Caraustar Custom Packaging

Randy Baker, Junior Mechanical Engineering Student

Grand Valley State University

Project Title: Developing an ISO 14001 plan for Caraustar.

Mr. Randy Baker was assigned to Caraustar, a carton manufacturing company that is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Caraustar is a tier one supplier to the Ford Automotive Company.  Their major operations consist of lamination processes, glue application processes, trimming processes, packaging processes, and scrap collection. 

Mr. Baker assisted Caraustar with the development of their ISO 14001 plan.  The plan was needed to bring the facility into compliance with ISO 14001 standards required by most original equipment manufactures (OEM). The primary goal of the ISO 14001 initiative was to implement an environmental management system to determine if all the products, processes, and services of the company were environmentally friendly.   Mr. Baker also helped established a comprehensive recycling program throughout the plant, which included a plan for implementing a more cost effective way of recycling the pallets and the wood inserts in the core tubes (a cylinder made of compressed paper and glue resin materials used to wrap paper or plastic film stock). It also identified environmental needs for:

·         controlling Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC) emissions from solvent cleaning operations,

·         developing a methodology for selecting  inks and glues;

·         procedures for controlling electricity and natural gas consumption; and

·         procedures for using rechargeable batteries in equipment within the facility 

Secondary goals included a program to reduce the amount of paperboard waste due to a favorable design from which the cartons are made. The implementation of the project resulted in a significant reduction of waste byproducts and a net increase in the number of recycled items.  Mr. Baker’s efforts lead to a projected annual cost savings of approximately $65,500.

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E/M Solutions, Inc.

Yanin Garcia, Senior Environmental Engineering Student

Western Michigan University

Project Title: Implementing chemical and water usage strategies.

Ms. Yanin Garcia was assigned to E/M Solutions, a metal finishing facility that is located in Shelby Township northeast of Detroit, Michigan.  E/M Solutions is a tier one and two supplier to the automotive industry.  Their operations evolve around metal plating processes, and wastewater pretreatment processes.  The project that E/M Solutions implemented was designed to reduce chemical and water usage by 20% and 30% respectively. 

Ms. Garcia achieved the targets by diverting treated wastewater that met the national discharge pollution elimination standards (NDPES) from the filter press to a sand filter to remove additional solids, and then discharging the effluent to the local publicly owned treatment plant (POTW).  The original design sent the effluent from the filter press to a pit for further treatment prior to discharging it to the POTW.  This reduced the amount of processed wastewater that was retreated by 21 percent, and resulted in $6,000 per year of cost savings due to a reduced usage of chemicals.  The associated payback period for the process change was 4.3 days.  The company met their target to reduce water usage by recycling treated wastewater from the zinc phosphate line back into the process line.  Ms. Garcia also developed a strategy that involved a process change that would reduce water usage by 64 percent that led to projected annual cost savings of approximately $7,600, with a 15 month pay back period.  Additional equipment for the process included a new storage tank, a pump, and water lines. 

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E.B. Eddy Paper, Inc.

Jonathan Worbel, Senior Chemical Engineering Student

Wayne State University

Project Title: Developing a mercury minimization plan.

Mr. Jonathan Worbel was assigned to E.B. Eddy Paper, Inc (a.k.a Domtar Industries Inc., Port Huron Mill), a lightweight and specialty paper manufacturer located in Port Huron, Michigan.  The facility houses four paper machines, a wastewater treatment plant, and a power plant.  The facility discharges water into both the Black River and the St. Clair River. 

Mr. Worbel helped E.B. Paper develop a mercury minimization plan that focused on:

• identifying mercury containing devices (MCD), such as U-tube manometers, mercury wetted reed relays, thermostat bulbs, 2-inch industrial thermometers, ring balance controllers, and tilt or float switches; and
• reducing mercury containing products such as sulfuric acid, caustic soda, and other chemicals used in production. 

Mr. Worbel conducted an audit that identified 206 potential MCDs throughout the facility containing an estimated 201 pounds of mercury.  He discovered that more than fifty-five percent of the mercury was contained in equipment that is obsolete, or no longer in use, and a majority of the mercury was contained in a small number of MCDs (older controllers and ring balance recorders).  Mercury content in each controller can vary between 6 and 15 pounds depending on the unit. 

