The Little System that Could

Faced with how to remove oils prior to final wastewater treatment, Switchcraft makes the switch.

by Christopher Clark

Founded in 1946 to produce jacks, plugs and switches, Switchcraft Inc. has been setting industry standards since the day they first opened their doors. Expanding offerings to include more than 5,000 products and thousands of custom variations over the years, the product line is currently divided into five major categories: connectors, jacks and plugs, jackfields and jackpanels, cable assemblies and patch cords, and switches, used in electronics, audio/video, computer and numerous other industries.

Throughout its long history, the company faced aggressive competition from various corners of the world, and though some customers have been tempted by alternative sources, they always come back to Switchcraft’s quality and performance.

Reflecting the company’s commitment to excellence, Switchcraft meets ISO 9001 standards, blending oldworld craftsmanship and value with high technology precision, through innovative manufacturing techniques.

Do As We Do
When faced with the dilemma of how to remove oils from a vibratory cleaning solution prior to final treatment in our wastewater handling equipment, we sought out and found a provider with similarly high standards and a commitment to cutting edge technologies, the Arbortech Corporation (www.arbortech.com).

We had been using membranes to remove oils and prepare this vibratory solution for final wastewater treatment since purchasing the equipment in 1994 — we knew the technology could do what was needed. However, over that ten-year period, we probably bought the system a second time, spending additional dollars to maintain items like the circulation pump and the membranes themselves. The old unit was big and bulky, had a lot of plastic parts, and we just grew tired of patching it together.

The former system was about 3 feet x 3 feet x 7 feet tall. The original pump on the system was an electric drive centrifugal, and because of the abrasive nature of the vibratory media, it did not have much longevity, which was replaced by an air-operated diaphragm pump that had to be rebuilt over and over again. The old system’s membranes themselves were the more typical construction – polymer with fiberglass substrate instead of our titanium dioxide over 316L stainless substrate and the old ones were replaced probably two to three times over the ten years.

Arbortech Corporation brought in this little gizmo, that’s actually its name — the Little Gizmo. The system is part of Arbortech’s Washer Washer series of cleaning systems. The Washer Washer Little Gizmo (WWLG) was not much bigger than a breadbox, featured all stainless steel construction — including the membrane — with an electric diaphragm drive that would relieve us of the headaches from our old system’s pump, and it was 30 percent cheaper than anything else quoted to us. To be precise, the Little Gizmo is 23 inches x 14 inches x 20 inches tall, plus a four inch diameter housing for the membrane that extends to about three feet in height. The amp draw for the system is less than 7.5 amps at 110 volt, single phase operation.

Turning Up the Heat
Experience notwithstanding, Switchcraft still desired a chance to kick the tires of this specific piece of equipment, so we negotiated a trial whereby Switchcraft would buy and install the Little Gizmo, but could return it anytime during the first 30 days of use for a full refund. But when I had to take a one-month leave, it was agreed that no decision would be finalized until my return.

Initially, with my absence-imposed transition in responsibilities, Switchcraft personnel felt the unit had its "ups and downs," with much less of the former and much more of the latter. The most significant "up" was processing speed upon initial start-up, when the combination of very dilute material in the WWLG’s process tank and a brand new membrane led to satisfactory output speed.

A secondary, but consistent "up" was the continued high clarity of the permeate, or the treated water; but the corresponding major "down" from our staff’s perspective was the very rapid loss of flux rate or processing speed.

According to Ray Graffia, president of Arbortech, "From our perspective, the most significant ‘down’ was the lack of their personnel’s available time to commit to the system while Chris was gone. We were without a champion until he returned. For example, with their existing heavy workload, no one could break away to take a flux rate reading. The system was being shut down instead of being run 24/7. I know they tried, but without sufficient minutes to do this and that, the system’s performance suffered from a lack of attention ... until Chris returned."

Placing a regenerated membrane on a process tank full of concentrated waste led to processing speed complaints. Operation in this manner ensured that processing speed would almost instantaneously drop right off the table, because it was this concentration that caused the replaced module to require restoration in the first place (see Membrane sidebar).

A commitment to hold off final judgment pending my return proved to have been a wise choice, as I wanted to be absolutely certain we gave this machine a fair and full chance to succeed, or fail, on its merits; and not because of anything we might have done or failed to do while I was out.

Within days of my return a meeting was scheduled to review the early results. Intending to hold Arbortech’s feet to the fire over the reportedly inadequate processing speed, I anticipated returning the system at the close of discussions.

However, when offered free use of a heating coil (see Heater sidebar) to raise the ambient solution to an elevated temperature — something which had been discussed early in the negotiations as potentially necessary to deal with anticipated biological membrane fouling — I agreed to plug it in; so long as Arbortech remained at the site long enough to establish if this was going to make a difference. In other words, if they wanted that Little Gizmo to stay here any longer, they had to invest some time like we had — otherwise, it was out of here. The engineers at Arbortech knew we had to average about one gallon per hour to keep up with our demand, so if this heater could help – fine, but as I told them, just don’t expect me to baby-sit the unit.

Graffia literally drove over and dropped off this heating coil, because of their proximity to us and our willingness to consider use of heat. The coil was placed in our holding tank, as it was far too big to fit in the tiny WWLG process tank.

Agreement in place, we returned to other tasks while Arbortech staff kept watch, awaiting sufficient temperature rise to know whether to make room in the trunk of the car or plans to leave the heater, and the Little Gizmo, at Switchcraft for a while longer. The answer came in less than two hours, after which time the system was "percolating"; along at a rate comfortably in excess of a gallon an hour.

We agreed to take measurements for another day or two and, if the system maintained this level of performance over that time, to secure and install our own heating element and other safety items we felt necessary to complete the installation.

Arbortech agreed to extend Switchcraft’s use of its heating coil until such time as those procurements could be made. Arbortech was certain the performance enhancement would remain steady and prolonged, so long as the solution was raised to near pasteurization temperature, but only time would tell, as they say.

A Big Difference
In the near month it took to go from temporarily loaned heater to full and final installation, the Arbortech Washer Washer Little Gizmo consistently met or exceeded daily demand requirements, and remains in everyday use.

The only other thing we had to do following treatment using the Washer Washer Little Gizmo was to adjust the pH of the solution to comply with discharge parameters. Solids, and fats, oils and grease are no longer a concern after processing through the WWLG.

However regular that use might be, its integration into Switchcraft’s shop was by no means routine. I automated the system, including such things as adding a tiny heater in the WWLG’s process tank, adding another heater to our own holding tank; using level switches and a timer to turn the system on and off. I added a large beacon to let area personnel know when they have gathered a full container of processed water; implementing all Switchcraft safety standards, as Graffia explains, "making this the most elegantly appointed Little Gizmo Arbortech Corporation has ever sold."

About the Author
Christopher Clark is maintenance engineer at Switchcraft, Inc.

Contact Arbortech Corp.
3607 Chapel Hill Road,
McHenry, IL 60050,
Phone: 815-385-0001 x 224
Fax: 815-385 -0089
E-Mail: ray@arbortech.com
www.arbortech.com