 countries and economies.[ ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above. ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. As with ISO 9000, certification is performed by third-party organizations rather than being awarded by ISO directly. The ISO 19011 audit standard applies when auditing for both 9000 and 14000 compliance at once. The requirements of ISO 14000 are an integral part of the European Unions environmental management scheme EMAS. EMASs structure and material requirements are more demanding, foremost concerning performance improvement, legal compliance and reporting duties. Basic Principles and Methodology a. b. c. d. e. Plan establish objectives and processes required. Do implement the processes. Check measure and monitor the processes and report results. Act take action to improve performance of EMS based on results. Continual Improvement Process.

Benefits:
ISO 14001 was developed primarily to assist companies in reducing their environmental impact, but in addition to an improvement in environmental standards and performance, organizations can reap a number of economic benefits including higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements (Sheldon 1997) by utilizing the ISO standard. Firstly by minimizing the risk of regulatory and environmental liability fines and improving an organizations efficiency (Delmas 2001), leading to a reduction in waste and consumption of resources, operating costs can be reduced (ISO14001.com.au 2010). Secondly, as an internationally recognized standard, businesses operating in multiple locations across the globe can register as ISO 14001 compliant, eliminating the need for multiple registrations or certifications (Hutchens 2010). Thirdly there has been a push in the last decade by consumers, for companies to adopt stricter environmental regulations, making the

incorporation of ISO 14001 a greater necessity for the long term viability of businesses (Delmas & Montiel 2009) and providing them with a competitive advantage against companies that do not adopt the standard (Potoki & Prakash, 2005). This in turn can have a positive impact on a companys asset value (Van der Deldt, 1997) and can lead to improved public perceptions of the business, placing them in a better position to operate in the international marketplace (Potoki & Prakash 1997; Sheldon 1997). Finally it can serve to reduce trade barriers between registered businesses (Van der Deldt, 1997). Organizations can significantly benefit from EMS implementation through the identification of large cleaner production projects (e.g. which can drastically cut electricity costs in manufacturing industries). ISO 14001 can be a very effective tool to identify these cost savings opportunities for some organizations. Some other organizations can falter in its planning, lack of senior management commitment and poor understanding of how it should be implemented and find themselves managing an ineffective EMS. Improvements that organizations can make include adequately planning their structure and allocating adequate resources, providing training, creating forums for discussion, setting measurable targets and working according to the philosophy of continuous improvement (Burden, 2010).