INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

CASE STUDY # 138

1.   Headline:  Process modification extends the use of raw
     material in the manufacture of plumbing fixtures.

2.   Background:  See below.

3.   Cleaner Production Principle:  process modification,
     extended use of raw material

4.   Description of Cleaner Production Application:  Coolant
     filtration and oil recovery systems have been installed to
     recover and reuse hydraulic oil and coolant previously
     sent off-site for disposal.  Also, an in-process chrome
     recovery system has reduced the company's chrome usage by
     50 percent and has reduced chrome disposal costs.

     Material/Energy Balance and Substitution

     FEEDSTOCKS: Used oil, coolant, chrome waste

     WASTES: Used oil, coolant, chrome waste, pretreatment
     sludge

     MEDIUM: Liquids, solids

5.   Economics:

     CAPITAL COST: $75,000 for the coolant filtration and oil
     recovery system

     OPERATION/MAINTENANCE: Not reported

     MONTHS TO RECOVER: 17 for the coolant filtration and oil
     recovery system

6.   Advantages:

     DISPOSAL & FEEDSTOCK: $77,000 during 1986

     FEEDSTOCK REDUCTION: Reused 8000 gallons of hydraulic oil
     and 6000 gallons of coolant, and reduced chrome usage by
     50 percent.

     WASTE PRODUCTION: 8000 gallons of hydraulic oil and 6000
     gallons of coolant had previously been sent off-site for
     disposal.

     IMPACT: Recovering the used oil, coolant, and chrome has
     significantly reduced material costs while minimizing the
     required disposal of these wastes.

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, Page 36.

9.   Keywords:  United States, USA, plumbing fixture, oil,
     process modification, coolant, filtration, oil recovery
     system, chromium, ISIC 3400.

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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