&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA/600/S-92/003 May 1992
ENVIRONMENTAL
RESEARCH BRIEF
Waste Reduction Activities and Options at a Printer of
Forms and Supplies for the Legal Profession
Patrick Eyraud and Daniel J. Watts*
Abstract
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded a
project with the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and Energy (NJDEPE) to assist in conducting waste
minimization assessments at thirty small-to medium-sized busi-
nesses in the state of New Jersey. One of the sites selected
was a printer of forms, business cards, and office supplies for
the legal profession. A site visit was made in 1990 during
which several opportunities for waste minimization were identi-
fied. Prior to the site visit, the company had already incorpo-
rated several waste minimization activities into its operations.
These activities included waste and scrap paper sorting for
recycling and reuse, laundering cleaning rags for reuse, and
identifying less hazardous process-related materials. The as-
sessment team identified waste minimization opportunities in
addition to those the company had already implemented. One
opportunity was the off-site recovery of silver from the photo-
graphic process waste stream. The team also identified 3
options in the engraving process. The first two involved regen-
eration of the spent bath solution either by off-site electrolytic
process or the use of an electrolytic recirculating cell. The third
option was the use of cupric chloride solution as an etchant
rather than the more hazardous ferric chloride solution in use.
The site team also recommended that the company shift from
chemical plate cleaning to a mechanical technique, similar to
those adopted in the metal finishing industry. Typically, such
techniques include polishing (including abrasion), brushing,
and sand blasting. The waste reduction option for ink sludge
generated from water-based cleaning of equipment included
consideration of whether the residual solids could be used for
reincorporation into the ink.
Patrick Eyraud and Daniel J. Watts are with New Jersey Institute of Technol-
ogy, Newark, NJ 07102
This Research Brief was developed by the Principal Investiga-
tors and EPA's Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory in Cin-
cinnati, OH, to announce key findings of this completed as-
sessment.
Introduction
The environmental issues facing industry today have expanded
considerably beyond traditional concerns. Waste Water, air
emissions, potential soil and groundwater contamination, solid
waste disposal, and employee health and safety have become
increasingly important concerns. The management and dis-
posal of hazardous substances, including both process-related
wastes and residues from waste treatment, receive significant
attention because of regulation and economics.
As environmental issues have become more complex, the
strategies for waste management and control have become
more systematic and integrated. The positive role of waste
minimization and pollution prevention within industrial opera-
tions at each stage of product life is recognized throughout the
world. An ideal goal is to manufacture products while generat-
ing the least amount of waste possible.
The Hazardous Waste Advisement Program (HWAP) of the
Division of Hazardous Waste Management, NJDEPE, is pursu-
ing the goals of waste minimization awareness and program
implementation in the state. HWAP, with the help of an EPA
grant from the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, con-
ducted an Assessment of Reduction and Recycling Opportuni-
ties for Hazardous Waste (ARROW) project. ARROW was
designed to assess waste minimization potential across a broad
range of New Jersey industries. The project targeted thirty
sites to perform waste minimization assessments following the
approach outlined in EPA's Waste Minimization Opportunity
Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003). Under contract to
Og> Printed on Recycled Paper
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NJDEPE, the Hazardous Substance Management Research
Center at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) as-
sisted In conducting the assessments. This research brief pre-
sents an assessment of a printing company (one of the 30
assessments performed) and provides recommendations for
waste minimization options resulting from the assessment.
Methodology of Assessments
The assessment process was coordinated by a-team of techni-
cal staff from NJIT with experience in process operations.
basic chemistry, and environmental concerns and needs. Be-
cause the EPA waste minimization manual is designed to be
primarily applied by the in-house staff of the facility, the degree
of Involvement of the NJIT team varied according to the ease
w'rth which the facility staff could apply the manual. In some
cases, NJITs role was to provide advice. In others, NJIT
conducted essentially the entire evaluation.
The goal of the project was to encourage participation in the
assessment process by management and staff at the facility.
To do this, the participants were encouraged to proceed through
the organizational steps outlined in the manual. These steps
can be summarized as follows:
• Obtaining corporate commitment to a waste minimiza-
tion Initiative
• Organizing a task force or similar group to carry out
the assessment
• Developing a policy statement regarding waste mini-
mization for issuance by corporate management
• Establishing tentative waste reduction goals to be
achieved by the program
* Identifying waste-generating sites and processes
« Conducting a detailed site inspection
• Developing a list of options which may lead to the
waste reduction goal
• Formally analyzing the feasibility of the various op-
tions
• Measuring the effectiveness of the options and con-
tinuing the assessment
Not every facility was able to follow these steps as presented.
