Tri-County Green matters Program
Peoria, Illinois
J. Kent Smith, Jr.
Bradley University, Peoria
The Tri-County Green Matters Program was launched in April 2002 to encourage
area businesses to consider waste reduction, energy efficiency and resource
conservation as a way of doing business. The program is a voluntary initiative
open to businesses in the commercial, manufacturing and service sectors,
as well as government and non-profit institutions. The Tazewell County Health
Department, Peoria County Solid Waste Management Department, Woodford County
Health Department, the Illinois Waste Management Research Center (WMRC),
and the Illinois EPA sponsor the program.
One of the program participants, Excel Foundry & Machine in Pekin,
Illinois, agreed to host the intern for the summer. Excel operates a non-ferrous
foundry and machine shop, and manufacture parts primarily for the mining
and aggregate industries. The intern investigated coolant recovery options,
foundry sand recycling, and wood pallet recycling.
Results:
Coolant is used to dissipate heat produced in machining and provide lubrication
for tooling. Each machine has a coolant sump where coolant is continually
circulated to the machine for reuse. In the past, tramp oil was skimmed
off the surface of each sump using a wet/dry vacuum to help keep
the coolant clean and support reuse. Unfortunately, this process generated
significant
volumes of waste oil/coolant requiring further processing prior to
offsite disposal and was quite labor intensive. The intern investigated
options
to reduce the amount of waste oil/coolant by changing the tramp oil
collection process. Several methods were evaluated to determine the best
practice
for the company. As a result, the intern concluded that low cost
belt skimmers could be employed to continually remove tramp oil and reduce
the amount of coolant collected during the process. This reduced
collection
of coolant with the oil could reduce the need for additional onsite
processing of the waste stream prior to offsite recycling. The process would
also
reduce labor required to maintain sumps. When fully implemented,
the projected project cost will be $5,700 and have a payback of less than
8 months.
The intern investigated the reuse of 622 tons of foundry sand. Currently,
the foundry sand is sent offsite for disposal. The intern briefly investigated
both mechanical and thermal reclamation systems to facilitate the reuse
of the foundry sand. As a result of the investigation, the intern concluded
that a mechanical system could be more cost effective for Excel’s
process. A mechanical system would require the least capital investment
($70,000) and provide suitable sand quality for reuse. This process could
reduce purchased sand volumes by over 60%. However, further investigation
on the effectiveness of the system needs to be completed. The intern recommended
that the company continue the investigation to determine operational and
maintenance costs and validated reclaimed sand quality.
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