Mr. Worbel had a majority of the companies raw materials (such as sulfuric acid. Caustic soda and other chemicals) tested to determine if they contributed to the mercury waste stream.  Test results showed concentration levels of mercury in all suppliers stock to be less than 0.01 ppm, well below the maximum specification limit of 0.5 ppm.  The company has started replacing some of the devices with modern devices.  Pilot testing of the new devices showed that they are compatible with the existing production processes.

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Gerber Products Company

Terrance Wright, Senior Chemical Engineering Student

Saginaw Valley State University

Project Title: Identifying soft water processes, and quantifying soft water usage plant wide.

Mr. Terrance Wright was assigned to Gerber Products Company, a food packaging facility located in Fremont, Michigan.  The company packages fruits, meats, and vegetables in a variety of packaging media.  Mr. Wright reviewed and implemented two proposals for the company: (1) identify all plant wide processes that use soft water in effort to reduce the use of sodium chloride by 25 percent in the water softening process; and (2) reduce water usage at the plant by 10 percent.  The benefit of reducing the use of soft water at the plant, the company will reduce the impact of sodium chloride in their groundwater discharge, while receiving significant cost savings.   Mr. Wright was able to help Gerber to obtain the goals without sacrificing both plant performance, and product quality. 

Once all soft water users were identified, the next step was to determine the flow rates to each source using an ultrasonic flow meter.  An ultrasonic flow meter attaches to the outside of the pipe and sends sound waves throughout the water to determine fluid velocity.  Production managers evaluated the data collected by Mr. Wright, determined the needs of each of each source, and adjusted the flow rates accordingly.  Gerber Products achieved their target to reduce their use of sodium chloride by 25 percent, which equates to 43200 pounds (per month) at a cost savings of $39,600 per year.  They also identified areas where they can reduce their water consumption by five percent (1.5 million gallons/month) in several production areas and during plant cleanup.  This will result in a projected cost savings of $19,800 per year.

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Good Neighbors’ Mission

Jagdeep Garcha, Graduate Mechanical Engineering Student

Saginaw Valley State University

Project Title: Determining the efficiency of a grain feed boiler.

Mr. Jagdeep Garcha was assigned to Good Neighbors’ Mission, a pantry that provides relief to needy families, located in Saginaw, Michigan.  The mission’s proposal consisted of calibrating a data acquisition system, and to use the system to determine the thermal efficiency of a commercial size grain fired boiler using corn and other grains as a fuel source.  The furnace is used to heat the mission, and it is also used for heating water.  The furnace is a typical unit that can be used at farm cooperatives and similar facilities for heating outside structures, feed lots, supply units, dry grain, and other related activities with spent grain. 

Mr. Garcha first task was to calibrate the data collection system using a bench testing method with materials that have known BTU values.  After calibration, the unit was installed on the mission’s furnace to determine its efficiency using several dried and pelletized grains.  A halogen moisture analyzer was purchased from Mettler-Toledo Inc, and was used to measure the BTU value of the grains to ensure that the grain was completely dry prior to testing (i.e. corn with 20 percent moisture has a heat of combustion of 6,800 BTU per pound, whereas corn with no moisture has a heat combustion of 8,000 BTU per pound).  The method uses direct infrared radiation to dry the sample while simultaneously measuring the mass of the sample.  The data collected by Mr. Garcha will be used to assess the use of grain fired boilers in both residential and commercial facilities as an alternative heating source.

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Michigan Agricultural Stewardship Association (MASA)

Maureen Beck, Senior Agricultural Engineering Student

Michigan State University

Project Title: Water and fuel conservation methods for drip and overhead spray irrigation systems.

Ms. Maureen Beck was assigned to MASA, an association that provides outreach to farmers, teaching them how to incorporate best management practices and to improve crop yield.  Their proposal was to minimize water and fuel consumption using both drip and overhead spray (fixed and traveler) irrigation systems. 

Ms. Beck worked with three vegetable and fruit growers in Hillsdale County; a pepper grower in Lenawee County; and a cash crop farmer in Shiawassee County.   Ms. Beck used a computer-based irrigation scheduling program that determined when to irrigate the crops.  The program uses a simple equation that balances the evapotranspiration with the sum of rainfall and irrigation.  The results of the schedules were checked against tensiometers that monitored soil moisture for accuracy.  Results clearly showed that the drip irrigation system was more efficient than the overhead spray irrigation systems. 

