You are here:
POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENT FOR A MANUFACTURER OF STAINLESS STEEL PIPES AND FITTINGS (EPA/600/S-95/017)
Citation:
Jendrucko, R. J., J. A. Myers, T. M. Thomas, AND G. P. Looby. POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENT FOR A MANUFACTURER OF STAINLESS STEEL PIPES AND FITTINGS (EPA/600/S-95/017). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (NTIS 96-114558), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
information
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. Waste 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). That document has been superseded by the Facility Pollution Prevention (EPA/600/R-92/088, May 1992). The WMAC team at the University of Tennessee performed an assessment at a plant that manufacturers stainless steel pipes and fittings. In order to fabricate the pipes, stainless steel coil stock is processed in tube mills to form continuous, cylindrical pipe. Seams are welded and the pipe is cut to specified lengths. The pipes are hardened in annealing furnaces and quenched. The the pipe ends are deburred and straightening is done as required. The final step is acid pickling for cleaning and etching of the pipes. The team's report, detailing findings and recommendations, indicated that the onsite treatment of pickling rinse water generates a large quantity of hazardous sludge and that significant cost savings could be realized by installing a sludge drying oven to reduce the volume and weight of sludge shipped offsite.