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Arbortech Corporation
3607 Chapel Hill Rd
Johnsburg, IL 60051
Phone: (815) 385-0001
Fax: (815) 385-0089
E-mail: sales@arbortech.com
www.arbortech.com |
Case Studies AMCO Engineering - Recycling of low pH Cleaners.
AMCO Engineering Reduces Discharge with Arbortech
AMCOEngineering needed to reduce the fats, oils, and greases in the firststage of its three-stage wash line, since the company discharged thisstage into the sewer quarterly and then made up a fresh bath. This wasnecessary to ensure compliance with the Metropolitan ReclamationDistrict of Greater Chicago standards. White not limited to this typeof application, ultrafiltration can be especially effective for thesetypes of recycling processes.
Reliable Unit Saves Money
Thecompany purchased a unit that includes an immersion heater forautomatic temperature maintenance within a specific range, and bothsurge and shunt protection to compensate for the irregularities of thelocal electrical service. The Unit has fulfilled AMCO's expectations,providing significant savings and reliability, at a very resonableprice. "We have saved money in several ways," said Ed Shook. "We useless water and discharge one fourth of what we did before we purchasedthe unit. We use fewer chemicals, and because of the higherconcentration of oil in our haul-away, our oil disposal fees are muchlower."
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American Lock Company - Treating Oily Waste to Sewer
American Lock Company Saves with Arbortech
Inthe process of improving its waste reduction program, American LockCompany approached Arbortech to help evaluate its process and recommendan economical solution. American Lock's wastewater contained a highconcentration of cutting oil, which was previously disposed of throughan oil reclaimer. "We needed a system that would help reduceour waste removal costs and aid in a waste reduction program," said JoeZajac of American Lock. "We needed to treat process cleaning water thatcontained cutting and lubricating oils and detergents."
UF Helps Meet Regulatory Requirements
Ultrafiltrationtechnology is especially good for this application. The polymericmembranes effectively separate oily emulsions from the wastewater,making it safe to discharge into the sewer, while meeting regulatoryrequirements. Arbortech met with American Lock, conducted a pilot, andcustom-designed a system with the level of control sophisticationnecessary for the application. With increased volumes to be treated,the capacity of the unit was recently doubled by Arbortech's servicegroup. "With Arbortech's expertise, we now filter the oils anddetergents from the wastewater enough to discharge to the localP.O.T.W., and feel confident that it meets their standards," saidZajac. "The unit works well-it's low-maintenance and trouble-free. Thesystem upsizing was handled on-site with little interruption to ouroverall operations. These guys are good."
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Aurora Pump, division Pentair - Coolants, etc. Treated for Discharg
Aurora Pump Cuts Waste by 50% with Arbortech
TheAurora Pump Division of Pentair Corporation wanted to minimize itswaste stream in order to maintain the EPA's small waste generatorclassification. "In addition to the advantage of decreaseddisposal costs, being classified a small waste generator requires lessscrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency," said Aurora Pump'sRichard Gavril. "We needed a system that would treat our specificwaste, which is machining coolant with tramp oils from various machinecenters."
UF Unit Savings Help Offset Costs
AuroraPump interviewed several vendors before choosing Arbortech. "Thequality of Arbortech's equipment is very good," said Gavril. "We'realso very pleased with the customer service we'vereceived." The first year in operation, the unit saved thecompany enough to virtually offset its cost. "The Arbortechunit is functioning even better than we expected," said Gavril. "We cutour waste disposal costs by 50%.. and we remain a small wastegenerator. Arbortech was attuned to our company's special needs andthey were quite responsive, both before and after thesale."
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Eagle Wings industries, Inc. - Alkaline Washer Water Recycled
Eagle Wings Saves Money and Saves Chemicals with UF
EagleWings industries, Inc., an automotive parts' OEM, has cut its use ofalkaline cleaning chemicals by half. In addition to minimizing waste,the cost of the equipment to achieve this has virtually been offset inits initial year of use. Magic? No, an Arbortech ultrafiltrationsystem. EWi's personnel involved in system operation suggest that thereis yet another benefit to the process, "much less labor spentmaintaining the cleaning tank."
Right Choice Pays Off in Many Ways
Thecompany took its time evaluating technologies and vendors beforeselecting UF and Arbortech, several months in fact. An initialintroduction to the firm came from a branch of the Illinois Departmentof Natural Resources, namely the Waste Management and Research Center(WMRC).
