Gary D. Miller

Recovery of an Aqueous Iron Phosphating/ Degreasing Bath by Ultrafiltration

Aqueous cleaners are emerging as safe and effective alternatives to solvent degreasers, but switching to water-based cleaners may create a new waste which is high in oil and grease and potentially RCRA hazardous. In the case study summarized here, one metal fabricator replaced a trichloroethylene degreaser with an aqueous iron phosphating/degreasing bath to clean and precondition steel parts. The aqueous bath typically lasted three to four months, until the buildup of oil in the tank began to sacrifice product quality and raise oil and grease levels in the rinse water discharge. Hauling away and replacing the spent cleaner resulted in more than 15,000 gallon/year of hazardous waste. Ultrafiltration was selected as the most promising technology to recycle the aqueous cleaner and thereby reduce hazardous waste generation. Following pilot-scale testing at the Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, on-site full-scale testing integrated the new waste reduction scheme directly into the facili...

Illinois' program to promote industrial waste reduction

Abstract In 1984 the State of Illinois established the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center (HWRIC) to become a focal point for the states non-regulatory hazardous waste activities. HWRIC established a formal waste reduction program in 1986 as a long term approach to helping solve the states future waste management problems. This paper describes the Centers multifaceted approach to encourage and support industrial waste reduction efforts in Illinois. We also discuss outside contracts received from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further promote the reduction of industrial waste and to enhance long term environmental protection.

A Waste Reduction Program and Assessment of Current Status for Illinois

Waste reduction is a national policy in the United States, but it has only very recently gained the support in Congress and in the regulatory agencies to make it a true priority. As Joel Hirschhorn of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) stated at a waste reduction conference in June 1986, “For 20 years we’ve been saying that waste reduction is a top priority, and we haven’t been doing anything about it.”(1) Under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984, Congress declared that it was“… the national policy of the United States that, wherever feasible, the generation of hazardous waste is to be reduced or eliminated as expeditiously as possible.” The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)(2) stated that in the broadest sense, HSWA defines waste minimization as any action taken to reduce the volume or toxicity of waste, OTA preferred a more restrictive definition of waste reduction: “in-plant practices that reduce, avoid, or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste so as to reduce risks to health and the environment.”