Arbortech - Aqueous Cleaner Recycling Equipment Manufacturer

Finishers' Management Magazine
Success Stories With Ultrafiltration
by: Erin Martin Rose
Pages: 36-38; September, 1999

Dana Corporation

Warner Electric® Industrial Products, a division of Dana Corporation, needed a way to extend the life of its aqueous wash system's bath.

"We were dealing with significant user discharge fees," said Dave Waelchli of Dana. "We needed to recycle a product that was a combination phosphatizer and degreaser."

The company found a solution in Arbortech's line of ultrafiltration systems, which utilize semi-permeable polymeric membranes. While the UF technology is not dependent on a specific chemistry, it is particularly effective in treating this type of wastewater. With UF, the treated water is recycled back into the cleaning process, resulting in significant savings.

Arbortech met with the company, evaluated their needs, conducted a pilot, and designed a customized system. Almost 2 years after final installation, the system continues to run smoothly. The company's investment is nearly repaid and a second unit was purchased about a year ago. Plans for a possible third UF system are in discussion .

"Arbortech's unit has worked very well with our current phosphatizing/degreasing chemistry," said Waelchli. "We have had large reductions in waste haul-off and maintenance costs."

OMC Waukegan

OMC Waukegan, a division of Outboard Marine Corporation, wanted to reduce its weekly disposal of 5,000 gallons of waste soap solution. This waste was generated by the pressurized power washing of its aluminum die casting machinery and equipment. The "soap and water" cleaning solution is heated and sprayed on manufacturing equipment. The combination of oils and soils with the cleaning solution creates a special non-hazardous waste. OMC Waukegan investigated various methods and technologies to reduce the volume of waste soap disposal, and ultimately settled on ultrafiltration, purchasing a system that was installed in July 1996. "UF was selected because it has the lowest capital and operating costs, and requires the least amount of operator assistance," said Anthony Montemurro of OMC Waukegan. "With this technology, we are able to circulate the bulk of the treated liquid back in to our process."

The company's purchase of the Arbortech system led to dramatically lower waste disposal statistics. While waste disposal had been more than 300,000 gallons in 1995, the company predicts it will be lowered to just over 50,000 gallons.

"We've worked numerous times with Arbortech over many years," said Montemurro. "When we needed to address this issue, we had every confidence that their UF equipment would solve the problem and we were right."

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Sikorsky Aircraft needed a system to treat its diester-based synthetic air compressor lubricant. The company conducted an extensive evaluation of various products and technologies before picking a stainless steel ultrafiltration system. Sikorsky chose a model that is almost all stainless steel, including the membrane housings, because the diester-based lubricant being treated is not compatible with most plastics.

"We felt the superior, customer-friendly packaging Arbortech provided and the utilization of polymeric membranes really set them apart," said Walter Joseph of Sikorsky.

The ultrafiltration unit is helping maintain environmental regulatory compliance and is saving the company money. Additionally, Sikorsky is very pleased with the unit's performance, reliability and low maintenance.

"We build aircraft, not run pollution control equipment," said Joseph. We needed somebody who could understand our focus and design a system with enough automation to suit our requirements. Arbortech did just that!

Conclusion

For different reasons, three companies turned to ultrafiltration to solve problems unique to their business. The results, however, are the same for all three: savings, waste reduction and compliance.