"Weknew from WMRC that Arbortech had experienced good success recoveringlow pH phosphatizing/degreasers, but they had to prove themselves inour plant, on our alkaline cleaner. Pilot scaletesting provided the results we needed to see. With support from theCenter, they earned our confidence and finally our P.O." WhileArbortech earned a sale, EWi garnered even more rewards than thosealready described above through implementation of the UF equipment,receiving both the 1999 Illinois Governor's Pollution Prevention Awardand being named runner-up in the competition for the IllinoisManufacturers' Association's Team Excellence Award for '99. "Thisequipment has paid dividends in many ways forus."
"We had our own expectations for recovery,maybe 30%, but this is giving us results way beyond that. And anotherthing, Arbortech Corporation's staff has been great with their supportafter the sale. We've had a number of questions; they've had all theanswers, and they responded to us in a hurry."
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McCook Metals L.L.C. - Rolling Aluminum Oils Processed from Remote Location
Wastewater Hauling Reduced by More Than 95% with UF System
WhenReynolds Aluminum owned McCook Metals' facility it spend about $600 perday in hauling fees to dispose of an average of 3,000 gallons ofwastewater each day. This year, the McCook facility, which is owned byMichigan Avenue Partners (M.A.P.) reduced those costs more than 95percent. The difference? Michigan Avenue Partners, which has areputation of "thinking outside of the box", installed anultrafiltration (UF) system developed, built and maintained byArbortech Corporation of McHenry, Illinois.
McCookMetals, L.L.C, a M.A.P. company, in McCook , Illinois, casts, rolls andprocesses aluminum sheet and plate for the aerospace, defense, generalmanufacturing and distributor markets. Its metal processing operationsrequire a high volume of water. Prior to installing the Arbortechsystem, McCook stored wastewater in 50,000-gallon tanks, then paid tohave it hauled away. "We had assumed in prior years that waste haulingfees were simply an ongoing part of our normal overhead costs." saidMatt Ochalski, president of McCook Metals. "We began to search for away to bring those down, but whatever we'd do had to work withoutincreasing the maintenance hours. We found Arbortech, and what a findthat turned out to be."
System Operated and Maintained Remotely - from 50 Miles Away !
Arbortech'sexperts spent several months assessing McCook's needs, devising ways toovercome treatment technique hurdles, then conducting rigorous pilotscale testing. Arbortech installed an extremely sophisticated, highlycustomized ultrafiltration system at McCook, with controls andautomation that allow for remote monitoring and operation.Instrumentation reports are accessed and downloaded daily atArbortech's facility in McHenry, and appropriate measures are taken tokeep the system functioning at peak performance... at a distance ofmore than 50 miles from the McCook plantsite.
Arbortech runs, cleans and maintains thesystem and also provides telephone direction to guide McCook'spersonnel through any required onsite system adjustments. McCook'sdaily responsibilities are essentially limited to checking the area toensure the integrity of the overall system and keeping the chemicaltanks filled. The Arbortech UF system has resulted in dramatic costsavings - and cost benefits. Hauling expenses in the year 2000 werereduced by more than 95%, and zero dollars have been spent since July,2000.
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Midwest Ladder Manufacturer - Vibratory and Deburring
Recycling System Brings Manufacturer to Full Compliance
AMidwestern ladder manufacturer sought some method to satisfy regulatorylimits on the overflow to sewer from their two vibratory cleaning anddeburring operations. Such activities are necessary because, in themanufacturing of their aluminum ladders, certain components requirethat jagged edges be smoothed and an oily residue that is left afterfabrication be removed. They successfully accomplished these two tasksbut in the process created a by-product wastewater that "would exceedthe legal limits for fat, oils and grease if sewered," according to thefirm. Following advice from a branch of their state's Department ofNatural Resources, one option the company decided to explore wasrecycling the cleaning solution instead of continuously disposing andrecharging. That investigation led them to the Arbortech Corporation.Their conversations, meetings, bench and pilot scale testing eventuallyresulted in the implementation of a turnkey closed-loop recyclingsystem and, therefore, an end to concerns about sewer discharge, sincesewer discharge was completely eliminated. A company spokespersonacknowledged that "the Arbortech system solved our problem socompletely, we applied for and were named a runner-up for our homestate's Governor's Pollution Prevention Awards."
