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Title: Three companies earn waste reduction awards

Journal Article · · BioCycle; (USA)
OSTI ID:6953122

The HDN Company of Muscatine, Rockwell International of Cedar Rapids, and Enviromiser of Cedar Falls received Iowa Waste Reduction Awards last month in a program sponsored by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa. The HDN Company produces metal tubing for chairs and desk legs. A nickel/chrome plating line is part of the production process, and plating waste goes to a treatment system that cleans discharge wastewater and generates a hazardous sludge. The company's project dropped sludge from 62 tons a year to 2.3 tons. The project saves the company $89,250 annually. Rockwell International's Avionics group produces rinse water and spent plating baths from plating, etching and other metal-finishing operations. Its new approach involves segregation of waste streams and recovery of metals from wastewater. Result is salable scrap metal and clean water, an 81 percent reduction in hazardous waste, and cost savings annually of $250,000. Enviromiser is a system for recovering, filtering and reusing the refrigerant chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from large building and commercial cooling units. The system can reclaim more than 95 percent of the refrigerant contained in air conditioning units when repairs or equipment replacement is required. Equipment payback was achieved after first use and the system has been operating successfully at the University.

OSTI ID:
6953122
Journal Information:
BioCycle; (USA), Vol. 30:10; ISSN 0276-5055
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English