Coal Age, Inc.
West Frankfort, Illinois
Mehari Woldemichael
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Coal Age Inc. is a member of the Baughan Group that manufactures and distributes
parts and equipment to the global mining and material handling markets.
Coal Age Inc. is one of the equipment rebuilding facilities for the U.S.
mining industry. The facility operates with 37 employees and is responsible
for the rebuild of mining equipment for conventional, continuous, and long
wall mining operations.
Wastewater generated from washing large pieces of equipment for rebuild
is being considered for reduction and reuse at this facility. Additionally,
the intern researched energy efficiency opportunities.
Results:
A wash water containment and reuse system was designed by the intern
to contain and reuse water from the equipment and vehicle wash operations.
Completing an energy audit of the facility yielded potential savings
from equipment upgrades, changing operating practices, and increasing maintenance
practices. Overall, the intern provided 4 pollution prevention suggestions
potentially saving over $16,000 annually including:
- Implementing a wash water collection and treatment system
to reuse wash water could be built in-house for less than $3,500 and
could save over $300
annually in water bills while minimizing the need and cost of continuous
site cleaning.
- Renewing the shop fiberglass day lighting panels with new
polycarbonate sheets and cleaning the existing bulbs and reflectors
could save over $6,000
annually for shop lighting.
- Scheduling off-peak operating times of large-scale electric
shop equipment and routinely repairing compressed air leaks would save
over $10,000 per
year.
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