Right Choice Pays Off in Many Ways
"Oneof the things we liked best about Arbortech was their willingness towork with us as we tried different cleaners and additive packages. Wewanted to find chemistry with the best combination of parts' cleaningability, cost and membrane 'friendliness' to ensure optimal successwithin every aspect of operation." Guess what we finallysettled on to clean the parts? The Arbortech membrane-cleaning product- TUF... That stuff does the best job we've ever seen on our parts, andobviously, it runs great in the recycling system." The company'sDirector of Environmental Affairs, added, "This is the second time I'veencountered Arbortech's equipment. In my former post (with anothercompany) we used one of their systems to treat our wastewater prior tosewer discharge, about 6,000 gallons per day. We found that the qualityof the treated water was so good we were able to use it as make-up toour cooling tower. Here, these same two baths just keep cleaning parts;we reuse the cleaner over and over and over again. This equipment isterrific; these guys know their stuff.
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Morton Metalcraft Co. - Coolant Parts Washer
Ya Gotta Believe Me
"Idon't think I need more than the fingers on one hand to count thenumber of times that a sales persons pitch was matched by theperformance of his or her company's equipment," said a once skepticalKen Eberle, Focus Factory Manager at Morton Metalcraft Co. (MMC),Morton, IL. "But this Washer Washer; it's one of those rare things thatactually does what we were told it would do. It has cut chemical costs,prolonged our wash bath's usefull life and reduced out sludge."
Backin mid-Y2K, MMC began a quest to see if it was possible to do somethingabout the first stage of a 5-stage parts' washer. That 1,700-gallontank of alkaline cleaner was being changed out quartelry, so whenEberle heard from his Arbortech-nician that a turnover rate of justover 100 gallons per day would maintain the bath, he was not entirelyconvinced. Utilizing Arbortech's pilot rental program for two monthschanged his mind. "I found it hard to believe that this tiny system wasgoing to keep my cleaner stage going... but it did during the testing-and it still does today.
Exceeding Expectations with Realized Benefits
Inits first year of operation: the Washer Washer (WW) has reduced MMC'schemical expenses in the first stage of their washer by 50%; thecurrent bath has been in use for 18 months and shows no signs ofneeding replacement (versus three-month longevity pre-WW);conversations with the washer operations' team indicate that slude inthe bottom of the tank is perhaps as much as 75% less than in the past.Eberle added, "With the fantastic performance we've already experience,I see two other potential applications that should go forward in thenext little while. These guys really has a uniqye approach to washwaterrecycling equipment-that Washer Washer of theirs definitely works forus."
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OMC Waukegan - Die Wash Down Reclamation and Reuse of Water
Arbortech Helps OMC Waukegan Reduce Waste
OMCWaukegan, a division of Outboard Marine Corporation, wanted to reduceits weekly disposal of 5,000 gallons of waste soap solution. This wastewas generated by the pressurized power washing of its aluminum diecasting machinery and equipment. The "soap and water" cleaningsolution is heated and sprayed on manufacturing equipment. Thecombination of oils and soils with the cleaning solution creates aspecial non-hazardous waste.
UF Technology Easy to Use and Operate
OMCWaukegan investigated various methods and technologies to reduce thevolume of waste soap disposal, and ultimately settled onultrafiltration, purchasing a system that was installed in July1996.
"UF was selected because it has the lowestcapital and operating costs, and requires the least amount of operatorassistance," said Anthony Montemurro of OMC Waukegan. "With thistechnology, we are able to circulate the bulk of the treated liquidback into our process."
The company's purchase ofthe Arbortech system led to dramatically lower waste disposalstatistics. While waste disposal had been more than 300,000 gallons in1995, the company predicts it will be lowered to just over 50,000gallons.
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Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation - Blowdown/Condensate from Air Compressor
Custom UF Unit Provides Superior Performance and Reliability
Sikorskychose a model that is almost all stainless steel, including themembrane housings, because the diester-based lubricant being treated isnot compatible with most plastics. "We felt the superior,customer-friendly packaging Arbortech provided and the utilization ofpolymeric membranes really set them apart," said Walter Joseph ofSikorsky.
The ultrafiltration unit is helpingmaintain environmental regulatory compliance and is saving the companymoney. Additionally, Sikorsky is very pleased with the unit'sperformance, reliability and low maintenance.
"Webuild aircraft, not run pollution-control equipment," said Joseph. "Weneeded somebody who could understand our focus and design a system withenough automation to suit our requirements. Arbortech did justthat."
