INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

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.