MANAGEMENT ATTENTION TO TRAINING AND
OPERATION PRODUCES ZERO DISCHARGE
Charles F. Niles, Jr., Principal Engineer
Henry B. Steeg Division
Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
Clarence H. Helbing, Senior Environmental Engineer
Knauf Fiber Glass
Shelbyville, Indiana 46176
INTRODUCTION
A paper entitled "Plant Effluent Recycle and ReUse-P.P.G. Industries, Works 50, Shelbyville, Indiana" [ 1] was presented at the Purdue Industrial Waste Conference in May 1971.
This paper reported, with considerable pride, the results of certain pilot plant testing procedures and the fact that a full scale recycle and reuse system was under design which would
eliminate all process effluent from the fiberglass insulation manufacturing plant. It was also
concluded that the operation of the designed system would result in a large reduction in
water use in the manufacturing process.
There was reason to believe that this study was considered in setting the EPA guidelines
for effluent limitations upon fiberglass insulation manufacturing installations constructed
subsequent to the paper's publication. A review of the 1971 paper and its conclusions will
assist in understanding the problem reported in this paper.
The forming of the fiberglass insulation produced a wastewater containing phenol and
glass fibers. These waste concentrations resulted from the normal cleaning processes and
periodic cleanouts of the forming machines, and were discharged directly to the Big Blue
River, a relatively small stream, despite its name. The discharge of these contaminants
directly to the river became prohibited and the discharge of the phenols into the public
sewer system was not possible due to the concentration of phenols which would be present
in the raw sewage received by the municipal treatment plant.
A review of the basic manufacturing process will enable a better understanding of the
wastes experienced and the solution to the wastewater problem. Reference to Figure 1
shows the basic manufacturing process in use in 1971. Glass threads are dispersed with a
forced gas flame onto a moving chain (forming chain). As the glass threads descend onto the
Figure 1. Basic PPG "Superfine"
system in 1971.
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