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Sta-Rite Industries Inc. - Phos/Degreaser
You May Not Always Get What You Pay For
Facinga $45,000 to $50,000+ expense if they purchased equipment quoted byeither of two venders of aqueous cleaner recycling equipment, Sta-RiteIndustries, Delavan, WI, elected instead to table their 1999 project.The company manufactures water pumping systems and looked to addressparts' washing in pre-paint operations. Its washer tank primarilytargeted for reclamation held more than 3,000 gallons of a combinationphosphatizing/degreasing solution that was replaced on a semi-annualbasis, along with a second, similarly sized but far less contaminatedwash tank.
Disheartened by the potential costs, thecompany's Environmental Engineer, Jon Raymond, lamented, "At thatprice, we were absolutely dead in the water. And then Arbortechapproached us. I remember thinking how ridiculously small theirequipment seemed, especially when compared to the other proposals;their pricing was so low, almost too low to be credible. Sure, they dida great demonstration with a one-gallon sample at our plant, but atfull scale, I had my doubts. Still, if it would work-consider thesavings!"
Try Before You Buy
So,Raymond decided to do an onsite pilot at Sta-Rite. "Investing time anda few dollars to see if we could actually cut the cost for recyclingthe two washers by more than half seemed very worthwhile. Thankgoodness we elected to test. We saved 60% compared to the other quotesby implementing two Washer Washers, and, considering each unit's small5'x3' footprint, took up far less floor space as well. All around,Arbortech's Washer Washer (WW) was a wonderful discovery; one that hashelped us prevent pollution, improve our painting process aftercleaning, and add dollars to our bottom line."
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Warner Electric - Phos/Degreaser Recovery 2 Units
Dana Corporation Saves Big with Arbortech
WarnerElectric® Industrial Products, a division of Dana Corporation,needed a way to extend the life of its aqueous wash system's bath. "Wewere dealing with significant user discharge fees," said Dave Waelchliof Dana. "We needed to recycle a product that was a combination ofphosphatizer/degreaser."
A Wastewater Solution
Thecompany found a solution in Arbortech's line of ultrafiltrationsystems, which utilize semipermeable polymeric membranes. While the UFtechnology is not dependent on a specific chemistry, it is particularlyeffective in treating this type of wastewater. With UF, the treatedwater is recycled back into the cleaning process, resulting insignificant savings. Arbortech met with the company, evaluatedtheir needs, conducted a pilot, and designed a customized system. Ayear after final installation, the system continues to performsmoothly. The company's investment will be repaid withinanother year, and a second pilot has just concluded. Preliminaryresults were favorable, and a second Arbortech unit has beenordered. "Arbortech's unit has worked very well with ourcurrent phosphatizing/degreasing chemistry," said Waelchli. "We havehad large reductions in waste haul-off and maintenancecosts."
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Chicagoland Area Screw Machine Shop - Floor Wash Recyclin
Walk, Don't RunSurfaces May Be Slick
Howdoes a screw machine house achieve the goal of providing its employeeswith a safe and clean work environment when every process isoil-lubricated, therefore creating constantly slippery floors? Asuburban Chicago company with more than 350 screw machines in operationovercame this challenge by dedicating three people to the operation ofone "drive around" and a pair of "walk-behind" scrubbers, virtuallyevery minute of every working day. Obviously, this much washinggenerated quite a bit of nasty, oil-contaminated floor wash solution to the incredible total of nearly 500 gallons perday. While secure movement around the facility was no longeran issue, what could be done with all that wastewater? Sewer dischargewas clearly out of the question and the economics of hauling were notexactly attractive. "Here's a thought," suggested Ray Ronda, from WMRC,a branch of the Illinois DNR with a Pollution Prevention focus, "whynot treat this wastewater as a renewable resource?" How so? "Recycle it wash the floors with it again and again
andagain!" Recovery and reuse of the spent cleaner would satisfy managingthousands of gallons of "wastewater" per week without paying to haul itall away. Couple those savings with potential reductions in thepurchase of neat floor wash chemistry and the equipment might even payfor itself over time. So, where to find such a device? From prior jointefforts, Ronda knew of the Arbortech Corporation and its Washer Washer(WW) and called the company into the facility.
