Electroplating discharge
Electroplating discharge limits: what to do when chromium, nickel or zinc put you at risk
TREATMENT ROUTE COMPARISON IN 10 WORKING DAYS
We compare treatment routes with indicative quotes from specialist manufacturers so you meet your discharge limit at the lowest total cost. We do not manufacture or install, so the comparison is done by someone who does not sell a specific technology. The standard Eval costs you nothing if you provide your analytics and water bills.
10 working days
from your request to a documented comparison
6 technical routes
compared on total cost, not purchase price alone
Vendor-neutral
we request several proposals per project, we sell none
Where do you stand?
The timeline and the best move depend on where you are. Pick your case.
I already have an enforcement notice or inspection report
The clock is running. You need a documented technical plan to respond to the file. Send us the notice and your latest analytics today and we start.
Send my enforcement noticeMy analytics are approaching the limit
You still control the timeline. This is the best moment to compare, because you choose on total cost, not urgency.
See technical routesMy discharge permit is under review or renewal
Renewals are when limits tighten. Arriving with your own compliance plan is better than receiving one imposed on you.
How the Eval worksWhat you get and what it costs
A comparison of technology routes with indicative quotes from relevant manufacturers, payback analysis, and a documented, actionable recommendation (not an academic study). It is the technical piece your legal or environmental adviser presents as a corrective measure.
- Timeline: 10 working days from when we receive your analytics and, if you have it, the enforcement notice.
- Cost: the standard Eval costs you nothing if you provide your analytics and water bills. If you do not have analytics yet, we arrange them for a fixed fee.
- How we earn: if the project is installed through our panel, the manufacturer pays us an origination fee. Our incentive is that the right route gets installed, whoever supplies it.
What happens after a breach?
After a breach detected in inspection or self-monitoring, the procedure follows a known ladder: enforcement notice or inspection report, remediation deadline, enforcement or penalty proceeding, and if discharge is not brought into line, suspension of the discharge permit and ultimately its revocation.
The details depend on where you discharge:
If you discharge to a municipal sewer, the authority is usually the local sewer undertaking under your trade effluent consent. This is the most common case in electroplating and metal finishing.
If you discharge to a public watercourse, the authority is the basin agency under your abstraction-discharge permit.
In both cases, what weighs most in resolving the file is whether the operator has adopted corrective measures. An intention is not a corrective measure. A technical plan with a defined treatment route, manufacturer quote, and installation schedule is. We are not lawyers and we do not handle case files: we produce the technical piece your legal or environmental adviser presents as a corrective measure.
What fails in your discharge and what fixes it
Which parameters trigger proceedings
Critical parameters in electroplating, surface finishing, and metal finishing discharge are hexavalent chromium (Cr VI), total chromium, nickel, zinc, copper, cyanides, pH, and to a lesser extent COD and conductivity. Each fails for a different reason:
Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI)
The most closely watched. It requires a reduction stage to Cr III before precipitation is possible. If your current physico-chemical precipitation plant lacks that stage, or redox is poorly controlled, Cr VI passes through.
Nickel and zinc
They precipitate well as hydroxides, but only within their pH window, and each metal has its own. A pH set for zinc can let nickel escape. Baths with chelating agents or alkaline zinc-nickel complicate conventional precipitation.
Cyanides
They require alkaline oxidation in a separate stage, before streams are mixed. Mixing cyanide-bearing water with acidic water is not just a discharge problem, it is a plant safety risk.
pH and conductivity
The simplest failures and the most frequent. They usually indicate a control and equalisation problem, not a technology problem.
If you recognise your case in any of these, the problem has a known solution. The question is not whether technology exists, but which available route meets your specific limit at the lowest total cost.
