Case Study #264
1. Headline: Process modification in a French metal
component manufacturer reduces waste.
2. Background: PCCF carried out a critical analysis of their
waste management through a series of technico-economical
studies and developed alternative solutions to reduce the
quantity and harmfulness.
3. Cleaner Production Principle: Process modification
4. Description of Cleaner Production Application:
Information about the process and wastes
PCCF manufactures components made of titanium and steel
alloys, using the lost wax process and ceramic molds.
Knock-out ceramics from castings, especially removing
casting pieces from the places of difficult access,
generates concentrated waste.
The waste baths were taken every month to a detoxification
center. A series of measures characterized these baths as
well as traced their changes after 5 to 8 weeks of use,
showing how the pieces are damaged by the baths (SS,
sodium, aluminum, silica, zinc, potassium content).
Several methods have been tried : neutralization,
filtration, settling. Only settling gave satisfying
results.
Soda stems from the knock-out of the titanium parts
It settles naturally with or without any non-anionic
polyelectrolytic flocculent according to the settling time
requested. This bath can be preserved by adding soda from
time to time.
Potash stems from the knock-out of steel or alloys pieces
It settles very slowly; a non anionic polyelectrolytic
flocculent is required.
After one week, the liquor represents 90 % of the bath.
The settled gel is removed every day and put together with
the settled gel coming from the soda process for steaming,
grinding and washing with water in a tank whose liquor is
used to maintain the bath level. The recovered sand is
dried and can be valorized in the building industry, civil
engineering or cement works or stored in a landfill-site.
Material / energy balance and substitution
BEFORE
AFTER
Bath to be treated outside 46 tons/day 0
Soda at 30 % discharges 0 ton/day
6
Potash at 85 % discharges 0 ton/day 11
Settling sludge 0 19
5. Economics
Operation and maintenance costs
Operation
100 000
Transport and outside treatment saving 24 000
New products
saving
30 000 FF/year
(1993)
6. Advantages:
Increase in the life of alkaline baths.
Better knock-out of the pieces.
In-house treatment using simple settling.
Almost permanent preservation of knock-out baths (change
twice a year).
7. Constraints: The 19 tons of very alkaline settling sludge
will soon no longer be accepted to a landfill site due to
changes in the regulation.
8. Contacts:
Direction RÆgionale de l'Industrie de la
Recherche et de l'Environnement
M. GUINAUDEAU
TEL: 33 56.00.04.00
M. DARD
Responsable Installations ClassÆes
PCCF
BP 11
64680 OGEU-LES-BAINS - France
TEL: 33 59.34.94.55
PRECISION CASTPART CORP. FRANCE
BP 11
64680 OGEU LES BAINS - France
TEL: 33 59.34.94.55
FAX: 33 59.34.93.55
M. Maton
M. Chatenet
Office International de l'Eau
Direction de la Formation et des Etudes
rue Edouard Chamberland
87065 Limoges Cedex, France
TEL: 33 55114770
FAX: 33 55777115
9. Keywords: ISIC 3813, France, alkaline bath, metal, metal
component, process modification, ceramics, settling,
titanium
10. This case study was submitted to UNEP IE in 1994 by the
French Office International de l'Eau. It has not undergone
a formal technical review.