Talk About Slick; How 'Bout That Washer Washer
Followingan extended test on a small recycling system, during which issues likebiological growth in the floor wash solution, full-scale sizing andmembrane restoration processes were addressed, the company purchased asystem in late 2000. Over the past three years, while operators havecome and gone, the WW remained in service and continued to prove itsworth, having cumulatively recycled over a half million gallons ofproduct thus far. The manager currently responsible for floormaintenance utilized Arbortech recently to train another new teaminvolved with the system and reported, "Even after all this time inuse, and, frankly, some trying operating conditions due to staffturnover, we can still generate more than 500 gallons per day ofrecycled floor wash solution. I simply cannot fathom having had to shipall this water offsite thank goodness we found these guys.We reduced neat cleaner purchases by about 5,000 gallons annually so,while our chemical vendor may not have been able to afford a new luxurysedan every year, even they recognize the incredibly positiveenvironmental impact this machine has had at our facility. What ablessing our Washer Washer has been."
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Midwest Engine Manufacturer - E-Coat Paint Line Wash Water Recycling
Overview
Duringthe course of the last half of 2005, a paint defect in thechromate/e-coat Paint line at an engine manufacturer surfaced in whichseries of pin hole "dots" down to the surface of the substrate materialforming. Concerns of corrosion protection for the partsimmediately surfaced. During the course of the process toresolve these issues, one of the potential causes was uncovered bybeginning to perform daily Total and Free Alkalinity testing on thecleaners being used, among others issues. It was found thatthe "usable" cleaner (Free Alkalinity) left in the fluid was virtuallynon-existent even after tank charges but also on an ongoingbasis. In order to maintain a sufficient level of this FreeAlkalinity level, Total Alkalinity (total concentration) were raised topoints such that a white surface residue would be left from thecleaner. After analyzing this data, tank dump and rechargeswere moved to every two weeks, sometimes more frequent. Itbecame evident that this situation needed to be better controlled tohelp remove the contaminants that are causing the cleaner to be used.
INVESTIGATION / TESTING
Testingthrough out this process showed that there were several issues thatcould be controlled in the cleaner stages of the system that would aidein resolving the issues on the paint defects. The testingshowed that the cleaner's Free Alkalinity level is quickly being usedup by strontium leeching out of the parts and tying up thecleaner. As alluded to above, in order to keep the FreeAlkalinity levels at a sufficient level, overall concentrations neededto be raised to a point in which the concentration would causesurfactant residue problems. Combined with this, the cleaningof the cleaner tanks themselves was virtually non-existent due tosafety concerns. The piping and the tanks were built up withresidues that would also tie up the cleaner and also produce floatingresidues that would help cause the paint defect. Due to theabove, two actions were taken. The chemical manager and thepaint engineer worked with safety to implement the proper safetyequipment and cleaning processes such that the tanks and piping withinthese systems were properly maintained. The second issue thatthe chemical manager worked on was to investigate and research ultrafiltration units in which the ultra filter would remove the portions ofthe cleaner that are "used-up". Research into the differentunits on the market led to the purchase of two units from Arbortech outof Illinois. One unit was purchased for each cleaner tank onthe system and implemented in the February-March timeframe of2006. Each unit is positioned in front of each of the tanksand dedicated to each tank. Once these units were implemented,the chemical manager continued to perform the daily Total and FreeAlkalinity Testing on each of the tanks. The dumpingfrequency was removed and tank dumps were moved to dumps based off ofdata from the data collected from the cleaner testing. Thechemical manager also took the task of taking daily throughput readingsto ensure that the membranes are operating efficient.
RESULTS
Sincethe implementation of the ultra filtration unit from Arbortech we'vebeen able to move the cleaner tank dump and recharges from a two weekfrequency to an average of 5.5 weeks over the course of the first yearof operation. This frequency increase has provided themanufacturer with cost savings on cleaner as well as on waste treatmentcosts, not to mention water savings.
Cost / Benefit |
Costs |
Ultra-filter Units |
$19,756 each |
$39,512 |
Stands for Units |
$1,040 each |
$2,080 |
Miscellaneous (Fittings, labor) |
$4,000 |
|
Total |
$45,592 |
Benefits (Actual) |
Cleaner Costs |
$37,901.74 |
Waste Treatment Costs |
$ 7,108.92 |
|
Total |
$45,010.66 |
ROI |
ROI = Costs of Implementation / Benefits |
ROI = 45,592 / 45,010.66 |
ROI = 1.01 years |
Theoverall cost savings through the course of the first year is $45,010.66not including improved cleanliness of the parts coming out of the washoperation within the system and the downstream effect. Withthe implementation costs of $45,592, the Return on Investment is ineffect 1 year.
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