In today’s flailing economy, manufacturers are focusing on methods to decrease the cost of production. As raw material costs continue to fluctuate, methods to reduce waste such as salvaging and reusing off-spec product—for example, waste due to startup, shutdown or operational upsets—becomes more critical.
The first step in reducing waste is to review operational procedures. All too often during a review of a client’s operational procedures, we are told that startup and shutdown process steps are “fixed.” Or, the way it’s done is the way it’s always been done, so why change it now? Most of the time, these standard methods of startup and shutdown that may make the process easier create much more waste than necessary.
TYPICAL PROCESS DIAGRAM
WASTE RECOVERY SYSTEM (WRS)
Figure 1. Typical process diagram Waste Recovery System (WRS)
WET WASTE
MATERIAL
INTAKE
3
2
4
6
1
5
SLURRY
7
8
COOLING WATER RETURN
CITY WATER
A primary example is the removal of nonessential extruder water
1 Conveyor Hopper 2 Conveying System 3 Metal Detector 4 Weigh Bin
5 Slurry Mix Tank 6 Dual Conditioning Cylinder 7 Cooker/Extruder 8 Makeup Water Tank
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