CORPORATE STRATEGY AND ACTIONS FOR REDUCING HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Ral ph D. Gro te l ueschen Manager, Environmental Control

Deere & Company Moline, I l l i n o i s

Deere & Company i s a d i v e r s i f i e d manufacturer o f John Deere fa rm, i n d u s t r i a l and consumer product equipment. t h a t are assembled i n t o a f i n a l machine, a wide d i v e r s i t y o f hazardous wastes i s managed. Operations such as m e l t i n g scrap i r o n t o make cast ings, e l e c t r o - p l a t i n g and metal f i n i s h i n g are h i s t o r i c a l l y known t o c rea te hazardous waste. However, Deere & Company has reduced i t s hazardous waste disposal a c t i v i t i e s 80 percent by "volume" and over 99 percent by " l e v e l o f r i s k " through two key ac t i ons :

Since we make 98 percent o f t h e components

1. Development o f a comprehensive corporate hazardous waste management s t ra tegy , and

2. Const ruc t ion o f a l i q u i d hazardous waste t reatment f a c i l i t y capable of produci ng nonhazardous s l u-dges.

Why a Waste Reduction Program

The i n i t i a l problem f a c i n g Deere & Company was t h a t c e r t a i n l i q u i d hazardous wastes cou ld n o t be t r e a t e d i n convent ional i n d u s t r i a l wastewater t reatment f a c i l i t i e s c o n s i s t i n g of o i l skimming, l i m e p r e c i p i t a t i o n and s o l i d s removal. Therefore, they had t o be disposed i n a l a n d f i l l . E a r l y reviews i n 1971 w i t h t h e I l l i n o i s and Iowa Geological Surveys es tab l i shed t h a t t he re are geo log i - c a l fo rmat ions t h a t a re very impermeable w i thou t the problem o f geological f a u l t s and t h e r e f o r e should be s u i t a b l e long-term d isposa l s i t e s . However, t h e f o l l o w i n g problems convinced us o f t he need t o i n i t i a t e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t h a t r e s u l t e d i n t h e need t o r e v i s e our waste management s t ra teg ies :

1. Waste management f i r m s were having more d i f f i c u l t y w i t h t i m e l y p ickup o f l i q u i d wastes.

2. The number o f s u i t a b l e waste disposal s i t e s was decreasing.

3. Disposal costs were outpacking i n f l a t i o n -- i n c r e a s i n g a t a r a t e o f 25 percent per year.

4. The p u b l i c was expect ing b e t t e r con t ro l o f hazardous wastes w h i l e r e s i s t i n g t h e p e r m i t t i n g of any new s i tes .

5. The procedural requirements t o t r e a t , store, haul and dispose o f hazardous waste were d r a i n i n g scarce management resources t h a t could be more e f f e c t i v e l y used t o "e l im ina te t h e problem."

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methods are being devised f o r mon i to r ing e f f l u e n t s . I n aqd i t ion , next gener-

Th is mind set -- t o

co-existence and regu la to ry

a t i o n technologies are being evaluated i n technology approaches t o wastewater cleanup s ion o f t o x i c chemicals i n i n d u s t r i a l apply s ta te -o f - the-ar t technology t o waste and guarantee t h e American Pub1 i c t h e means t o o f our i n d u s t r i a l complex and t h e necessary

s i t u conver- process con t ro l -- w i l l

s t ruc tu re .

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Development o f Comprehensi ve Waste Management S t ra tegy

The impact o f t h e above problems on Deere & Company was q u a n t i f i e d and repor ted t o t o p management. Force charging i t w i t h f o u r goals:

They responded by forming a Hazardous Waste Task

1. Develop op t ions f o r es tab l i sh i ng a comprehensive hazardous waste s t r a t e g y a t each u n i t .

2. Def ine degree o f hazardous waste t reatment t h a t should be conducted and which u n i t s should be involved.

3. Define programs t h a t w i l l assure c e r t a i n t y o f compliance.

4. E l i m i na te hazardous waste disposal requi rements as much as possible.

The importance o f request ing and r e c e i v i n g top management support cannot be understated. f y i n g c u r r e n t s t r a t e g i e s and t h e i r d i r e c t i o n i n i n i t i a t i n g t h e task fo rce , emphasized t h e need f o r quick, d e c i s i v e act ion.

