A Cooperative Project
between the
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
and the U.S. Navy
FOR
THE
NMENT
U.S.EPA
Bulletin Contents
Introduction to the EPA
and Navy partnership
1 Case study on RIX
Industries, in Benecia, CA
1 Case study on Guill Tool,
in West Warwick, Rl
I
EPA and the Navy:
Pollution Prevention
Partnership
The Design for the Environment (DfE) Program is a cooperative effort
between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industries, research
institutions, environmental/public interest groups, and other government
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aralfon"of tnts puDlication.
and manufacturers that supply parts and services to the Navy's Virginia
Class Submarine program. The case studies encourage other vendors, as
well as other businesses, to learn from these environmental successes and
adapt the techniques to their own processes.
Both of the companies profiled in this case study are vendors for Electric
Boat. The first company, RIX Industries, is an example of how ideas for
environmental improvements may be passed through the supply chain of
Navy, Electric Boat, and its vendors. The process changes made by the
second company, Guill Tool & Engineering Company, illustrate how a small
company with limited resources can save money by avoiding toxic chemicals
and using innovative equipment.
For More Information
To obtain additional copies of this or other case studies, or for more
information about EPA's Design for the Environment Program, contact:
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC)
U.S. EPA
401 M St., SW (7407)
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone: (202) 260-1023
Fax:(202)260-0178
E-Mail: ppic@epa.gov
DfE website: http://www.epa.gov/dfe
If you would like more information about Guill Tool and the company's
experience with environmental process changes, contact:
Steve Larson, Quality Manager, Phone: (401) 828-7600
If you would like more information about RIX Industries and the company's
experience with environmental process changes, contact:
Ronald S. Downs, Operations Manager, Phone: (702 ) 331-0515
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RIX Industries
This case study describes how the sharing of information on cleaner processes and
pollution prevention techniques can be spread throughout a supply chain. The
submarine supply chain consists of the Navy, the Navy contractors such as Electric
Boat, and the contractors' vendors. Communication between these levels is an easy
and profitable way for participants to learn of ways to improve their industrial
processes.
RIX Industries in Benecia, CA
Facility Design
Not everyone has the opportunity to design a building to their liking, but when it had
to relocate, RTX Industries made an investment of time and money and designed a
new facility. The design focused on maximizing the efficiency of manufacturing
operations. The "free flowing" layout was based on input from workers, building
and economic constraints, and the need to maintain a flexible manufacturing area.
Many facility design decisions resulted in inherently less pollution and waste, as
described in the following examples:
RIX installed an expandable, modular paint booth with a high pressure/low
volume (HPLV) paint gun for better painting efficiency.
Placement of machines and utilities was chosen to allow for a more efficient
manufacturing area.
The areas of the facility where washing operations take place are surrounded
by berms, which contain spills and prevent contamination of the neighboring
wetlands.
Design modifications such as these have improved RIX's efficiency and increased the
value of its property.
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Company Profile
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Modular Paint Booth with HPLV Paint Gun
Navy Oxygen Cleaner
Many of RIX's compressor parts function in an oxygen environment while in service.
To prevent fires due to contamination, RIX must thoroughly clean these parts prior to
delivery. For years, RIX had used Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) and a household dish
detergent (Joy) to clean these components. However, this process was water intensive
and did not clean as well as REX desired. RIX learned of Navy Oxygen Cleaner
(NOC), an aqueous, inorganic, alkaline solution, which the Navy had developed for
cleaning parts that will be exposed to an oxygen environment. RIX switched to the
NOC and also purchased a closed-loop MART Tornado Parts Washer. With this
system, the facility has minimized discharges and extended the life of the cleaner
indefinitely, provided the system is well maintained.
The parts washer has a skimmer that removes oils and a filter that removes
particulates larger than 8 microns. In the eight months that the parts washer has
been in operation it has not required a filter change. When the filters are finally
spent, RIX will analyze them to determine their content. The company expects to
be able to dispose of the filters as non-hazardous solid waste since mostly dirt is
being removed.
For effective cleaning, NOC must be heated to 160°F. Although the life of the
cleaner may be extended indefinitely, additions will still be required due to dragout
and evaporation.
At one time, there was a slight problem with oxidation of parts after cleaning.
However, the use of a rust inhibitor in the cleaner now prevents significant rust
build-up and contamination. The NOC provides better cleaning for oxygen system
parts and conserves water and chemicals. This is an example of a pollution
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prevention technique shared through the supply chain to benefit everyone. Since the
Navy is responsible for many process specifications, they have many opportunities to
share their cleaner technology developments with contractors, subcontractors, and
smaller suppliers.
