THE CHALLENGE
Clinty Regen installed a system for an international aerospace company in 1999 which continues to operate successfully today, Using traditional chemi-milling techniques, this customer’s operations resulted in a highly alkali chemi-milling solution mixed with highly concentrated heavy metals. The spent solution was disposed of to landfill and replaced. Increasingly stringent legislation was leading to ever increasing costs. The company needed to substantially reduce waste, increase production efficiencies and vastly reduce environmental impact.
THE SOLUTION
With the Regen System in place, the company was able to regenerate caustic liquor and remove aluminium and heavy metals economically. Taking a ‘whole life’ approach, the Regen System led to a reduction in downtime and maintenance costs and substantially increased productivity. The Regen plant is situated adjacent to the aerospace company’s factory and liquor is received and returned through ‘hole in the wall’ pipe-work. This eliminates the need to transport hazardous liquids by road to a distant reprocessing plant. This customer subsequently upgraded their process controls and further enhanced the benefits provided by the Regen System.
The benefits of putting the Regen System in place were immediate and ongoing. These included:
• Increased profitability
• Improved process efficiencies
• Reduced wastage and attrition rates
• Increased throughput
• Improved product quality
• Reduced manpower
• Reduction in environmentally harmful by-products
