Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 12

WHAT IS SAND RECLAMATION? Sand Reclamation is the physical, chemical, or thermal treatment of used foundry casting sands so that they can safely and effectively be re-used for molding and coremak- ing applications. WHY BOTHER WITH SAND REC- LAMATION? Acquisition Costs For many years, sand was cheap and readily available for foundry applications. Over time, we have seen the costs of sand grow due to increased mining costs, increased transportation costs, increased Quality Assurance costs, Alternative Higher Profit Applications (such as Frac Sand), etc. Sand reclamation will allow re-use of sand, which reduces the amount of new virgin sand which must be sourced in order to maintain pro- duction. Disposal Costs For many years, most cities, coun- ties, and even many foundries had their own landfills where spent sand synthetic sand being in the range of 10+ times higher than standard silica sand, it will make reclama- tion significantly more important in order to remain profitable with increased material costs. SAND RECLAMATION SYSTEMS There are 2 major types of sand reclamation systems: • Mechanical • Thermal A mechanical reclamation system uses motion energy to physically break down chunks of spent cast- ing sand into a clean, usable, grain size sand. A thermal reclamation system takes sand that has been broken down to grain size in a mechanical reclamation system and adds heat energy in order to burn the re- maining resins off the sand. In most cases, a mechanical rec- lamation system is a requirement before a thermal reclamation system can be added. Historical- ly, most foundries go through the evolution of: • No reclamation – all spent sand is thrown out • Add a Mechanical Reclamation System and become skilled at using it • Later add a Thermal Reclamation System to further expand the savings There are a smaller percentage of foundries who will add an entire new molding line and will include new mechanical and thermal recla- mation systems from the start. SAND RECLAMATION BASICS 31 Continued on next page BACK TO BASICS JACK PALMER President PALMER MANUFACTURING & SUPPLY, INC. ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS: • Understanding the importance of reclamation • Reducing costs with reclamation • Environmental impact could be disposed of. Over time, there have been many changes in regards to safety regulations, health codes, etc that have greatly reduced the number of disposal facilities and increased the disposal regulations. With this comes a much higher cost for disposal. Sand reclamation will allow re-use of sand, which reduces the amount of used sand which must be disposed of. Environmental Responsibility Less new sand usage helps to maintain Earth’s resources. More sand re-use reduces waste. It’s just the right thing to do, both financially and environmen- tally. Silica Exposure Limits and Syn- thetic Sands With the current silica rules and the inability of some foundries to meet the exposure limits, one of the solutions pursued by some is to completely remove silica from their facility and switch over to a synthetic sand. With costs of