Ethylene Glycol Replacement
RIX traditionally used ethylene glycol as a corrosion inhibitor for the submarine's
HPAC closed-loop cooling system. RIX would fill the interior of parts to be shipped
to Electric Boat (and its other customers) with the ethylene glycol, requiring the
customer to dispose of it. To facilitate pollution prevention, the Navy provided
Electric Boat with the Navy's Virginia Class Hazardous Materials List, a list of 70
materials to be minimized throughout the life cycle of the submarine. Ethylene glycol
was on this list. Electric Boat suggested to RIX that propylene glycol, a much less
toxic corrosion inhibitor, be used as a replacement. The performance and cost of the
two are not significantly different, and propylene glycol is less toxic and is not on the
Virginia Class Hazardous Materials List. Based on technical information provided by
Electric Boat, RIX determined that propylene glycol was a suitable replacement as a
corrosion inhibitor as well as for all the other applications of ethylene glycol in the
company, including booster compressors, cooling towers, and company vehicles.
Thus, because of the suggestion by Electric Boat, RIX was able to make a facility
wide process change that reduced its use of toxic materials. Also, by taking the
initiative of evaluating how the material change might be suitable for other
applications, RIX was able to reduce toxics use beyond what was suggested by
Electric Boat.
for MoreInformation
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Guill Tool &
Engineering Company
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The environmental improvements made at this facility have focused on changes that
result in both economic and environmental benefits for the facility. Small companies
usually do not have much time to dedicate to environmental issues. But the story of
Guill Tool describes how, with the motivation of management and a willingness by
employees to try new things, environmental improvements can be implemented despite
resource limitations.
Environmental Management at Guill Tool
Guill Tool, like many small companies, does not have a dedicated "environmental manager."
Instead, the motivation for environmental improvements comes from several different levels
of personnel at Guill Tool. Both management and production workers have a role in process
changes and both are constantly concerned with cost and safety issues.
For example, Diane Guillmette, the company's vice president, is always looking for
innovative ways to improve Guill's processes. Ms. Guillmette is willing to experiment with a
variety of products to find one that benefits the facility. She also inspires the environmental
ethic at Guill Tool by making her personal interest in environmental protection known to her
employees. As a result, certain activities, such as recycling all metal machining chips and
purchasing only recycled paper products, are commonplace.
Guill's safety director also plays an active role in promoting environmental improvements in
the facility. When the company evaluates new products or processes, the safety director
supervises the on-site testing period. If a new product or process is then implemented, he
insures that all of the workers are well informed about proper storage and handling
techniques, and all safety procedures are thoroughly documented.
Guill Tool production workers also play a role in the facility's environmental management.
All workers are trained in handling chemicals and in procedures regarding the safety issues
for each chemical. Safety procedures are documented and accessible to everyone in a safety
manual. Production area workers also review the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for
all chemicals used in the plant. Guill has found that this distribution of environmental
responsibilities among many levels of personnel has resulted in significant environmental
improvements. \
Using Water-based Cleaners
Guill Tool cleans its metal parts after almost every stage of manufacturing. Cleaning was
traditionally done with organic solvents, including 1,1,1-trichloroethane. As the material
and disposal costs of solvents rose, Guill employees began to look for alternative methods of
cleaning. The company investigated the alternatives available, and then tested the most
suitable substitutes. For three years, they experimented with citrus, oil-based, water-based,
and chemical-based cleaners. Finally, a water-based cleaning system from Safety Kleen was
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selected based on its cleaning effectiveness, cost, environmental performance, and
material safety.
Description
Safety Kleen 6300 Aqueous Cleaner was selected for cleaning and degreasing metal
parts. By switching to an aqueous cleaner, Guill Tool reduced VOC emissions and
worker exposure to solvent vapors. Guill has three cleaning stations set up in its
facility, two sinks and one spray-wash cabinet. Safety Kleen is contracted to replace
the spent aqueous cleaner monthly, which it transports and recycles at its own
facility. Thus, Guill Tool pays no disposal costs for cleaners outside of its contract
with Safety Kleen. The cleaning solution, sinks, spray washer, pumps, and heaters
are all supplied by Safety Kleen and are included in the contract fee. The only
additional expense for Guill is the electricity required to operate the system.
