E-Pure MSA® (Methane Sulfonic Acid)
E-Pure MSA® is a high-purity methane sulfonic acid (CH3-SO3H), a sulfonyl derivative developed by Arkema to offer exceptional performance in various industrial applications. It has become a preferred choice for industries requiring precise and efficient chemical solutions.
- Worldwide
Smart Advantages
Fewer side reactions
- Less harmful baths
- Less agressive to the shop environment & equipment
Higher performances
- More stable & efficient
More environmentally friendly
- Baths produce less wastage & sludge which can be more easily treated
- Nitrogen & Phosphorous free causes no eutrophication
Chemical name: Methane sulfonic acid
Common name: MSA
Key Features and Benefits:
- High purity: E-Pure MSA® is manufactured to stringent quality standards, ensuring a purity level that meets the strictest requirements of industrial processes.
- The high conductivity of MSA electrolytes and the high solubility of metal mesylates make E-Pure MSA® a well-established solution in plating industry, allowing high plating rates as well as energy, raw material, and effluent costs savings.
- More environmentally friendly: E-Pure MSA® based plating baths produce less waste and sludge that can be more easily treated. The effluents, free from Nitrogen & Phosphorous do not induce eutrophication of waterway. The methane sulfonic acid content can easily be managed by wastewater treatment plants due to its readily biodegradable nature.
- The strong acidity of E-Pure MSA® is efficiently combined with its non-oxidizing properties, which is beneficial for the plating industry by improving yields and reducing sludge production.
Applications
E-Pure MSA® is used as an electrolyte in the electroplating industry (printed circuit boards and connectors, wire and steel strip plating, metal finishing), for the recovery of high purity metal through electrometallurgy (electrowinning), the leaching of smelters slags or fumes ashes. It is used in metal refining (Sn, Pb, Zn, Cu), for the regeneration of ions exchange resins and for treatment of aluminum (anodizing, coloring).
Electroplating and electrolyte / stripping:
Electroplating is the operation by which a layer of metal or alloy is deposited on a surface through the reduction of metal salts of an electrolyte with the electrons provided by power supply.
An equivalent technology, known as electroless plating, is possible with electrons resulting from redox reaction and allows metal plating on non-conductive surfaces.
When the current is reversed, the opposite phenomenon of dissolution of plated metal in the electrolyte occurs and is called stripping. E-Pure MSA® is used as an electrolyte in Sn, Sn alloy or Sn/Pb electroplating baths. It has technical advantages over competing technologies such as Phenol Sulfonic Acid (PSA), Fluoroboric acid (HBF4), Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and Halides.
The high solubility of salts enables the plating of a wide variety of metals. The high conductivity of MSA allows plating across a wide range of current density resulting in an increased throwing power.
With non oxidative E-Pure MSA®, the bath can operate with lower metal content and show reduced wastes (less metal oxidation products compared to sulfuric acid for example) E-Pure MSA® also offers the possibility to recycle electrolytes after electrowinning.
Typical markets for E-Pure MSA® electrolytes are tin plating on steel strips or wires, solder application on copper, but also solder stripping from printed circuit boards.
Metal refining: Sn, Pb, Zn, Cu:
Adding E-Pure MSA® to electrolysis baths increases the purity of recovered metals from 99.9 to 99.99% for Tin and to 99.999% for Cu, Zn and Pb.
Metal recovery:
Slags / urban mining: lead ore, lead batteries, silver-rich wastes, printed circuit boards.
E-Pure MSA® is used as a leaching agent to extract lead from lead-rich slags or lead battery material to extract and recover lead mesylate.
Silver can be extracted from silver-rich urban mining resources (silver films, photovoltaic cells) to form highly soluble silver mesylate.
Nickel and Copper can be recovered from used printed circuit boards through E-Pure MSA® electrochemical stripping, after alkaline leaching of solders, allowing gold recovery.
Solder, nickel and copper can then be recovered through electrowinning.
Treatment of Tin and zinc ores:
The addition of E-Pure MSA® to sulfuric acid electrolyte improves the electrowinning performance for the treatment of Sn and Zn ores.
A more friendly environmental grade
E-Pure® MSA is replacing most of classical acids used in Sn or Sn/Pb electroplating baths such as Phenol Sulfonic Acid (PSA), Fluoroboric acid (HBF4), Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and Halides, and frees processes from toxic lead and hazardous fluoborates. With E-Pure MSA®, bath can operate with lower metal content and allows for reduced waste, sludge and fewer residues and effluents. E-Pure® MSA also offers the possibility to recycle electrolytes.
Frequently Asked Questions about Electroplating and E‑Pure® MSA
What is electroplating?
Electroplating is an electrochemical process used to deposit a thin layer of metal onto the surface of a conductive object. This technique is widely used in industries to enhance corrosion resistance, improve appearance, or alter electrical properties. E-Pure® MSA (methanesulfonic acid) is commonly used as an electrolyte in electroplating baths due to its high conductivity and efficiency.
What is the electroplating process?
The electroplating process involves submerging the object to be plated (cathode) and a metal anode into an electrolyte solution containing metal ions. When a direct electric current is applied, metal ions are reduced and deposited onto the cathode. Using E-Pure® MSA as the electrolyte helps ensure a more uniform metal deposit, reduces hazardous by-products and results in easier waste treatment compared to traditional acids.
How does electroplating work?
Electroplating works by passing an electric current through an electrolyte solution, which contains the metal ions to be deposited. The object to be plated attracts these ions that are reduced at its surface, leading to a thin metal layer formation. E-Pure® MSA plays a crucial role in industrial electroplating by providing a stable and high-performance medium for metal deposition.
What is metal plating?
Metal plating refers to the process of forming a metal layer onto a surface for functional or decorative purposes. It includes several techniques, with electroplating being one of the most common. Plating improves durability, conductivity, or appearance. E-Pure® MSA is a go-to solution in metal plating due to its low toxicity and high purity.
How does industrial electroplating work?
Industrial electroplating involves scaling up the electroplating process for high-volume, consistent metal finishes used in sectors such as automotive, electronics, and aerospace. This requires stable operating conditions and reliable electrolytes. E-Pure® MSA ensures excellent bath stability, high metal ion solubility, and efficient plating performance, making it ideal for demanding industrial applications.
Which metals cannot be electroplated?
Most metals can be electroplated, but some, like certain aluminum or magnesium alloys, require special preparation or cannot be easily plated using standard electroplating techniques. The success of electroplating depends on the metal’s conductivity, reactivity, and compatibility with the electrolyte used.
What is the difference between electroplating and electroforming?
Electroplating involves coating a base material with a metal layer, while electroforming is a process where the metal layer itself becomes the final product, often after removing the substrate. Electroplating is used for surface finishing, whereas electroforming is used to create standalone metal parts. Both techniques can benefit from MSA-based electrolytes like E-Pure® MSA for precise and clean metal deposition.
What is the difference between electroplating, electroless plating, and electrowinning?
- Electroplating uses an external electric current to deposit a metal coating onto a substrate.
- Electroless plating does not require electricity; instead, it relies on an autocatalytic chemical reaction to reduce and deposit metal onto the surface. It is useful for coating non-conductive materials or achieving uniform deposits on complex geometries.
- Electrowinning is different: it is a hydrometallurgical process used to recover pure metals from ores or waste solutions by electrodeposition.
All three techniques serve different industrial purposest E-Pure® MSA is widely used in electroplating, electroless plating and electrowinning due to its high performance, stability, and environmentally friendly profile.