p.1 

OAR Box 1313 

Preppedby LaTeiaShed 

Document Number: 

13) l-B-6 

Docket Number: 

A-88-02 

Printed 6/12/2008 9:03:27 AM Sheet 13 of 99 
P.2 

® A-88-02 

MIDWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 

JJJ- g _ (Q 4505 Creedmoor Road 

Raleigh, N.C. 27612 

Telephone (919) 781-5750 

FINAL 

LE COPY 

Date: 

Subject: 

April 15, 1985 

(Finalized: April 26, 1985) 

Site Visit—C. S. Ohm Manufacturing Company 

Survey of Chromium Emission Sources—Chromium Plating 

EPA Contract 68-02-3817; ESED Project 85/02 

MRI Project 7711-L 

SP From: Barb Duletsky ftp 

To: Al Vervaert 

ESED/ISB/SSS (MD-13) 

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711 

I. Purpose 

The purpose of this site visit was to gather background information 

on the decorative chromium plating operation at the subject plant and to 

determine the suitability of the plant for chromium emissions testing. 

II. Place and Date 

. -.., 

C. S. Ohm Manufacturing Company 

6640 Sterling Drive 

Sterling Heights, Michigan 48077 

(313) 939-3000 

March 14, 1985 

:n! 

JAN I 81991 »{ 

III. Attendees 

| SP A A^DZCZ^ T 

C. S. Ohm Manufacturing Company 

Robert Waters, Plating Plant Supervisor 

Midwest Research Institute (MRI) 

Barb Duletsky 

IV. Discussion 

I arrived at the plant at 1:00 p.m. The visit began with a 

discussion about decorative chromium plating at C. S. Ohm. Following this, 

I was given a tour of the plating facility, during which Mr. Waters 

provided operating information on the chromium plating tank and the 

associated control device. 

Principal Laboratories 425 Volker Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64110 
P.3 

A. General 

C. S. Ohm is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of bumpers for 

the automotive industry. The plating plant was installed in 1978, prior t;o 

which bumpers manufactured by C. S. Ohm were plated at local job shops. 

The plant operates 24 hours per day, 6 days per week, 52 weeks per year. 

Mr. Waters estimated that there are about 10 other captive platers of OEM 

bumpers in the country. 

B. Process 

The plating line consists of about 20 tanks that contain various 

plating and cleaning solutions. The line is serviced by an automatically 

controlled conveyor that transfers racks of bumpers to each tank 1n 

sequence. The chromium plating segment of the line is comprised of one 

plating tank, one evaporation tank, and three rinse tanks. 

The chromium plating tank measures 10 feet (ft) in length, 4.5 ft in 

width, 8 ft in depth, and holds 2,800 gallons of plating solution. The 

solution contains chromic acid in a concentration of 46 ounces per gallon 

(oz/gal). Mr. Waters noted that the concentration used by decorative 

platers varies between 30 and 50 oz/gal, depending on the "throwing power" 

required. The need for throwing power increases as the distance between 

the electrodes and the parts to be plated increases. The high throwing 

power achieved at C. S. Ohm enables chromium to be deposited on surfaces 

that are curved or recessed away from the electrodes. The total chromic 

acid consumption at C. S. Ohm is about 18,000 pounds per year. 

Typically, a rack remains in the chromium plating tank for 

4.5 minutes, although electrolysis occurs for only 1.75 minutes. The 

normal operating temperature of the tank is between 115° and 145°F. The 

electrodes are charged by a single transformer/rectifier set that 

automatically controls the operating voltage and current. During a typical 

plating cycle, the tank operates at 2 volts (V) and 500 amperes (A) for 

15 seconds to activate the nickel-plated surfaces. Then, the voltage 

increases to 13 V and the current increases to 18,000 A for 1.5 minutes, 

during which chromium is deposited on the activated surfaces. This 

1.5 minutes is called "electrolysis." 

C. Control 

C. S. Ohm uses a demisting agent in the chromium plating solution to 

inhibit the release of hydrogen gas bubbles. The demisting agent is called 

MSP-1 and is manufactured by Harshaw Chemicals, in Cleveland, Ohio, 

(216) 441-4900. Mr. Waters suggested that I call chemical manufacturers 

such as M&T, Allied, Essex, or Harshaw, to obtain estimates of the control 

efficiency of demisting agents. 

The chromium plating tank and evaporation tank are equipped with a 

push-pull ventilation system. Air jets on one end of the tanks push mist 

across the plating solution to a 4-foot-high hood on the other end. An 

induced draft fan driven by a 20-horsepower motor draws emissions from the 
P.4 

tank through a circular duct to a fume scrubber mounted on the roof. The 

scrubber is manufactured by Viron International and is a wet pack-bed 

scrubber with a design gas flow rate of 16,000 standard cubic feet per 

minute (scfm). The treated gases are exhausted through the fan and a 

3-foot-high stack before exiting to the atmosphere. A diagram of the 

control system is presented in Figure 1. A description of the fume 

scrubber has been supplied by Viron International and is included as 

Attachment A. 

Mr. Waters noted that the level of emissions from a chromium plating 

tank is primarily dependent on the amount of time the electrodes are 

charging, the amount of current flowing, and the surface area being 

plated. He also suggested that the 3 minutes of "dead time" during each 

plating cycle actually suppress the formation of hydrogen gas during the 

1.5 minutes of electrolysis, although he was not aware of any test data 

that would substantiate this theory. 

D. Conclusions 

C. S. Ohm is a captive plater performing decorative chromium plating 

of OEM bumpers. Emissions from the chromium plating tank appeared to be 

effectively controlled by a demisting agent and a fume scrubber. Visible 

fumes generated during the time the electrodes were being charged were 

observed to be completely captured by the push-pull ventilation system and 

there were no visible emissions observed exiting from the scrubber stack. 