The i r reac t i on t o the i n fo rma t ion presented i n support o f modi-

A t y p i c a l long-range p lann ing process (LRPP) was i n i t i a t e d by the task f o r c e (Table 1). However, t h e problem d e f i n i t i o n process was expanded so t h a t t he r e l a t i v e b e n e f i t o f " con t ro l t h e process1' cou ld be considered be fore any "waste t rea tment " o p t i on. However , s i~nce a yood de f i n i t i on o f hazardous waste does no t e x i s t , we chose t o manage " r i s k " i n a d d i t i o n t o the term "haz- ardous waste." As a r e s u l t , 28 d i f f e r e n t types o f wastes were i n v e n t o r i e d by t ype o f manufactur ing a c t i v i t y , source, q u a n t i t y generated, degree o f r i s k , and cu r ren t t reatment o r disposal a c t i v i t y . As d e t a i l e d i n t h e LRPP of Table 1, a c t i o n then focused on developing op t ions and a f i n a l s t r a t e g y t h a t would minimize each u n i t ' s hazardous waste disposal requirements. A p r i o r i t y o f des i rab le a c t i o n was developed. Emphasis was placed on d e f i n i n g op t ions t h a t would reduce waste generat ion a t t h e process s ince t h i s de terminat ion would become t h e d r i v i n g fo rce i n d e f i n i n g t h e s i z e and k i n d o f waste t reatment f a c i l i t i e s we would have t o manage -- an o v e r l y l i b e r a l al lowance o f waste from var ious processes would r e s u l t i n construc- t i o n o f t reatment f a c i l i t i e s t h a t may be unnecessary o r t o o l a r g e and hence an un fo r tuna te d r a i n on corporate resources. F i n a l l y , i t was considered e s s e n t i a l t o use a con t inu ing p lann ing process and t h e r e f o r e goals be estab- l i s h e d w i t h appropr ia te measurement t o o l s t o eva lua te performance and c o n f i r m f u t u r e needs. a c t i v i t y .

A s a r e s u l t o f c a r e f u l process and f a c i l i t y evaluat ion, we f e l t most hazard- ous waste d isposa l a c t i v i t i e s could be e l im ina ted by developing s t r a t e g i e s i n t h e f o l l o w i n g f i v e areas:

Cur ren t l y , we are on t h e second i t e r a t i o n o f t h i s p lann ing

1. Rev is ion o f manufacturing procedures so as t o minimize hazardous waste generation.

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2. Research and develop methods t o d e t o x i f y hazardous waste.

3. Const ruc t ion and i n t e r f a c i l i t y use o f a s ing le , h igh technology l i q u i d waste t reatment f a c i l i t y t o produce a nonhazardous sludge w h i l e meeting e f f l u e n t standards.

4. Use o f vendors f o r so lvent reclamat ion a c t i v i t i e s .

5. Continued a u d i t o f our hazardous waste management a c t i v i t i e s t o assure e f f i c i e n t progress i n reducing and e l i m i n a t i n g t o x i c ma te r i a1 s .

Since 1980, Deere has already reduced hazardous waste disposal a c t i v i t i e s by a f a c t o r o f 80 percent (F igure 1) . We expect a 98 percent reduc t ion i n hazardous waste volumes by t h i s t ime next year as w e l l as an 80 percent reduc t i on i n l i q u i d wastes.

Cons t ruc t i on o f a L ic lu id Hazardous Waste Treatment Faci 1 i t y Capable o f Produci ng Nonhazardous S1 udge

John Deere personnel designed and devel oped an i n t e g r a t e d wastewater t r e a t - ment f a c i l i t y w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g c a p a b i l i t i e s :

1. Reclaim o i l from 15 t o 60 percent o i l / w a t e r mixtures.

2. Treat concentrated heavy metal wastes.

3. Produce a sludge t h a t i s not t o x i c by t h e RCRA e x t r a c t i o n procedure.

The f a c i l i t y was designed from bench sca le chemical t reatment s tud ies and an in -depth waste survey a t each o f t he John Deere Waterloo f a c t o r i e s . f a c i l i t y can t r e a t over 2 m i l l i o n ga l lons per year o f t h e f o l l o w i n g hazardous wastes: e l e c t r o p l a t i n g sludges, spent e l e c t r o p l a t i n g baths, p a i n t i n g wastes, c a u s t i c p a i n t s t r i p p i ng wastes, ko l ene s l udge from c a s t i ng c l eani ng, spent p i c k l i ng ac ids , a1 umi num condi t i oner, c a u s t i c c l eaners , and m i sce l 1 aneous ac ids and a l k a l i n e wastes. Also, 1,380,000 ga l l ons per year o f waste o i l s and o i l / w a t e r mix tu res can be t r e a t e d such t h a t o i l i s reclaimed and e i t h e r s o l d t o an o i l r e c y c l i n g f i r m o r reused f o r machining processes.

