There are four basic ways to recycle/reclaim water and metal in a plating type operation. The four basic types of systems used in plating waste treatment are:

1. Reverse Osmosis with pre-filtration and carbon after a precipitation system.

2. De-ionization type ion exchange for re-circulation using de-ionized water feeds.

3. Metal recovery ion exchange without re-circulation.

4. Metal recovery ion exchange with reverse osmosis re-circulation.

Metal recovery ion exchange: System uses related rinse to remove only the target ions from the effluent stream. The most efficient uses are for removing Lead, Copper and Nickel. They exchange Sodium for the target metal and pass the hardness ions, Calcium and Magnesium. They are effective on industrial water rinse without any preconditioning and are very effective in the direct replacement of sludge generating systems. Regeneration is very efficient and the target metal is usually recovered in relatively small volumes of regenerant. The rinse waters from regeneration are recycled through the system to remove any contaminants. The effluent water from these systems are high in TDS and pH and may be used for non-critical rinses after acid baths where neutralization is necessary. The main disadvantage of higher resin cost is offset by much lower operating costs and low maintenance.