It depends on why you are using electrowinning. The "chemicals"
are called the electrolyte. It can range from pure chemicals and
solutions to industrial waste water. For example, printed circuit
board fabricators use it to remove metallic ions from concentrated
rinse water, spent process solutions, and ion exchange regenerant.
An electrowinning unit consists of a rectifier and a reaction
chamber that houses anodes and cathodes. In the simplest design, a
set of cathodes and anodes are set in the reaction chamber
containing the electrolyte. When the unit is energized, metal ions
are reduced onto the cathode. The rate at which metal can be
recovered (i.e., plated onto the cathode) from solutions depends on
several factors, including the concentration of metal in the
electrolyte, the size of the unit in terms of current and cathode
area, and the type(s) of metal being recovered.
