Arbortech Corporation | Products for a Better Environment

33 Metalproducing

McCook Metals Reduces Wastewater Hauling by 95% with Ultrafiltration System
Page: 28; July, 2001

McCook Metals, L.L.C. in McCook, IL casts, rolls, and processes aluminum sheets and plate for the aerospace, defense, general manufacturing, and distributor markets. Its operations require a high volume of water.

The former owner of the facility, Reynolds Aluminum, spent about $600.00 per day in hauling fees to dispose of a daily average of 3,000 gal of wastewater. This year, the McCook facility , now owned by Michigan Avenue Partners, reduced those costs more than 95%.

"In prior years waste hauling fees were simply assumed to be an ongoing part of normal overhead costs, " says Matt Ochalski, president of McCook Metals. "We began to search for a way to bring those down." Company officials found Arbortech, whose experts built and installed a sophisticated, customized ultrafiltration (UF) system with controls and automation that allow for remote monitoring and operation.

Instrumentation reports are accessed and downloaded daily at Arbortech's facility 50 miles from McCook. From there, Arbortech technicians operate, clean, and maintain the system. They also provide telephone directions to guide McCook's personnel through any required onsite system adjustments. McCook's daily responsibilities are limited essentially to checking the area to ensure the integrity of the overall system and keeping the chemical tanks filled.

In operation, wastewater typically is pumped across membranes in the system at a high flow rate and at an appropriate pressure. Contaminants slowly accumulate near the membrane surface, forming a gel layer, during normal operations. When membranes no longer process at the desired or necessary speed, they are cleaned in place and returned to service.

McCook thermally cracks the concentrated waste from the UF and gets paid for the resulting oil phase, sending the water phase back to the ultrafilter to be treated again.

"With over 1 million gallons treated during the first twelve months of operation, we have seen a payback not only for the unit, but also for the complete installation costs in just one year," Ochalski states.

"That's fantastic performance. I'm truly impressed with what they've done for us. I'm so pleased with our success that I've put Arbortech in touch with all three of our sister locations in hopes that they can work miracles for them too."