What technical routes exist and what each one solves
| Route | What it solves | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Physico-chemical precipitation | Dissolved metals (Cr III, Ni, Zn, Cu) | The basis of almost all electroplating treatment; optimised or replaced |
| Reduction to Cr III | Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) | Mandatory if you run chromium plating or Cr VI passivation |
| Cyanide oxidation | Free CN and complexes | Mandatory if you run cyanide baths; always on a segregated line |
| Ion exchange | Final polishing of metals to trace levels | When the limit is lower than precipitation can reach |
| Ultrafiltration and membranes | Solids and residual precipitates, rinse water recovery | When you want to recover water as well as comply |
| Vacuum evaporation | Concentrated streams, spent baths | When the goal is to cut volume to manage or approach zero discharge |
No manufacturer offers all routes with equal competence. Each sells their own. That is why the comparison must be done by someone who does not manufacture.
Why compare before you sign?
In a crisis, every manufacturer will tell you their technology is the right one, and at least some will be partly right. Our model is different: we do not manufacture or install. We work with a panel of specialist manufacturers and request several proposals per project, and we compare them on one total-cost baseline.
How it works
How it works
Analysis
Your discharge analytics, flow rate and streams (baths, rinses, segregated cyanide lines), discharge point, and who receives your effluent.
Evaluation
We match your profile to viable routes and to our panel of 30+ specialist manufacturers (filtered from a database of 500+).
Comparison
3 or more indicative proposals from relevant manufacturers, compared by technology and total cost (investment, chemicals, energy, sludge, water).
Recommendation
The most robust, lowest total-cost route for your case, documented. We connect you with the selected manufacturer.
Analysis
Your discharge analytics, flow rate and streams (baths, rinses, segregated cyanide lines), discharge point, and who receives your effluent.
Evaluation
We match your profile to viable routes and to our panel of 30+ specialist manufacturers (filtered from a database of 500+).
Comparison
3 or more indicative proposals from relevant manufacturers, compared by technology and total cost (investment, chemicals, energy, sludge, water).
Recommendation
The most robust, lowest total-cost route for your case, documented. We connect you with the selected manufacturer.
Start with your own enforcement notice
What you get
- •
3 or more indicative quotes from a panel of 30+ specialist European manufacturers, filtered from a database of 500+.
- •
A real comparison of return and technologies, calculated from your actual bills, not market projections.
- •
A documented recommendation your adviser can present as a corrective measure.
- •
Regulatory context: what applies to you and on what timeline.
Price
Free if you provide your analytics and water bills. If you do not have analytics yet, we arrange them for a fixed fee.
Send your flow (m³/day or m³/month), discharge analytics, a brief description of your baths and processes, and the enforcement notice if you have it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Are you a lab or an engineering firm?
No. We do not manufacture or install. We compare routes and manufacturers on one baseline and deliver a documented recommendation.
Do you handle the case file with the regulator?
We are not lawyers and we do not handle case files. We produce the technical piece your legal or environmental adviser presents as a corrective measure.
How long do you take?
10 working days from when we receive your analytics and, if you have it, the enforcement notice.
What do you need from me?
Your discharge analytics, your water bills, and the enforcement notice if you already have it.
What if I do not have recent analytics?
We arrange them for a fixed fee.
How much does it cost?
The standard Eval is free under the conditions above. If the project is installed through our panel, the manufacturer pays us an origination fee.
Do you work on my existing plant or propose a new one?
Both. In many cases your physico-chemical plant is optimised (for example by adding Cr VI reduction or improving pH control) rather than replaced. The comparison shows which costs less for your case.
How much does an Eval cost?
If you can provide your water invoices (so we can size the project and calculate the return) and a water analysis lab report, your Eval is free: the manufacturers we bring into the comparison pay us, not you. This typically applies to campsites, hotels, resorts, industrial laundries, retrofits of existing treatment plants and many industrial projects.
If you don't have a lab report yet, we arrange sampling and analysis as part of the Eval, at cost. Ask us for a quote.
Extended-scope projects (multiple sites, multiple effluent streams, tender specifications, financing documentation) carry fixed fees, which we share after a first call.
And on any paid Eval, we refund 50% of the fee when your project is installed through a manufacturer we introduced, within 12 months of delivery, for installations from 25,000 euros.
EvalAgua is the brand for Caskade Evals. We compare industrial water treatment and reuse technologies in Spain. No preferred brand.