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WASTE MINIMIZATION ASSESSMENT FOR AN ALUMINUM EXTRUSIONS MANUFACTURERS
Citation:
Looby, G. AND F. Kirsch. WASTE MINIMIZATION ASSESSMENT FOR AN ALUMINUM EXTRUSIONS MANUFACTURERS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/S-92/018.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has funded a pilot project to assist small- and medium-size manufacturers who want to minimize their generation of waste but who lack the expertise to do so. aste Minimization Assessment Centers (WMACs) were established at selected universities and procedures were adapted from the EPA Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003, July 1988). he WMAC team at the University of Tennessee performed an assessment at a plant manufacturing aluminum extrusions -- over 36 million pounds per year. rimary and scrap aluminum is melted down, cast into logs, then heat treated. ext, the logs are extruded into desired shapes. xtrusions are sheared, heat treated, then either buffed, anodized (colorized), painted, or shipped. he team's report, detailing findings and recommendations, indicated that the majority of waste as generated in the anodizing line but that the greatest savings could be obtained by installing an electrostatic powder coating system to eliminate spent toluene, air filters, plastic sheets, paint ash, and evaporated solvents. his Research Brief was developed by the principal investigators and EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of an ongoing research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title available from the authors.