This

Th is f a c i l i t y i s computer operated f o r t r a n s f e r r i n g , t r e a t i n g and b lend ing var ious waste streams. It has several i n t e g r a l fea tures i nc lud ing :

1. Storage tank complex capable o f segregat ing and ho ld ing one week's accumulation o f each waste stream.

2. A ba tch p l a n t capable o f processing 7,500 ga l l ons o f heavy metal bea r ing wastes and 6,000 ga l l ons o f o i l / w a t e r waste per batch.

3. Microprocessor con t ro l f o r each treatment process.

4. Chemical feed systems f o r needed processing.

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. e' .

5, Batch t h i c k e n i n g and precoat vacuum f i l t r a t i o n dewatering o f s l udges .

6. Reclaim o i l storage f a c i l i t y .

7. Process c o n t r o l l abo ra to ry t o monitor l i q u i d e f f l u e n t s and process e f fec t i veness .

Not on l y has t h e p r a c t i c e o f l a n d f i l l i n g o f l i q u i d s been reduced, bu t those wastes which were considered hazardous according t o Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) t o x i c i t y c r i t e r i a are rendered nonhazardous by t h e t rea tment process

P r o j e c t Background

John Deere's Waterloo opera t ions i nc lude f o u r major f a c i l i t i e s : Engine Works, John Deere T rac to r Works, John Deere Component Works, and John Deere Product Enyi nee r i ng Center. Among t h e f i r s t t h r e e f a c i 1 i t i e s , 1 arge q u a n t i t i e s o f l i q u i d wastes associated w i t h pa in t i ng , e l e c t r o p l a t i n g and machining have been disposed o f i n l a n d f i l l s s ince they were t o o concentrated w i t h s o l i d s and heavy metals t o be success fu l l y t r e a t e d i n a convent ional wastewater t reatment p l an t ,

John Deere

I n view o f t he above s i t u a t i o n , Deere and Company i n con junc t ion w i t h t h e John Deere Components Works undertook a study t o de f i ne a l t e r n a t i v e ways t o manage these wastes. The ob jec t i ves o f t he study were t o de f i ne economical ways t o reduce waste volumes and t o x i c i t y and t o ma in ta in compliance w i t h a p p l i c a b l e regu la t i ons -- notab ly t h e Clean Water Act and t h e Resource Con- s e r v a t i o n and Recovery Act (RCRA). o b j e c t i v e , t h a t any hazardous wastes could be rendered nonhazardous by t h e recomnendatons from t h e study.

It was hoped, bu t not i n i t i a l l y a p r o j e c t

System Development

Processes which generate l i q u i d wastes were looked a t as poss ib le areas where volumes cou ld be reduced.

A survey o f f a c t o r y processes generat ing wastes a t each Waterloo f a c i l i t y was a l s o conducted t o d e f i n e waste sources and volumes and the f u l l range of waste c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s requi r i n g some form o f management. Wastes 1 i k e l y t o be c l a s s i f i e d as hazardous wastes were a p a r t i c u l a r concern.

Major emphasis was placed on bench sca le i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f chemical t reatment techniques t o rec la im waste o i l s and t o n e u t r a l i z e and d e t o x i f y wastes iden- t i f i e d i n t h e survey. concentrates o f 3 t o 10 percent so l i ds . Typ ica l analyses o f wastes i n v e s t i - gated showed presence o f cadmium, chromium, cyanide, copper, l ead and zinc.

Numerous j a r t e s t s were conducted on p l a n t waste streams i n var ious cornbina- t i o n s w i t h p l a n t waterwal l p a i n t spray booth wastes, d i l u t e metal wastes, ace ty l ene genera t i on s l udge, and metal p a r t s p repara t ion acids and a1 k a l i s.

These were p r i m a r i l y p a i n t i n g and e l e c t r o p l a t i n g waste

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Waste o i l s were tes ted f o r Peclamation p o s s i b i l i t i e s us ing bench t e s t chemi- c a l t re tmen t techniques. Sludges generated by successful chemical t reatment methods were checked f o r f i l t r a t i o n p roper t i es us ing Buchner funnel and l e a f t e s t s . The f o l l o w i n g step-wise chemical t reatment sequence proved successful i n deal i ng

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

w i t h heavy metal wastes such as those f r o m processes.

