Graham Magnetics, Inc.

Year Submitted: 2003

Process: Filter maintenance

Industry: Electronics Manufacturing

Wastes Reduced: Sludge

Substance: Paint Sludge

Equipment: Mill Grinder

Location: Graham TX

No. of employees: 420

Contact: Alan Johnson

Phone: (817) 549-4500

Description:

During the preparation of reel to reel coating slurries for magnetic tapes, magnetic particles, solvents, resins, and additives are combined in a milling operation to prepare a mixture with the consistency of paint for coating on a plastic film. This mixture must be filtered to remove large magnetic particles and any other contamination from the process which would adversely affect the finished product. During the process of changing the filters, several gallons of slurry is exposed to air, which reduces the
A method was developed to allow the addition of the slurry exposed to the air back into an earlier part of the milling process, conserving the raw materials in the slurry and reducing the quantity of Class II non-hazardous waste generated by this process.

P2 Application:

Graham Magnetics has begun material re-use to successfully reduce the expense and volume of the wastes produced from the Reel to Reel Magnetic Tape filtration process.

Environmental Benefits:

The successful implementation of this project dramatically reduced the volume of Class II non-hazardous wastes from Graham Magnetics reel to reel milling operations. It has also reduced the volume of raw materials required and the amount of hazardous materials handled.

Details of Reductions

Additional Information :

In 1993, the project resulted in a cost savings of more than $57,000.

Source: TCEQ