Paramount Metal Finishing Co., Inc. provides plating, painting and anodizing service on ferrous and non-ferrous metal parts. Founded in 1956, the company has operated at its current location in Linden, New Jersey since 1986. Like many metal finishers, Paramount used 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA) in its degreasing operations. With the aid of a Bradley Grant for $25,000, which was administered by the New Jersey Technical Assistance Program for Industrial Pollution Prevention (NJTAP), Paramount was able to eliminate its use of TCA. By doing so, the company realizes an annual cost savings of over $30,000, and eliminates the use of 22,000 lb of TCA annually.

The Old System

In the old system, Paramount used (halogenated solvent) vapor degreasing with 1,1,1 trichloroethane to clean parts before metal finishing (plating or painting). TCA degreasing worked well for many years and removed oil quickly and efficiently.

TCA is a chlorofluorcarbon (CFC), which is classified by EPA as an ozone depleting chemical. By international agreement, it is scheduled to be phased out by the year 2000. Currently TCA cannot be manufactured in or imported into the United States. Remaining stockpiles of TCA can be used, however, as domestic reserves are depleted, the price of the chemical will continue to rise. For these reasons, although the use of TCA is not yet prohibited, it is becoming increasingly impractical. Paramount cited both environmental and economic reasons for finding a new degreasing agent.

The New System

Paramount had been striving to eliminate the use of TCA for some time. Before implementation of this project, two remaining product groups used TCA degreasing: aluminum die cast parts for the telecommunications industry, and steel stamped, silver brazed machine parts.

Rather than replace TCA with another chlorinated solvent, Paramount decided to use an aqueous system. The company determined that both groups of parts could be effectively cleaned with different types of alkaline aqueous cleaners.

In the new system, the metal parts are placed in baskets and dipped into tanks of cleaners and rinses. For aluminum parts, mildly alkaline cleaners are steam heated to a temperature of 145° F. The steel parts have brazing flux and heavy machine oils which have to be removed; a steam heated, strong alkaline cleaner is used with agitation for these parts. Some tanks are also equipped with spray capabilities. A combination of heating and agitation is used to increase the chemical's effectiveness in removing oils and surface contaminants that would otherwise affect the properties of subsequent coating.

In order to implement this system, an additional cleaning tank needed to be added to the existing aluminum parts cleaning line, and a new three-tank cleaning line was installed for the steel parts. The new system became operational in June of 1998.

Oils from the skimming operation are sent off site to be used as fuel (as was the case in the old system). Solids are precipitated out from the system wastewater and are sent off site for metal recovery. Then, the alkaline wastewater from the new system is sent to the company's existing pretreatment system, where the alkalinity is used to neutralize the company's other (acidic) wastes.

The new system became operational in June of 1998. As a result, Paramount has eliminated the use of TCA.

The Bradley Grant

The Bradley Grant Program, formally known as the New Jersey Pollution Prevention Implementation Incentive Grant Program, was enacted to encourage the installation of pollution prevention technology. The program, sponsored by former Senator Bill Bradley, is intended to show the usefulness of offering pollution prevention grants. The Bradley Grants, funded by the USEPA and administered by NJTAP, provide financial assistance to small manufacturers in New Jersey, in order to implement pollution prevention programs at their facilities.

Paramount was awarded a Bradley Grant for $25,000, approximately half the estimated project cost, for the acquisition and installation of an aqueous degreasing system.

Financial Benefits

The total cost for the project was $61,475. The pollution prevention grant covered $25,000 of the implementation costs, which are broken down in the Table 1, below.

Table 1: Installation Costs

Installation of the aqueous cleaning system has resulted in a significant decrease in expenses. The estimated annual savings are $30,232. The payback period for this project is 1.2 years. Table 2 shows the annual financial savings due to project implementation.

Table 2: Annual Financial Savings

Environmental Benefits

Had this project not been implemented, it is estimated that Paramount would have used 22,000 lb of TCA in 1998, a proven ozone depleting compound. However, by implementing this project, Paramount was able to avoid the release of 200 lb of TCA air emissions and 20,000 lb of hazardous waste. Table 3 summarizes the environmental benefits that have been derived as a result of implementation:

Table 3: Environmental Benefits

Conclusion

By substituting an aqueous degreaser for TCA, Paramount Metal Finishing has been able to eliminate the use of an ozone depleting chemical while saving $30,000 annually. In addition, the ventilation system that removed TCA vapors from the work area is no longer needed, and reporting requirements have been reduced. The availability of grant funds made this project economically practical for the company and, as a result, both the company and the environment benefit.

New Jersey Technical Assistance Program for Industrial Pollution Prevention (NJTAP)
138 Warren Street
University Heights
Newark, NJ 07102-1982
973-596-5864
November 1998