Manufacturing Assistance Program

P2 Internship Case Study: Alcore Corporation

Company Profile
Edgewood-based Alcore Corporation, produces aerospace-grade, aluminum honeycomb products for companies such as Boeing and Airbus.

With $10-20 million in annual sales, Alcore employs 130 people in its 100,000 square-foot facility, which it has occupied since 1999.

Situation
Alcore was looking for ways to reduce phosphorous—an environmental pollutant—from its wastewater.

Honeycomb core manufacturing starts with an aluminum foil anodizing process to develop an aluminum oxide surface coating. This is the first step in producing a highly corrosion-resistant product required by the aerospace industry.

The aluminum anodizing process involves passing the aluminum foil through a series of baths, one of which contains phosphoric acid. That acid breaks down the surface of the foil, allowing aluminum and water to form an aluminum oxide film on the metal. Phosphorus enters the waste stream from the rinse cycle. Carryover from the bath to the rinse is controlled to maintain the chemistry of the process bath. Periodic additions of water and phosphoric acid are required to maintain bath concentration levels.

Phosphorus, which also comes from fertilizers and sewage, contributes to excess algae growth, which can deprive water of oxygen when it dies and decays, potentially harming fish and other aquatic life.

Alcore operates in compliance with environmental regulations, although a surcharge is imposed by Harford County for the phosphorus in its wastewater. Harford County is experiencing rapid growth, and the local waste water treatment plant’s ability to stay within allowable parameters could potentially limit future expansion in the County.

Solution
Alcore contacted UMMAP, which has worked with the company since the 1980s in a variety of consulting capacities.

Paul Gietka, manager of UMMAP’ environmental program, met with Alcore, then recruited Matthew Hafner, an undergraduate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland, to participate in a Pollution Prevention Internship Project to examine methods to reduce the phosphoric wastewater levels created in the anodizing process. The internship was jointly sponsored by UMMAP and the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Hafner worked part-time during spring 2004 learning about pollution prevention and studying Alcore’s anodizing process. He then worked full-time during summer 2004, completing his assessment of the problem and collecting data, spending much of his time on the factory floor. Ray Levesque, Alcore’s R&D manager, along with Manufacturing Engineer Jamie Barnett, guided Matt’s efforts while in the plant and allowed Matt to tap into their extensive knowledge of the anodizing process.

Hafner then worked part-time in the fall preparing a report detailing his findings. He proposed an ion exchange system, which would control aluminum bath concentrations, enabling Alcore to maintain the bath chemistry for a longer time with fewer additions and less carryover of the rinse bath.

“The problem is aluminum builds up in the bath,” said Gietka, “so you have to dump part of it, which also discharges phosphorus in the wastewater. By re-using the bath, it reduces the amount you have to dump.”

Results
Hafner estimated Alcore could save as much as $37,000 per year using the ion exchange system. Water usage would be reduced by 23,000 gallons per year, with an annual cost savings of $100. Over $1,100 would be saved each year on the phosphorous surcharge, as less acid would be carried over into the wastewater. The largest savings would come from phosphoric acid usage, which could be cut by 75 percent per year, at a $36,000 annual savings. Hafner also solicited budgetary quotes for ion exchange systems that put the cost in the $50,000 range. Additional costs for installation, operation and maintenance would depend upon the system selected. .

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