D i l u t i o n o f concentrated waste w i t h d i l u t e wastes B1 ending wastes Ad jus t i ng pH o f mix tu re Reduct ion o f hexavalent chromium Coagul a t i on Ad jus t i ng pH o f r e s u l t i n g mix tu re F1 ocul a t i ng S e t t l i ng

The procedure i s a l t e r e d t o i nc lude a l k a l i n e c h l o r i n a t i o n when cyanide i s present. Typ ica l bench t e s t r e s u l t s were:

I n f 1 uent E f f 1 uent % Removal

pH - Un i t s 11.7

Chromium - mg/l 620

Lead - mg/l 46 0 Z inc - mg/l 1,800

Cadmium - mg/l 0.1

Copper - mg/l 4.5

7.2 0.01 1.21 0.21 1.66 3.25

-- 90 99.8 95.3 99.6 99.8

By December 1981, we were aware t h a t process con t ro l could d ramat i ca l l y reduce waste volumes so t h a t t h i s fac i 1 i t y could process metal -bear i ny wastes f o r a l l Nor th American f a c t o r i e s operated by Deere & Company. However, the l ead and chrome content o f some waste had increased t o 60,000 ppm and 17,000 ppm, r e s p e c t i v e l y -- t h e r e s u l t o f a process change t o d ramat i ca l l y increase t h e l i f e o f working mater ia ls . Treatment o f t h i s waste was s t i l l successful i n p r o v i d i n g a s a t i s f a c t o r y e f f l u e n t . However, t he r e s u l t i n g sludge was EP t o x i c f o r l ead and chrome.

Research was brought t o bear on t h i s problem. t h e t reatment system was developed t h a t improved e f f l u e n t q u a l i t y and produced a nonhazardous sludge as shown i n t h e f o l l o w i n g tab le :

An economical m o d i f i c a t i o n t o

HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT

EP T o x i c i t y Chemical I n f l uent New J7X Old Lime PPTN Ep T o x i c i t y L i m i t s

Zn - mg/l 200 1 43

Cd - mg i l 5 0.2 5

Pb - mg/l 1250 2 70 CR - mg/l 400 3 6

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. ' 9 .

Waste o i 1 was found t o be recoverable us ing commercial l y avai 1 ab1 e emu1 s i on breakers, polymers and cooking aids. Cooking o f waste o i l a t 18U"F f o r 12 hours a f t e r a d d i t i o n o f emulsion breaker and an ion i c polymer provided a good q u a l i t y reclaimed o i l . Acid a d d i t i o n was a l so b e n e f i c i a l i n some t e s t s .

System Design

Bench t e s t r e s u l t s were used t o develop process f l o w diagrams fo r both o i l r e c l amat i o n (F igure 2) and concentrated heavy metals waste t reatment (F ig - u r e 3 ) . These f l o w diagrams show t h e var ious waste storaye tanks and chemi- c a l feed systems required. The t i e - i n p o i n t s o f t h i s t reatment f a c i l i t y t o an a1 ready e x i s t i n g continuous f l ow i n d u s t r i a l wastewater pretreatment p l a n t a re a l so shown. The continuous f l ow p l a n t t r e a t s d i l u t e o i l y wastes, hexa- va len t chromium wastes and cyanide wastes f o r subsequent e f f l u e n t discharges i n t o t h e c i t y p u b l i c l y owned treatment works. t h e new f a c i l i t y cou ld be t r e a t e d t o a l e v e l e i t h e r : (1) compatible f o r ad- d i t i o n a l t reatment i n t h e continuous f l o w treatment i n d u s t r i a l wastewater pretreatment p l a n t , o r (2) s u i t a b l e f o r d i r e c t d ischarge t o t h e s a n i t a r y sewer.

Concentrated wastes t r e a t e d i n

The design concepts considered necessary f o r t h i s f a c i l i t y were: f l e x i b i l - i ty, r i go rous process con t ro l , maximum waste volume reduct ion, and emergency response. Const ruc t ion occurred between A p r i l 1980 and A p r i l 1981.

The r e s u l t i n g f a c i l i t y design was completed i n January 1980.

The f a c i l i t y has t h e f o l l o w i n g fea tures :

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Storage tank complex capable o f segreyat i ng and hol d i ny one week's accumulation o f each waste stream. The segregated tankage provides f l e x i b i l i t y i n opera t ion and al lows f o r downtime f o r repa i rs .

