What is Recycling Technology?

 

 

While conventional sealing technologies have made major advances in terms of quality and consistency, increasing concerns over the efficiencies and effluent impact of the process has led to increased research towards a more friendly and effective solution.

 

In traditional impregnation processes, up to 90% of the sealant consumed goes down the drain as effluent from the cold water wash tank. This is not only wasteful and adds cost to the process, but also brings a greater financial burden to bear on companies that are facing ever-increasing environmental legislation and concerns. The growing need for manufacturers to reduce bottom-line costs and address environmental issues led Ultraseal International to develop the world's first recycling sealant in 1987. This revolutionary sealant, offered all the qualities of conventional sealant but with the added commercial and environmental advantages of being recyclable.

 

Instead of being simply washed down the drain and wasted, the sealant is collected from the wash tank and passed through the Ultraseal Sealant Recovery System (SRS) for retrieval and reuse.

 

With sealant consumption reduced by up to 90% and water usage also significantly cut, users have been quick to see the benefits - particularly as zero effluent is produced from the cold wash tank, creating an associated reduction in treatment costs.

 

 

 

Ultraseal Water Recycling System

Ultraseal's latest development is its Water Recycling System for the hot cure stage of the impregnation process. This last piece of the recycling jigsaw allows the whole impregnation process to be practically effluent free. Without this breakthrough, hot cure tanks have to be periodically drained and cleaned, a process that can take hours because of health and safety regulations, resulting in loss of valuable production time.

 

The Water Recycling System works by continuously pumping hot water from the hot cure tank to an energy efficient distillation unit where the water is purified before returning to the hot cure tank for re-use. Only a tiny amount of concentrated waste is produced during the distillation process - less than one per cent of the volume in the water tank. During distillation it is separated from the water and collected automatically for disposal.

 

The Water Recycling System offers several cost savings:

 

• Less water used
• Less energy required to heat water
• Lower bills for effluent disposal
• No production down-time

Moreover, the combination of a Water Recycling System on the hot cure module and a Sealant Recycling System on the cold wash module creates a totally closed loop, effluent free impregnation system - for the first time.