Recovery and Regeneration of Photographic Developer Waste

Abstract

New process to recycle spent developer waste for black and white photographic films was investigated.
The principle of the process resides in (I) removal of halide ions by means of electrodialysis with anion-exchange membrane, (II) simultaneous electrolytic reduction of oxidized components at cathode and (III) subsequent addition of chemical ingredients before re-use.
This process has been successfully applied in commercial scale to the developer waste for fine grain black and white film for years. More than ten times of re-use indicates no significant problems in grey scale control. Introduction of this process has reduced not only reagent cost but also pollution or waste treatment cost substantially. It was also found that this process is applicable to recycling developer waste for color film or paper.