Data collected by Ms. Beck showed that crops using drip irrigation systems were ready for harvest more than two weeks before those irrigated by the overhead systems.  This can be attributed to lower evaporation losses and the ability to place the water close to the plant’s root zone.  It’s higher efficiency lead to reduced water and fuel consumption.  The growers who switched to drip irrigation were very happy with the results, and they will continue to use the drip irrigation systems and the tensiometers with future crops.

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Michigan Hospital Association (MHA)

Travis Dahl, Graduate Mechanical Engineering Student

University of Michigan

Project Title: Surveying medical facilities for P2 awareness and practices.

Mr. Travis Dahl assisted the Michigan Hospital Association (MHA), an association of hospitals that offer a broad range of medical services with circulating a P2 survey to hospitals state wide to assess the progress of Michigan hospitals in their pollution prevention efforts.  The results of this survey will be used to support hospitals in those efforts. 

Mr. Dahl sent the survey to 180 facilities, 34 health care facilities completed and returned the survey (a 19 percent response rate), during the months of July and August 2003.  Responding facilities ranged in size from 23,299 square feet to 4,671,878 square feet, with an average size 714,146 square feet.  Questions targeted areas of: (1) employee education about the effects of mercury; (2) use and exposure to ethylene oxide, and their plans to discontinue usage; (3) energy and water consumption, and their progress to achieve goals;  (4) whether or not the facility has a solid waste reduction plan; (5) progress towards recycling; (6) biohazard use and red tag waste reduction; (7) mercury reduction and disposal; and (8) reduction and alternative use of poly vinyl chloride usage in hospital supplies.  Mr. Dahl compiled the information and gave a presentation to the association and the Center for Sustainable Systems, at the University of Michigan.  The survey gathered useful information that could be used to assist hospitals with growing P2 issues.  A copy of the survey results is available upon request.

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  MSU Extension Service

Lindsay Brown, Senior Agricultural Engineering Student

Michigan State University

Project Title: Effective composting applications for fruit and vegetable row crop systems.

Ms. Lindsay Brown was assigned to Michigan State University’s Extension service to provide educational outreach to farmers and the agricultural community.  The service area covered Ottawa County, located on the Westside of Michigan. 

Ms. Brown assisted MSU Extension Service with outreach demonstrations on how to use and apply compost in small fruit, tree fruit, and vegetable row crop systems. She presented three different methods of composting (static pile, specialized windrow turning equipment, and in-vessel) to farmers at agricultural events on the west side of the state.  The outreach also took into consideration the various types of compost application equipment suitable for certain cropping systems.  A significant number of farmers exceed the “Michigan Right-To-Farm” guidelines of 300 pounds of phosphorus/acre on crop producing fields by applying manure from feed lot operations.  Land application of manure is currently the primary method farmers use to utilize manure nutrients produced on the farm. Removing this option means farmers have to get rid of manure some other way.

Ms. Brown provided farmers with educational outreach that show how composting manure allows phosphorus and various forms of nitrogen are bound in an enriched mixture that slowly releases the nutrients into the soil during the growth cycle of the crop.  This reduces the threat of pollutants entering tributaries during rain events.  Two draft case studies are under development for release.  The results were shared to more than 300 attendees during MSU Extension’s “2003 Ag Expo.”  More than 50 farmers were also able to see the results presented at MSU Extension’s “Compost Methods Field Day” workshop.

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Oceana Foods, Inc.

Jessica Brakora, Senior Environmental Engineering Student

Michigan Technological University

Project Title: Reducing water consumption and BOD at fruit processing plants.

Ms. Jessica Brakora was assigned to Oceana Foods, Inc., a dehydrated fruit processing company located in Shelby, Michigan.  She helped the company with reducing their water use by 25 percent and their biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in their waste stream by 20 percent in a three phase project.  Both of these factors contribute to problems in their onsite wastewater treatment lagoons. 

In phase-one, Ms. Brakora Phase identified key sources of sugar waste and water utilization plant wide; in phase-two she targeted housekeeping procedures where sugar can be captured for reuse rather than disposal; and in the phase-three she identified water conservation projects that minimize water usage plant wide.    Ms. Brakora was very successful at identifying process equipment, operational changes, and work practice standards that met the targets established in each phase of the project.  She identified the dryer system as a process where wasted sugar can be recaptured for distribution through the “Materials Exchange Network,” or for use in animal feed.  This and several work practice standards associated with cleanup procedures can reduce the BOD loading by more than 25 percent to the lagoon system.  Ms. Brakora also researched the use of an additional evaporator water reuse system that showed an estimated 20 percent reduction in water usage if installed.

