Operation of a Treatment Works
Handling the Wastes from the
Processing of Truck Bodies
H. S. GARCEAU, Plant Engineer
Farm Equipment Division, Louisville Works
International Harvester Company
Louisville, Kentucky
INTRODUCTION
The plant involved is a large, complex manufacturing installation which includes
all operations pertaining to pouring of automotive castings, forging of steel gears for
shafts and associated automotive parts and the forming and welding of sheet metal
for our finished assemblies. Also included in the complete manufacture of four and
six cylinder engines, transmission and differential gear assemblies. All of these parts
must be cleaned either for assembly or for painting or both. With this great diversification it can be readily seen that there are many types of cleaning operation. A disposal system for liquid wastes that will handle all of our operations is necessary. In
addition to the washing operations there is a need to dispose of paint booth solutions,
soluble oil solutions used in gray iron and steel cutting and turning, cutting and
quench oils for gear manufacturer and heat treat, and disposal of a complete field of
hydraulic fluids including the non-flammable liquids. For processing truck bodies,
cabs, fenders, hoods, and other sheet metal parts, a six stage washing process is used
which is standard practice in motor truck and farm tractor plants.
To clean and prepare sheet metal, bodies and miscellaneous parts for painting,
they are washed with 1/4 oz/gal alkaline cleaner from one to three min at 160-180 F.
The parts are rinsed in clear hot water for one min at the next two stations. The
fourth station is 1/4 oz/gal iron or zinc phosphate at 180 F. Station 5 is a clear rinse.
Station 6 is a hot, one min, 1/10 oz/gal chromic acid rinse.
Back wall paint booth water curtains and paint booth tanks contain caustic to
"kill" the paint. The water may be filtered to remove paint scum and reused, but
when disposal is necessary, the water goes to the liquid waste disposal system. Other
wash operations use emulsion with kerosene and this solution also goes to the same
liquid waste disposal system.
Machine coolants, waste oils and washing machine liquids amount to 30,000
gal/50 hr. The waste treatment equipment will process 50 gpm, or in ten hr we can
clarify liquid waste from 50 hr of operation. This system provides settling time
with necessary desludging, free oil removal and water treatment.
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
In planning a treatment works the first step should be to first list all solutions
and liquids in use, their purpose, quantity, and other pertinent data. It may be found
that many different trade name solutions are similar and by eliminating different
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