INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

CASE STUDY # 136

1.   Headline:  Internal recycling in the manufacture of
     fiberglass storage tanks

2.   Background:  See below.

3.   Cleaner Production Principle:  internal recycling

4.   Description of Cleaner Production Application:  A small
     in-house batch distillation system was installed in a
     compact cabinet to distill the acetone used for cleaning
     molds that manufacture fiberglass tanks for industrial rug
     and carpet cleaning equipment.

     Material/Energy Balance and Substitution

     FEEDSTOCKS: Spent acetone

     WASTES: Still bottoms

     MEDIUM: Liquid

5.   Economics

                    CAPITAL COST: Not reported

                              OPERATION/MAINTENANCE:  Not
                              reported

     MONTHS TO RECOVER: 6

                              DISPOSAL & FEEDSTOCK:   $12,000
                              to $16,000 per year

6.   Advantages

     FEEDSTOCK REDUCTION: Purchased acetone was reduced by 75%

     WASTE PRODUCTION: Waste sent off-site was reduced from
     four drums per month to two per year.

     IMPACT: Installation of the in-house recovery system has
     resulted in savings from reduced solvent consumption, and
     reduced disposal costs, and has reduced storage
     requirements for both acetone and spent acetone.

7.   Constraints:  No information provided.

8.   Contact and Citation:  "Case Summaries of Waste Reduction
     by Industries in the Southeast", Schecter, Roger N., Hunt,
     Gary, July, 1989.

9.   Keywords:  United States, USA, fiberglass, storage tank,
     recycling, distillation, acetone, solvent, raw material
     saving, ISIC 3079.

10.  Reviewer's Comments:  This case study part of a core
     collection of case studies from North Carolina, USA and
     was originally abstracted for the US Environmental
     Protection Agency's Pollution Prevention Information
     Clearinghouse.  It underwent a UNEP IE funded technical
     review in 1994 for quality and completeness.  It was
     edited for the ICPIC diskette in July 1995.

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