Inlet and outlet testing of the control device are feasible; however, ports 

need to be installed, and the stack may need to be extended. Plant 

personnel are not opposed to a test being performed at this site. Test 

data from this plant could be used to determine both the emissions from an 

automated decorative chromium plating tank controlled by a demisting agent 

and the performance of a fume scrubber in controlling those emissions. 

Attachment 

3, 
P.5 

16,000 SCFM 

TO ATMOSPHERE 

MAY NEED TO CONSTRUCT 

TEMPORARY STACK 

y y yyyyyyyyy y 

Figure 1. Diagram of decorative chromium plating line and emissions 

control system at C. S. Ohm'Manufacturing Company. 

¥. 
* Attachment A 

P.6 

•'.'. •.•.••*•••• i^^.J^.^J.^w^wtu^vj^rwrj;: ^ .'.V}V SJ,.4Sil-.iy.milj.44 I m» IIU J . I. •• V '. 

, ~*rx. » •„ , . p^M 

At the entrance of the scrubber, 

contaminated air is decelerated 

to 425 FPM velocity. The air is 

totally wetted through fine water 

spray nozzles, causing the large 

air borne contaminated particles 

to be absorbed. As the saturated 

air moves through the first 12" 

pack, the contaminated particles 

adhere to the non-conjestive 

ampullaceous surfaces of the 

filter mass and are washed away. 

The air continues moving into 

other fine jet water spray 

nozzles, causing the remainder 

of the air borne contaminates to 

be absorbed by the water. Again 

as the saturated air moves 

through the second 12" pack 

which is also flooded from 

the top by series of overflow 

water jets, the remainder of 

stubborn particles adhere to the 

non-conjestive ampullaceous 

surfaces of the filter mass and 

are washed away. For 

maximum cleansing a 5" thick 

POLY-PRO tubular back-up filter 

and moisture eliminator is provided and finally, clean air is released from the scrubber. 

This is one of our most efficient 

scrubbers and is used especially 

on hard to scrub fumes such as 

Bright Dip, Die Casting, Etching, 

and Stripping. 

\ l / \l / 

/ l \ /l \ 

I 

\l/ i 

\ l / 

/ l \ 

*-G 

OVERFLOW 

MAKE-UP 

fiS*- DRAIN 

UNITS SUPPLIED SELF-CONTAINED OR REMOTE 

o 

1 

o 

O 

s 

N 

o 

H 

> 

*\ 

c 

CD 

m 

3 

Average Fume 

Removal Efficiencies 

HSOP-2000 

Alkaline Cleaners 

Aluminum Bright Dip 

Anodizing 

Caustic Cleaners 

Caustic Soda 

Chlorine 

Chromic Acid 

Copper Chloride 

Cyanide Solutions 

Ferric Nitrate 

Ferrous Chloride 

Ferrous Sulfate 

Hydrochloric Acid 

Hydrogen Cyanide 

Hydrofluoric Acid 

Hydrogen Peroxide 

Hydrogen Sulfide 

Nickel Chloride 

Nickel Sulfate 

Nitric Acid 

Nitric (HF Acid) 

Perchloric Acid 

Phosphoric Acid 

Potassium Dichromate 

Sodium Chloride 

Sodium Fluoride 

Sodium Hydroxide 

Sulfur Oioxide 

Sulfuric Acid 

Tin Chlorides 

Zinc Chloride 

Zinc Nitrate 

Zinc Sulfate 

97-99 

85-90 

97-99 

99 

99 

85-90 

99 

81-86 

99 

98-99 

94-97 

95-98 

85-91 

90-95 

95-97 

95-98 

75-80 

85-90 

85-90 

85-90 

84-90 

96-99 

98-99 

98-99 

98-99 

95-98 

99 

75-80 

98-99 

80-85 

80-85 

98-99 

98-99 

CFM> 

500 

1.000 

2.000 

3.000 

4.000 

5.000 

6.000 

8.000 

10.000 

12.000 

14.000 

16.000 

18.000 

20.000 

22.000 

24.000 

26.000 

28.000 

30.000 

32.500 

35.000 

37.500 

40.000 

42.500 

45.000 

50.000 

55.000 

60.000 

TABLE FOR HSOP-2000 SERIES SCRUBBER 

Av 

18 

22 

28 

32 

37 

41 

45 

52 

58 

64 

69 

74 

78 

85 

93 

100 

108 

124 

135 

148 

160 

177 

193 

211 

229 

258 

280 

305 

E*5 

73 

74 

74 

75 

76 

76 

77 

78 

83 

84 

84 

85 

85 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

90 

c 

32 

36 

42 

46 

51 

55 

60 

67 

73 

79 

84 

89 

92 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

98 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

D. 

61 

62 

62 

63 

64 

64 

65 

66 

67 

68 

68 

69 

69 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

70 

Water Recirculation 

E. 

12 

16 

22 

26 

31 

35 

39 

46 

48 

54 

' 5 9 

64 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

66 

1-3 GPM 

a . 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

t f 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

per 1.000 CFM. 

C 

22 

24 

27 

29 

31 Vi 

33 Vi 

36Vi 

40 

43 

46 

48 Vi 

51 

S3 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

Remot e 

Tent. 

16x42 

16x42 

24«4 2 

24x4 2 

24x4 2 

30x42 

30x4 2 

30x5 4 

30x54 

30x54 

30x54 

32x6 6 

32x6 6 

32x6 6 

32x6 6 

32x66 

36x6 6 

36x66 

36x6 6 

36x66 

36x6 6 

36x6 6 

36x66 

42x66 

42x6 6 

42x66 

42x66 

42x6 6 

-f.