In each case, however, the identification of waste-generating
sites and processes, detailed site inspections, and develop-
ment of options was carried out. Frequently, it was necessary
for a hfeh degree of involvement by NJIT to accomplish these
steps. Two common reasons for needing outside participation
were a shortage of technical staff within the company and a
need to develop an agenda for technical action before corpo-
rate commitment and policy statements could be obtained.
ft was not a goal of the ARROW project to participate in the
feasibility analysis or implementation steps. However, NJIT
offered to provide advice for feasibility analysis if requested.
In each case, the NJIT team made several site visits to the
facility, initially, visits were made to explain the EPA manual
and to encourage the facility through the organizational stages.
If delays and complications developed, the team offered assis-
tance in the technical review, inspections, and option develop-
ment.
The Legal Supply Printing Company
The legal supply printing company produces, on a quick-turn-
around basis, legal forms, .business cards, and office supplies
for the legal profession. The company is noted for the high
quality of its product and takes care to ensure that the manu-
facturing process is carried out in such a way as to yield
acceptable products.
The manufacturing operations of the facility involve two major
procedures. Impressions are made using either an engraving
process or a printing process. These activities and related
procedures, including photo processes and etching, present
potential opportunities for waste reduction.
Typical steps in the manufacturing process include the follow-
ing activities:
• After creative design, artistic, and layout work is com-
pleted by the design group, a photographic negative
is produced using a normal photographic process with
typical development techniques.
• A subsequent phototransfer step reproduces the im-
age on a metal plate using photoresist polymers which
form in areas exposed to light passing through the
photographic negative. Thus, light-exposed areas of
the plate become coated with the protective polymer
and unexposed areas remain uncoated (unprotected).
Copper plates are used in the engraving process and
aluminum plates in the printing process.
• For the engraving process, the next step is the etch-
ing operation, involving further processing of the cop-
per plate upon which the desired image was trans-
ferred by the photographic process. The etching step
accomplishes the chemical removal of unprotected
copper, creating depth differences on the plate which
can be used to transfer the image to paper.
• The final step in the engraving plate preparation is
plate cleaning to remove the polymeric photoresist
coating. Currently, the final cleaning step is done by
immersing the plate in a bath of N-methylpyrrolidone,
which dissolves the polymer leaving a clean, bare-
metal plate.
• The final operation in the engraving process is print-
ing the impression which requires use of ink to trans-
fer the desired image from the plate onto paper.
• For the preparation of the printing plates, photoresist
monomer coated on aluminum sheets is polymerized
by light passing through a photographic negative. Af-
ter washing away unreacted monomer, the unpro-
tected aluminum is partially dissolved away using acid.
The protective polymer is cleaned away.
• The final operation in the printing process is printing
the impression which requires use of ink to transfer
the desired image from the plate onto paper.
The company is conducting a waste reduction program involv-
ing:
(1) sorting, recycling, and reusing waste and scrap
paper;
(2) laundering and reusing cleaning rags that are widely
used during printing operations;
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(3) using inks, cleaners, and related materials that
reduce hazardous levels compared with products
previously used. This step also promotes employee
health and safety.
For example, the facility shifted to the use of water-based inks
and equipment cleaners where possible.
the main objective of the company for beginning a waste
minimization opportunities assessment was to identify (1) other
areas of possible waste reduction and (2) options for reducing
waste in these areas. While the technical and management
staffs of the company are committed to the goal of waste
reduction, the time available for them to focus on the question
is limited. One objective of this study, therefore, is to make
more efficient the investment of technical time by developing a
concise listing of opportunity areas and technological options.
The Processes, Waste Streams, and Options
Within manufacturing operations there are two major processes,
engraving and printing, which are used for different purposes
and products. While these two processes involve different
steps, the first step (a photographic operation) is common to
both.
After the creative design, artistic, and layout work is completed
by the design group, a photographic negative is produced
using a normal photographic process with typical development
techniques. A subsequent phototransfer step is used to repro-
duce the image on a metal plate. Copper plates are used in the
engraving process and aluminum plates in the printing pro-
cess.
Historically, the wastestreams from photo developing processes,
as in many photographic operations, entered the sewage treat-
ment system with the knowledge of the local sewage authority.
Currently, the developer and related solutions are managed as
hazardous waste. Because of the silver content of the photo-
graphic process, it is possible that the liquid waste streams,
particularly the spent developer solution, contain enough silver
to support a silver recovery operation. The volume may be too
tow to justify the recovery step onstte, but it is recommended
that contact be made with silver reclamation facilities to explore
this possibility.
The Engraving Process
The primary step within the engraving process where waste
reduction opportunities occur is in the etching operation. The
etching step further processes the copper plate upon which the
desired image was transferred by the photographic process.
