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Solvent-free paint a win-win for ACAW Beloit
Alcoa Wheel Products in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA won a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Environmental Performance for its conversion to a waterborne paint that eliminated the need for solvent-based paints that were not environmentally friendly. In addition, the plant eliminated hazardous waste by switching the paints and realized an annual savings of nearly $500,000.
By partnering with its paint supplier, PPG Industries, the Beloit facility no longer uses the hazardous chemical N-Butyl Acetate. As a result, the plant was chosen for the award sponsored by the Federation of Environmental Technologists and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. To qualify, a company must reduce the degree and amount of waste toxicity as well as have a process that is transferable for use by other industries.
Waste streams and resource usage that were eliminated or reduced are:
- Eliminate the use and disposal of waste N-Butyl Acetate purge (annual savings $155,000)
- Eliminate the need to dispose of off-spec solvent based paint (annual savings $55,000 includes raw material cost)
- Elimination of Detac chemicals and disposal of associated non-hazardous paint sludge (annual savings $50,000)
- Reduction in natural gas usage by elimination of the Thermal Oxidizer (annual savings $205,000)
- Reduction of VOCs within raw materials.
- Elimination of potential employee exposures
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