Case
Study
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOPS
Switch to Thermal Parts Cleaning Units
| Company | Regional Transportation District District Shops Facility 1900 31st Street, Denver, Colorado 80216 |
|---|---|
| Person to Contact | David Genova Telephone: (303) 299-4038 |
| Product or Service | Equipment/Vehicle Maintenance and repair. |
| Number of Employees | 300 |
| Waste Stream Targeted | Hazardous waste from boil-out tanks |
| Original System | Boil-Out Tanks using high temperature, high pH (caustic) solution and agitation to clean large engine parts. Five dip tanks may contain as much as 600 gallons each, which may require replacement 1-2 times/year. Waste solutions (high pH and high metals concentrations) are collected for off-site disposal as hazardous waste. |
| New System (with P2 Modifications) |
Thermal Bake-Out Units replace the boil-out tanks. The thermal
system has 3 stages: 1) Thermal Oven - bakes off the oils and grease on the parts, at 400 deg. F. 2) Stainless Steel Bead Blaster - removes the ash, debris using the concept of sand blasting with the substitution of stainless steel beads for the sand. Engine parts are not damaged during the blasting process and are clean by the end of the blasting stage. 3) Shaker - parts rotate and turn as high pressure air cools the parts and removes any remaining debris. The process does produce a small amount of solid waste (ash, burnout waste), but the volume and toxicity are greatly reduced compared to the boil-out tanks. |
| Cost Savings | |
| Initial Equipment Costs | RTD purchased two systems - the larger thermal unit (AMPRO TD 3654, RTD bus-size large engine parts) cost $73,000.00. The smaller thermal unit (AMPRO TD 2344, for conventional vehicle-size engine parts) cost $48,000.00 (cost includes the 3 stages). There were also installation costs, but these were not quantified. |
| Waste Disposal Cost Savings | Hazardous waste disposal costs for the new system are reduced by $32,000/yr. (Changes in other operating costs were not quanitified.) |
| Payback Period | Assuming installation costs of ~20% of the cost of the equipment, the payback period would be ~ 4.5 years. |
| Major Benefits | Waste disposal cost savings of ~ $32,000/year. Reduced hazardous waste disposal by ~40,000 lb/year. Reduced hazardous waste liabilities. Improved worker health and safety and reduced liability. Positive Business Image. Reduced potential for spills of hazardous liquids. |
| Obstacles | Employee training is required in proper use of the thermal units. Parts cleaning man-hours may have increased slightly. The new system requires more labor to load/unload parts, and the cleaning process takes longer. However, a larger number of parts can be run at one time in the thermal units, so the overall throughput of parts is not significantly changed. |
| Time Since Implementation | 10 months (10/10/95) |
| Source/Supplier | AMPRO Machinery Inc. Plain City, OH Telephone: (800) 848-0174 |
| Main Reason Implemented | Reduce hazardous waste disposal costs and liability. Improve worker health and safety. |
| Key to Success in Making this P2 Modification | Management support/commitment to P2. Active in-house P2 program to evaluate and implement large projects. |
Created by Lighthouse Communications Group, LLC.
Edited for use on this site by Ronald Lee Still and posted with
permission of CDPHE.