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Title: Electrochemical concentration and purification of spent sodium bicarbonate blasting media. Final report, 30 December 1994--30 June 1995

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:698702

The feasibility and economics of recovering the spent blast media generated in sodium bicarbonate depainting operations has been investigated. In laboratory-scale tests, a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution was convened to sodium hydroxide in an electrochemical cell containing a Nafion cation exchange membrane. Energy consumption was 2 kWh per pound of sodium bicarbonate treated and could be reduced by a factor of two by operating the cell at higher flow rates. The proposed treatment train will essentially eliminate the need for off-site waste disposal, reducing the quantity of solid hazardous waste by over 99 percent and completely eliminating all liquid hazardous wastes. The capital costs of an electrochemical treatment system was estimated to be $19,400 for a plant sized to treat 25 lb/day blast media. Estimated operating costs amount to $2,270/yr, some 90 percent less than the $26,850/yr needed for makeup of the blast media and off-site waste disposal when treatment is not used. The savings of $24,580/yr correspond to a very short payback period of 0.8 years (9.5 months) for the capital cost. It was concluded that by conserving resources and eliminating off-site waste disposal, treating the spent blast media has the potential for significantly reducing the overall costs for depainting.

Research Organization:
Naval Air Station, San Diego, CA (United States)
OSTI ID:
698702
Report Number(s):
AD-A-367104/XAB; NAV-5041-FM-96073-931; CNN: Contract N00244-95-C-5041; TRN: 92850359
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 21 Aug 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English