Waste minimization techniques and options for the wet and pretreatment sections of coil coating plants

Abstract

AbstractWaste minimization has proven successful in recent years for many companies in reducing their raw material and utility consumption and costs as well as their waste‐treatment and disposal costs. Although waste minimization opportunities can be identified through observation of plant operation practices and through application of generalized heuristic principles, many opportunities are determined only through analysis of plant data. In this study, two preassessment techniques (scoping audit and true cost of waste assessment) and two techniques for a more detailed assessment (mass balances and monitoring and targeting) were evaluated to determine whether they identified similar waste minimization opportunities on two coil coating lines. All techniques identified similar waste minimization opportunities, although the true cost of waste assessment and the monitoring and targeting analysis were found to be the most accurate in prioritizing the waste minimization opportunities. The raw material “scope to save” percentage in the scoping audit requires modification for application to South African industry. General waste minimization options for the wet and pretreatment sections of the coil coating industry are also presented. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 23: 185–193, 2004