Silver

Silver Management Services

Silver, like all of our resources, should be recycled. Too much silver in the environment can be harmful to life. The effects that silver mining can have on the environment can be greatly reduced by recycling more silver, so silver must be managed. Many manufacturers and businesses use silver compounds in the production of their products, and in turn produce silver waste. Large pharmaceutical companies producing silver iodides, and the small town printing companies using silver plates, produce waste. Photography shops and hospitals use silver nitrates in the development process, and waste is commonly discharged. Environmental and compliance regulations require that these companies adopt a Silver Management policy. Silver Management refers to the whole process of the use and recycling of silver based compounds.

Throughout the eighties and nineties various studies were conducted to discover what effects silver waste discharge had on the environment. These studies resulted in the forming of the silver council. This was made up mainly of large film companies such as Kodak and Fugi as well as members of local and federal environmental agencies. In 1996 this group released the Code of Management Practices for Silver Dischargers. This is a set of standard operating procedures that are intended to reduce the amount of silver discharge into the environment. It is designed to give users incentive to optimize silver recovery, water conservation and pollution prevention. If companies follow these operating procedures they reduce the likelihood of fines, relocations, or shutdowns.

When implementing a silver recovery plan businesses need to take their size into consideration. A small business like a photography shop or printing company may choose an off-site recovery plan. The business would be responsible for the safe storage of the waste and then have a waste management company that specializes in hazardous materials take the waste to a special facility. If the size of the company makes the storage of waste impractical then they can turn to an on-site recovery system. There are various techniques the business can implement depending on the size of the operation, the amount of waste produced, and the silver discharge limits in your area. The most efficient of these is Electrolytic Silver Recovery.

In this type of recovery electricity is used to separate silver from the fixing solutions. A controlled electrical current is passed between two electrodes which have been placed in the silver bearing solution. Silver is then deposited onto a cathode in the form of a pure silver plate. When operated properly these units are capable of recovering 95% of the original silver used. The de-silvered fixer can have reuse by mixing it with less fresh fixer solution and using for the same process. These units can reduce fixer replenishment by 20%. The business will save on their cost of supply as well as earn from the recycled silver. The Imaging Network can assist businesses and manufacturers of all sizes throughout North America in finding the Electrolytic Silver Recovery Unit that meets their needs.