MODELING FOR SLUDGE ESTIMATION AND REDUCTION

Sludge reduction is one of the most important environmental issues in electroplating plants. The most effective way of sludge reduction is t o minimize the sludge generated from each plating line. In this paper, a set of sludge models is developed to characterize the sludge genera tion in parts cleaning and rinsing. These models, together with a set of dynamic models for characterizing cleaning solutions, rinsewater, a nd parts, can be used to develop, strategies for sludge reduction and quality assurance for cleaning and rinsing. Model-based simulation has demonstrated the desirability of adopting them in real processes.