A large ductile iron spin-casting foundry was offered a perceived lower cost calcium silicate cement-based heavy metal stabilization product as a replacement for EnviroBlend®. The apparent front-end cost savings made this product look attractive but after a two-year overall cost study, the actual cost of using the silicate cement-based product proved to be significantly higher.
Maintenance labor costs were extremely high over this trial period due to the attention needed to keep the material from clogging lines. This coupled with the spare parts costs from the frequent damage to screw feeder equipment and the shortened life span of the baghouse filter socks proved that EnviroBlend was the lower cost and better choice for the foundry. Reagent usage and cost were also down in comparison to the silicate cement-based product.
Since making the switch to EnviroBlend, the foundry has had no clogging of feed equipment, piping, or any other frequent and urgent problems from the reagent. TCLP results have proved to be in compliance and the overall liability of this waste stream has decreased due to a steady feed of the EnviroBlend.