Minimize Wasterwater Disposal With Alkaline Cleaner Recycling In Michigan

Posted by Steven Kyle on May 18th, 2017

During this century, industrial technology and capacity have grown tremendously. Demand for goods created an economy that favored resource-intensive industries. However, natural resource consumption and subsequent discharges into air, water, and land were enormous and were often made without consideration of the environmental consequences.

By mid-century, landfilling and deteriorating air and water quality became a national priority, leading to the creation of U.S. EPA. An early action of EPA was the Clean Water Act. It authorized a comprehensive federal water pollution control system to reduce discharges into the nation’s surface waters and restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the water. The ultimate goal was to make the waterways suitable for fishing, swimming, and recreation.

Parts cleaning is an important process for a vast variety of organizations involved in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of parts and equipment. From large metal fabrication plants to captive maintenance shops of industrial facilities, parts cleaning operations are essential for business.

The reason for focusing attention on minimizing waste in parts cleaning operations is because the solvents and other chemicals used in parts cleaning often result in significant air emissions, wastewater discharges, and the generation of hazardous wastes. Metal-working wastewater minimization offers a cost-effective opportunity to reduce the emissions and discharges of toxic pollutants into the environment.

One such method that most of the industries implement is alkaline cleaner recycling in Michigan and other places. Alkaline salts neutralize acidic soils/contaminants. An example would be the neutralization of free fatty acids to form soaps. Some alkaline salts, such as sodium silicates and phosphates, perform additional functions. Other benefits include inhibition of alkaline attack on aluminum and prevention of rust on steel. Sodium and potassium phosphates have some detergency, especially in a case of mineral ions. They also promote efficient cleaning by binding ions that cause hardness in water.

Alkaline cleaners vary in strength, and the pH is often greater than 9. As pH increases above 12, the cleaning solutions become aggressive and react with membrane materials. Therefore, understanding the cleaner constituents can help avoid conditions not conducive to membrane filtration.

Alkalinity is monitored and controlled in an industrial setting, however, surfactants are difficult to measure without sophisticated analytical equipment. A monitoring program for proper solution maintenance is necessary. The supplier is ideally positioned to help with this type of recycling and provide formulation information. As a technology, it can reduce waste volumes and chemical consumption.