Effect of surfactants on recovery of nickel from nickel plating wastewater by electrowinning

The effect of surfactants on the electrowinning efficiency of the recovery of nickel from nickel plating wastewater was studied. Owing to the decrease of the effective electrode area and mass transfer coefficient of solution, the electrowinning efficiency was decreased by the presence of surfactants in wastewater. The higher the surface activity and the longer chain-length of the surfactant, the lower the electrowinning efficiency. This drawback could be eliminated by the addition of boric acid and with a greater rate of flow of solution. An attempt had been made to delineate the effect of boric acid on electrowinning efficiency.