MECHANICAL SURFACE TREATMENT OF CHEMICAL EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION TO CLEAN THEM FROM METAL-CONTAINING SLUDGE BELONGING TO THE PLATINUM GROUP

摘要

The present invention relates to mechanical surface treatment to be applied to chemical equipment and instrumentation to clean them from sludge containing metals from the platinum group and can be used in laboratories which use them as catalysts. According to the method, the mechanical cleaning is made using a cutting instrument, the primary motion of which is the return movement and/or the movement on the treated surface, the cutting speed being selected in a range of 0.015 to 35 m/s for a cutting force of 0.05 to 2800 n, while the momentum given to the instrument on the treated surface is in a range of 3 x 10-5 to 9 m/s. The inventive method enables a very efficient cleaning of surfaces from platinum-containing deposits and improved extraction of precious metals.