Etching involves the chemical removal of unprotected copper,
creating depth differences on the plate which can be used to
transfer the image to paper.
The chemical system used is a solution with a starting compo-
sition of 55% ferric chloride and 45% hydrochloric acid. The
copper plates move through this bath, allowing the unprotected
metal surfaces to dissolve. As the copper content in the bath
rises, the system loses it effectiveness. At a copper concentra-
tion of about 17 mg/L, the bath is replaced. The spent acidic
iron and copper chloride solution is currently disposed of as
hazardous waste at an annual cost exceeding $10,000. The
metal mixture complicates reuse and recycling possibilities for
the spent bath. Three options can be used to reduce waste
generated from the process:
(1) Use an off-site vendor to regenerate the spent bath
solution (probably by an electrolytic process) and
return the renewed solution to the company for
reuse. The renewal process may also require pH
adjustment before reuse.
(2) Establish the bath regeneration step at the site. An
example of applicable equipment is a metal recovery
system, "Napzap,"" which is available from Napco
Systems.
Napzap is an electrolytic recirculating cell. This
circular plating cell can be used to remove the
dissolved copper from the spent etching solution.
The recovered metal is removed mechanically from
the electrode and sold as scrap copper. The copper-
free etching solution can be reused, perhaps needing
some readjustment of pH and ferric chloride content.
The recovery system is easy to operate and does
not require staff expansion dedicated only to its
operation.
(3) Use a cupric chloride solution as the etchant rather
than a ferric chloride solution. The basic chemistry
involved is described by the following reaction:
Cu + CuCI2 >2CuCI
Regenerate the etching solution by oxidation using hydrogen
peroxide, for example, as an oxidizing agent.
2 CuCI + H202 + 2 HCI
->2
+ 2 H20
This process builds up the copper content in the etching
solution necessitating periodic bleed-off. The bleed stream
should be relatively pure copper chloride which could be used
for other beneficial purposes or serve as a source for metallic
copper, ft should not require disposal.
The final step in engraving plate preparation is plate cleaning,
which removes the polymeric photoresist coating that protected
the portions of the copper plate during the etching process.
Currently, the final cleaning step is done by immersing the
plate in a bath of N-methylpyrrolidone. The polymer dissolves,
leaving a clean, bare-metal plate.
Eventually, the solute level increases and the bath solvent
becomes ineffective. Currently this spent solvent is drummed
and shipped as hazardous waste for disposal.
Waste reduction options are: 1) Recover and reuse the organic
solvent. This option would require distillation to purify the sol-
vent. Still bottoms would continue to require disposal, but the
total volume and intrinsic value of the materials sent for dis-
posal should be substantially reduced compared to the existing
practice. 2) Shift from a chemical cleaning to a mechanical
plate cleaning technique. Analogous approaches have been
adopted in the metal finishing industry. These techniques typi-
cally avoid the use of chemicals and include:
• polishing (including abrasion)
• brushing
• sand blasting
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorse-
ment or recommendation for use.
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Spedal care would have to be taken in selecting such a
mechanical cleaning process in order to protect the integrity of
the fine detail on the plate surface. Proper selection of the
gritty material used in the sand blasting option could provide
the needed balance between coating removal and surface
protection. Usually, even the mechanical surface cleaning tech-
nologies will produce wastes. The waste stream will be a
mixture of the abrasive material and the residue cleaned from
the surface. In individual situations, a determination must be
made regarding the regulatory status of the waste.
The final operation in the engraving process is printing the
Impression itself. The waste generated from this step is ink
sludge which results from water-based cleaning of equipment.
The waste ink is transferred to a sink where the soluble
components are washed away. The insoluble components are
collected in a trap from which the sludge is removed weekly.
Approximately 110 gal of this material is generated annually.
The waste reduction option for this operation included consid-
eration of whether these residual solids could be used for
reincorporation into the ink. This option would require coordina-
tion with the ink manufacturer.
The Printing Process
Two fundamental differences between the engraving process
and the printing process are the type of plate used and the
composition of the ink. The printing plate is aluminum and the
ink used is solvent-based rather than water-based. Two pollu-
tion prevention opportunities in the printing process are the
Impression step and the equipment-cleaning step.
Impression
The inks used in making the impressions contain the following
major components:
• middle distillates
• mineral spirits
• solvent naphtha
• carbon black
The formulation is carefully devised to provide fluidity, which
changes with the evaporation of the low boiling solvents. The
higher boiling solvents evaporate later, yielding the final "cured"
Impression. In this process, the solvent is transferred into the
air. Switching to a water-based ink system which has the
necessary performance properties to maintain production rates
and product quality is a pollution prevention option. Water-
based inks are commercially available for this application. One
type of water-based inks which has been successfully applied
In Canada uses materials derived from soy beans.
