INNOVATIVE ACID PICKLING WASTES TREATMENT AT
UNIVERSAL-CYCLOPS STAINLESS STEEL PLANT
Thomas O. Winans, Superintendant
Specialty Steel Division
Universal-Cyclops
Coshocton, Ohio 43812
Douglas E. Dreier, Vice President
Research and Development
Walker Process Division
Chicago Bridge and Iron Company
Aurora, Illinois 60506
INTRODUCTION
The Coshocton Plant is part of the Cyclops Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh.
It was built on a green field site in 1958 and 1959.   Over the past twenty years it has expanded several times to its present day capacity of approximately 40,000 ton of stainless
steel strip annually.   Markets include automotive trim, wheel cover, cutlery, appliance ware,
paneling and the like.   This plant is a cold finishing operation.   Coils of stainless are delivered
directly from a hot mill, located at another Cyclops plant.   The coils are trimmed, annealed
and cleaned, then cold reduced and reannealed several times, temper passed, slit, and packaged
for shipment.   The plant is located about 5 miles south of Coshocton, Ohio.   The plant's
wastewater discharges to the Muskingum River.
In the annealing or softening of stainless steels, (after it's work hardened at the cold
reduction mills), an oxidation takes place on the surface of the strip at the 2000 F anneal
temperature.   This scale must subsequently be removed, usually by acid pickling.   There are
four m^jor continuous pickling operations in the plant.
la- mn*
18" Br. Anneal & Fir
-
1
48-  Anneal S Pickle
1
Acid Storagt 1 Keut.
|—|i—i
1
a.
Int. Anneal 1 Pickle
Fin. Anneal 1 Pickle
24- unit
Finishing
Motor Roo*
Motor Rooir
36" 1 48"  Mills
36* Br. Anneal
Figure 1.   Plant layout.
Figure 1 outlines the general arrangement of the plant with the major sources of waste
being:
1. The Hot Cleaning Line, which scale cleans heavy gauge strip by a shot blast followed
by acid tub immersion.
2. The Intermediate Anneal and Pickle Line, which processes two narrow strands at intermediate gauges (0.060-0.150 in.).
3. The Final Anneal and Pickle Line, similar to the intermediate line but for final gauges
(0.020-0.060 in.).
4. The 48 in Anneal and Pickle Line, which processes all gauges of strip in wide widths
(up to 48 in.).
5. The acid neutralization plant.
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