Pickling of oxidized 304 Stainless Steel using Waste Acids from Etching Process of Silicon Wafer

Pickling of oxidized 304 stainless steel has been investigated using rotating disk electrode in waste acid solutions generated from the etching process of silicon wafer in order to recycle them. The waste acid solution contained acetic, nitric, hydrofluoric acids, and silicon of . Electrochemical behavior during the pickling was distinctively different between the original and silicon-removed acid solutions. Open circuit potential was continuously changed in the original solution, while it was discontinuously changed and fluctuated in the silicon-removed solution. Fast and abrupt removal of surface oxide layer with severe pitting was observed in the silicon-removed solution. It was found that solution temperature had the most influential effect on glossiness. Surface glossiness after pickling was decreased with solution temperature. At the same condition, the glossiness was higher in the original solution than in the silicon-removed solution.