Arbortech Corporation | Products for a Better Environment

Ultrafiltration Proves Profitable for Manufacturer

By Kristy Schlossberg
Editor

Jon Raymond was in a jam. As environmental engineer for Sta-Rite Industries, Delavan, WI, he needed to come up with a way to extend the life of the company’s aqueous cleaner without spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment. He also needed a solution that would fit into a relatively small space.

The Sta-Rite plant employs about 1,000 workers and manufactures pumps, captive air tanks, water treatment products, and pool and spa equipment. Parts are made from steel and contain a light coating of stamping oils that must be removed before they travel on to the powder coating line. In Sta-Rite’s two three-stage washing systems, the combination of hard water and oil was creating a large amount of sludge that was shortening the cleaner bath’s effective life, causing dirty water to carryover to the rinse tanks in the cleaning process, increasing daily chemical usage, and creating expensive hauling bills. Some proactive step needed to be taken.

The first stages of the washing systems targeted for recycling held more than 3,000 gallons of a combination phosphating and cleaner solution that was replaced on a semi-annual basis. “We were looking to buy an ultrafiltration unit to solve our problems through the recycling of our cleaner and had received some quotes, but the equipment took up a lot of floor space and was cost prohibitive,” Raymond said. “We thought we were going to have no choice then but to table the project.”

Big Savings in a Small Package

Raymond soon learned of Arbortech Corp., a company that manufactures custom ultrafiltration systems and had recently introduced a standard aqueous cleaner recycling line called the Washer Washer (WW). The first thing Raymond noticed about the WW was its low price; the second, that it was a stand-alone unit with a footprint less than 15 square feet. Although skeptical at the difference in size and price from other bids he received, Raymond decided to go ahead and run an extended trial of the unit at the Delavan plant.

Ultrafiltration units are designed to prolong the use of baths through the continuous removal of contamination. According to Ray Graffia Jr., president of Arbortech, additional benefits can include:

• Cleaner parts: Oil and soils wind up in the recycling system’s process tank instead of remaining in the wash bath where they might have been re-deposited on parts.
• Better rinsing: As the wash bath gets dirtier, carryover will eventually make the rinse tanks dirty and ineffective, as well. With ultrafiltration, this carryover is less contaminated with soils.
• Improved subsequent steps such as plating or painting: Ineffective cleaning or rinsing can have a negative impact on coating adhesion.
• Waste minimization
• Lower hauling charges: Not only is volume reduced, but cost-per-gallon is often less because of the lower percentage of water in the residual product after the recycling process.
• Lower utility bills: The gut reaction to unclean parts is often to “turn up the heat,” but there is no need to do so if the bath stays perpetually clean.
• Increased production: Consistently clean parts help relieve bottlenecks and minimize rejects.
• Reduced labor costs
• Reduced chemical usage and purchases

The WW unit and Sta-Rite’s wash tank are connected by a hose. Gravity forces the water to travel from the washer to the system’s process tank. The heart of the WW system is the stainless steel membrane (that is tolerant to temperatures up to 200 degrees F) with pores that have been controlled during fabrication to produce a specific size opening. Having determined an ideal size and using membranes of that porosity, water and cleaner pass through the membrane while the oil and contaminants are retained. The treated water and cleaner is returned to the bath, and the contaminants are concentrated in the WW’s process tank where they can be disposed of on a scheduled basis. The WW extends the longevity of productive wash bath use through continuous removal of contamination and continuous return of reclaimed water and cleaner.
Arbortech is able to provide low-cost solutions in part because of the construction of the membrane it provides. By using a robust material like stainless steel, many of the controls found in other ultrafiltration units, such as cooling features, do not have to be incorporated. The small footprint has stemmed from Arbortech’s realization that typical customer demands to process 1,000-gallon to 3,000-gallon wash tanks need not take up too much vital floor space.

The Results are In

After their installation, Raymond noticed an immediate improvement in the washing tanks. “We ran the trial and the sludge changed -- not only the volume, but also the makeup. It was lighter than it was before and our carryover between the first and second wash bath was reduced,” Raymond said. “Our chemical usage also evened out -- we didn’t have to add additional chemicals as the bath got older like we had to in the past in order to keep it productive.” Additionally, the WW can run without operator supervision and requires very little downtime to clean, which helped Sta-Rite decrease its operating costs.
Once the trial was complete, Sta-Rite bought two units, one for each of its wash tanks. Raymond has continued to be pleased with the performance of the WW, which allowed him to find a solution to a problem that he thought he would never fix.
“We’ve saved 60 percent compared to the other quotes by implementing the Washer Washers and considering each unit’s small footprint, they took up far less floor space, as well,” Raymond said. “All around, these products have helped us prevent pollution, improve our painting process after cleaning, and add dollars to our bottom line.”

For more information, please contact Arbortech Corp. at (815) 385-0001 or go to www.arbortech.com.