A ba tch t reatment p l an t capable o f processi ng 7,500 gal 1 ons metal bea r ing wastes and 6,000 ga l l ons waste o i l per batch. Batch t r e a t - ment provides t h e needed f l e x i b i l i t y i n dea l i ng w i t h a wide range o f waste c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e q u i r i n g var ious chemical t reatment techniques . Process c o n t r o l l abo ra to ry capable o f mon i to r ing l i q u i d e f f l u e n t s and treatment process e f fec t i veness .

Microprocessor con t ro l o f waste blending, t r e a t i n g and t r a n s f e r r i n g opera t ion . Computer c o n t r o l a1 lows continuous mon i to r ing waste l e v e l s , motor opera t ion and treatment process. l a b o r a t o r y t r e a t a b i l i t y bench t e s t s i s assured and i s use fu l i n mai n t a i n i ng records requi red by RCRA.

Exact d u p l i c a t i o n o f

Chemical feed systems au tomat i ca l l y c o n t r o l add i t i ons o f l ime, acid, polymers and a l l o the r chemicals used.

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6. Batch t h i c k e n i n g and diatomaceous ea r th precoat vacuum f i l t e r dewater ing o f sludge. Precoat f i l t r a t i o n was se lected as the most f l e x i b l e sludge dewater ing a l t e r n a t i v e as it i s most i n s e n s i t i v e t o feed sludge s o l i d s and type, prov ides h igh q u a l i t y f i l t r a t e , requ i res no b e l t wash water, achieves maximum s o l i d concentrat ions and requ i res no chemical cond i t ion ing .

Overa l l Performance

Three years o f experience has demonstrated the f a c i l i t y can:

1. Produce a reclaimed o i l f o r about 30$/gal lon.

2. Treat concentrated heavy metal wastes a t a cos t 15 t o 30$/gal lon.

3.

4.

Treat d i l u t e heavy metals a t a cost o f 4Q/gal lon.

Cons is ten t l y produce a nonhazardous sludge by EP t o x i c i t y .

A 1982 a u d i t o f t he f a c i l i t y i n d i c a t e d the t o t a l cos t o f cons t ruc t i on was $1.9 m i l l i o n and t h e r e t u r n on investment (1980 l a n d f i l l i n g cos ts ) was 40 percent . Deere & Company c u r r e n t l y has a pa ten t pending on the process and i s w i l l i n g t o l i c e n s e i t s use t o o the r i ndus t r i es .

Summary

Current technology and p l anni ng procedures can reduce a company's hazardous waste d isposa l requirements. A p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e , imay ina t ion and c r e a t i v i t y a r e t h e pr imary c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s needed t o achieve a favorab le r e s u l t . How- ever, f rom a s t r u c t u r a l management approach, Deere & Company has found t h e f o l l o w i n g approach b e n e f i c i a l :

1. Secure Top Management Support 2. 3. Develop U n i t S t ra teg ies 4. Set Goals 5. Aud i t Q u a r t e r l y 6. Conf i rm/Revise Strategy

Commitment To a Long-Range Plan

A hazardous waste t reatment f a c i l i t y coupled w i t h the above long-range p lan- n i ng approach he1 ped Deerre reduce i t s hazardous and 1 i q u i d speci a1 waste d isposa l requirements 80 percent i n th ree years.

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TABLE 1

LONG-RANGE PLANNING PROCESS

1. Def ine Probl em/Process

O

O Type o f Waste O Q u a n t i t y O Degree o f Risk O Current Disposal P rac t i ce

Cont r i but i ng Process

2. Develop Options

Process Modi f i c a t i ons 1. 2. Mate r ia l S u b s t i t u t i o n 3. Chemical Screening

Extend L i f e o f Working Ma te r ia l s

O Treatment 1. Chemical T rea tmen t /De tox i f i c t i on 2. O i l Reclamation 3. Sol vent Recl amat i on

O Dispose O I n c i n e r a t i o n

3. Def ine Corporate F a c i l i t i e s Ava i l ab le t o Implement Options

4. R A D

a. Def ine Needs b. Imp1 ement Program

5. Def ine Strategy/Factory Plan

O A1 t e r n a t i ves a. Process, Mod i f i ca t i ons b. Recycle c. Treat /Detox i fy d. Dispose

O Devel op Recommendat i ons O Set Goals O Imlement Plan o f Ac t ion

6. Audi t

O Def ine Measurement Plan O Evaluate Q u a r t e r l y O Conf i rm/Revi se Strategy

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0 I

FIGURE 2 , "

FIGURE 3

L U