Equipment Cleaning
Because solvent-based inks are currently used, the equipment
Is cleaned with a solvent-based product. The current cleaner is
a formulation containing:
• aromatic hydrocarbons
• aliphatic hydrocarbons
• glycol ether
• esters
Two pollution prevention options in the equipment-cleaning
step are (1) laundering and reusing cleaning rags (already
done at this facility) and (2) using a non-solvent-based cleaner.
Cleaners based on the use of surfactants in water solutions are
available commercially. Changing to a water-based ink elimi-
nates the need for a solvent-based cleaner.
Training and Incentives
An ultimate goal of a corporate waste reduction/pollution pre-
vention program is to make the idea of waste reduction a part
of the everyday thinking and actions of each employee. A key
aspect of this is a training program for every employee. The
training could include discussions and illustrations of the corpo-
rate commitment to waste reduction, the types of waste cur-
rently generated at the facility, and the areas within the facility
where they are generated. Training could also include discus-
sion of the methods of storage, treatment, and disposal re-
quired for these wastes; the costs of treatment and disposal;
and some examples of waste reduction success stories at the
facility or at other corporate sites. Such training could be
incorporated into general employee training programs.
Some discussion of the importance of each employee to the
continuing waste reduction effort is also valuable. Companies
such as DuPont, Monsanto, Dow Chemical, and 3M have
found that the development of an incentive and recognition
program for waste reduction ideas developed and submitted by
employees has been very successful. Obviously, the employ-
ees who carry out the activities are the ones most directly
responsible for the generation of waste. They have the best
ideas for reducing the amount of waste created. These compa-
nies, among others, reward such ideas monetarily or provide
other recognition in newsletters or posters. A similar program
at this facility might have value.
Because a waste reduction program is not a one-time activity,
continuous employee training and awareness is important. Regu-
lar monitoring and reporting of waste reduction results can
facilitate the ongoing effectiveness of the program with employ-
ees.
Conclusion
The waste minimization opportunities assessment at the facility
has identified several options which potentially reduce the
quantity of waste generated during the company's operations.
The etching process, in particular, presents opportunities with
regard to the etchant bath and the etched plate cleaning
procedure for significant waste reduction with attendant cost
savings.
Other options, such as the move toward non-solvent-based
inks and cleaners, may have to wait until suppliers can provide
the appropriate materials to allow maintenance or improvement
of production rates and product quality. It is suggested, how-
ever, that the facility make the suppliers aware that such
products are desired.
Summary of Waste Minimization Opportunities
Table 1 presents the type of waste currently generated by the
plant, the sources of waste, the quantity of waste, and the
annual treatment and disposal costs (where known and avail-
able).
Table 2 presents the opportunities for waste minimization iden-
tified during the assessment. The types of waste, the minimiza-
tion opportunities, and possible waste reductions are presented
in the table. When available or estimable, the associated sav-
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ings, implementation costs, and payback times are usually
determined. However, because the feasibility analysis was to
be carried out by the staff of the facility, that information was
not readily available for this assessment.
This Research Brief summarizes a part of the work done under
cooperative Agreement No. CR-815165 by the New Jersey
Institute of Technology under the sponsorship of the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA Project
Officer was Mary Ann Curran. She can be reached at:
Pollution Prevention Research Branch
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Table 1 Summary of Generated Wastes
Waste Generated
Source of Waste
Annual Quantity Annual
Generated (gal) Costs ($)
Photographic
Darkroom Wastes
Solvent Containing
Photoresist Polymer
Spent Etching
Solution
Ink Sludge
Solvents
Photographic
Development
Cleaning of Printing
and Engraving Plates
Removal of Unprotected
Metal from Water Soluble Inks
Insoluble Residues
from Water Soluble Inks
Used for Press Cleanup from
Solvent Based Inks
130,000
165
2,200
55
110
40
750
10,000
350
450
Table 2 Summary of Waste Minimization Options Identified
Waste
Generated
Darkroom
Wastes
Solvent
containing
Photoresist
Minimization
Opportunity
Consider Silver
Recovery by ion
exchange or
electro-
deposition.
Distill and
reuse the
solvent
Annual Waste
Reduction
Quantity Percent
The volume of water
would be essentially
unchanged, but the
silver content would
be lowered.
130 gal 60%
Net Annual
Savings
($)
125
7,630
Implementa-
tion Cost
($)
2,500
6,000
Pay-
back
Years
20
0.8
Polymer
(This is a high boiling
solvent which will need
vacuum distillation
equipment to prevent
decomposition. A waste
stream of still bottoms
will also be generated.)
•&V.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1992 - 648-080/40243
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental
Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT NO. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S-92/003
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