Benefits
Guill estimates that four or five years ago, it was paying $6,600 per year just to
dispose spent 1,1,1-trichloroethane. They expect that this figure would most likely
be substantially greater today due to increased material and disposal costs. Safety
Kleen now supplies Guill's aqueous cleaner and equipment and collects the spent
cleaner for $5,400 annually. Therefore, Guill Tool is saving at least $1,200 a year,
and probably much more. While an aqueous cleaner requires more time to clean
than a solvent-based cleaner, the additional labor is not significant. The spray-wash
cabinet does not require manual labor, and workers will frequently soak parts in a
can in the sink to reduce scrubbing time. Guill Tool has found that the additional
time required to use the aqueous cleaner is manageable if workers are flexible. For
example, if a worker leaves a part soaking or puts it in the spray-wash cabinet while
doing something else, labor time is minimized.
Extending Coolant Life
Coolants are used during machining to lubricate and transfer heat from the metal
part. In the 1980s, Guill Tool used a protein-based coolant which, in summer
months, spoiled weekly due to biological contamination. The baths were dumped at
the beginning of each week and sumps were cleaned, causing significant downtime,
waste generation, and high material costs. To reduce the environmental impact of
coolants and save money, Guill set out to make some changes in its coolant
management.
Description
First, Guill Tool purchased a coolant conditioning system to extend the life of the
coolant. Guill selected the Ruddux Coalescing System, which cost $7,000 in 1997.
The system removes coolant from a machine's coolant tank, separates the tramp oils
(i.e., oils that leak in from external sources) from the coolant, and returns the
coolant to the system. The Ruddux system is powered by compressed air (2 cfrn of
50 psi air); no electricity is needed.
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The Ruddux system consists of a "Ruddy Duck" skimmer, pumping unit, and coalescer.
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Skimmer The sldmmer oscillates and removes a fi" minimum layer of free oil,
cream phases and coolant. The oscillation of the skimmer causes intermittent flow
into the Duck and reduces the tendency for floating solids or viscous oily wastes to
clog the opening.
Pumping Unit A perforated strainer basket protects the pump from large objects.
The pump is driven by compressed air which minimizes contamination mixing into
the liquid.
Coalescer The coalescer chamber maximizes surface area to optimize process
rates. Sludge, containing less than one percent coolant, is automatically discharged
to a separate container. The clarified coolant is then recycled back to the coolant
tank.
The Ruddux system is portable and Guill Tool has been able to process machine coolant in
the sumps of twelve machines with just one unit. Some of the tanks are too small to
accommodate the unit and still require manual cleaning and replacing. With the exception
of periodic cleaning of the interior brush scrubbers, the Ruddux system has been in
operation for one year without any maintenance requirements.
The coolant conditioning system increased coolant life from one week to three or four
weeks. After installing the conditioning system, Guill looked at substitute coolants to further
extend coolant life. After testing several different products, Guill Tool selected a synthetic
coolant from Calgon which, combined with the conditioning system, could potentially
extend the life of the coolant indefinitely. Calgon's CAL-LUBE 1600 is a fully synthetic,
non-petroleum and non-vegetable-oil-based metal working fluid, created to replace heavy
duty oil-based products. The synthetic cleaner is not subject to biological degradation even
without the use of biocides or fungicides.
Benefits
Through the use of the conditioning system and the synthetic coolant, the coolant life was
extended from one week to at least six months, and possibly much longer. The labor time
required to empty, clean, and replace the coolant was reduced from about four hours of
downtime per month for the old coolant to about 10 minutes to install the Ruddux system
with no downtime. Instead of disposing 30 gallons of coolant per year, only two gallons of
tramp oil are disposed. The coolant requirements for the facility were reduced from 6,000
gallons per year to 2,500 gallons. This latter figure is due to evaporation, dragout, and the
tanks which cannot yet be serviced by the recycling system.
While Guill employees were analyzing their coolant situation, they identified another
opportunity to prevent pollution. Guill had been maintaining the coolant-to-water ratio by
replenishing coolant based on an arbitrary schedule. When use of the bath fluctuated, too
much or too little coolant was often added. By maintaining the coolant concentration based
on analysis with a refractometer, bath additions are made precisely when needed. This
prevented unnecessary chemical use. Guill has not needed to dump its coolant baths which
have been serviced by the Ruddux system for one year. Other facilities using this coalescing
system have reported going up to seven years without dumping a coolant bath.
Recycled
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