Electrolytic etchant regeneration for the printed circuit board industry

In the production of printed circuit boards a very important operation is that of etching a process which results in large quantities of surplus etchant being produced, which have little or no value to the printed circuit board being produced, which have little or no value to the printed circuit board manufacturer. The Capenhurst Electrolytic Etchant Regeneration (CEER) process enables the etchant to be continuously regenerated. The only chemical losses from the system are those due to drag out, so that the purchase of replenishment chemicals is virtually eliminated. Moreover, the copper that has been etched from the boards is recovered as a pure electrolytic powder, which can be sold, and the etching operation, which was previously a costly process, can now be profitable. The author discusses both the conventional and CEER processes