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Oliver Products, Inc.

Jafer Perez, Junior Electrical Engineering Student

Grand Valley State University

Project Title: Researching multilayer packaging waste recyclers, and scrap waste generation techniques.

Mr. Jafer Perez was assigned to Oliver Products, Inc., a company that develops packaging systems that are primarily used in the medical field with secondary products designed for the food industry.  Oliver Products, Inc. is located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Mr. Parez assisted the company with reducing their scrap waste by locating a recycler that will accept a portion of their waste stream, which consists of a multilayer system made of foil, plastic, and paper.  Very few recyclers will accept multilayer materials for reuse.  Most reuse applications for multimedia packaging are for shock absorbing functions in the shipping industry or other related practices.    Mr. Parez found several customers on the west coast of the United States that would accept Oliver’s waste stream.  However, the shipping cost for transporting the multimedia waste exceeded the revenue from selling the recycled materials.   He was also able to assist the company in developing a process mapping program that mapped out all of the processes at the plant that assisted the company in identifying all of the plant’s production processes, and it also helped in tracking material flow throughout the plant on their existing computer network.  The program will be useful in helping optimize plant operations in the future.  Company representatives stated that the program would assist staff with documentation development needed to acquire their ISO 14001 designation. 

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Quality Metalcraft Inc. (QMC)

James Valanty, Senior Environmental Engineering Student

Western Michigan University

Project Title: Implementing phase-two of an ISO 14001 EMS plan.

Mr. James Valanty was assigned to Quality Metalcraft Inc. (QMC), a company that makes automotive body prototypes (i.e.: fenders, hoods, door panels, trunk lids, and other parts) for the Dodge Viper and Jeep Wrangler, located in Livonia, Michigan.  Mr. Valanty help the company 1) identify waste reduction opportunities; 2) assisted in Phase II of developing procedures for their ISO 14001 Environmental Management System; and 3), to develop a process map for the housekeeping and inventory management.  Mr. Valanty assisted staff in conducting the company's annual inspection that lead to the modification or the development of new and existing Safety and Environmental Tour Checklists.  He also helped document new procedures in the company’s procedures manual, and aided the Emergency Preparedness and Response Team in performing their annual emergency test.

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Uni-boring Company

Tyran Christian, Senior Chemical Engineering Student

Wayne State University

Project Title: Waste minimization of tooling coolant stream.

Mr. Tyran Christian was assigned to Uni-boring Company, a precision machining and assembly facility of power train products for the automotive industry, at two locations in the Greater Detroit, Michigan Area.  They produce automotive components such as engine blocks, manifolds, and crankcases. They are a first-tier supplier to Ford, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler. 

Mr. Christian assisted the company with identifying methods to reduce waste generation and to recycle over 300,000 gallons of tooling coolant waste.  He started looking for P2 opportunities by conducting an audit with staff to review all production processes at the Detroit and Canton facilities.  Several ideas were generated from the audit that can conserve tooling coolant, they are:

(1)     form a coolant management team that would look for coolant leaks, assure proper coolant chemistry (extends tool life), and monitor associated coolant operations;

(2)     purchase a coolant filtration system to extend both tool and coolant life, and allow the coolant to be recycled within specific plant operations (i.e. CNC milling operations); and

(3)     install a tramp oil separator to remove oils that would break down the coolant over time due to bacteria activity.   

Mr. Christian presented a strategy that consisted of a combination of the ideas previously mention that have projected annual cost savings of more than $ 300,000.00 per year, with a pay back of less than 15 months.

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Yamaha Musical Products, Inc.

Josephine Kaiser, Graduate Environmental Engineering Student

Michigan Technological University

Project Title: Product substitution for sodium cyanide.

Ms. Josephine Kaiser was assigned to Yamaha Musical Products, Inc, an electroplater located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Ms. Kaiser assisted the company in finding a substitute for sodium cyanide that is used in the brass chemical treatment area as a surface neutralizer. 

The main purpose of investigating a replacement for the sodium cyanide currently used in production was to increase operator health and safety and to remove a potential health threat if it is accidentally mixed with acid (i.e. forms hydrogen cyanide, a lethal gas).  An extensive search and testing of a number of substitute products lead to the use of a product used by one of Yamaha’s sister companies called Resolve 230.  The change resulted in significant reduction of pretreatment cost of the spent bath, and the removal of a number of strict federal regulation requirements.