Water Watchers
“The steam emissions we collect will go back into our system. Every drop.”
— Ben Robledo, manufacturing engineer
In the Southern California desert, water cannot be taken for granted. At American Industrial Manufacturing Services in Murrieta, no one does. Especially not Remanufacturing Specialist Adolfo Chavez who keeps an eye on the company’s daily water use.
Chavez makes certain that he and his 115 co-workers watch every single drop. Literally.
Since 1997, the company has been recycling 100 percent of its manufacturing process water, cleaning water and even air conditioning condensate – or 200 gallons of water daily – with zero discharge to the city’s sewer system. All this is on top of the company’s primary function of remanufacturing automotive starter motors and alternators.
Remanufacturing itself is an advanced form of recycling that involves the disassembly of products into their component parts.
Components then are remanufactured, assembled and tested, emerging as close-to-new products. Most of the materials, energy, labor and capital equipment contributions used to produce the near-new products are retained for reuse.
That includes the water – all the water.
Here is how the water recycling works. During the process of disassembling, cleaning and reassembling used starter motors and alternators, Chavez washes the starter and alternator units in hot water and aqueous cleaners. The discharged water then filters through the company’s own recycling system, which removes all grease and chemicals. After this cycle, the now-clean water is routed back into the system’s main storage tank for reuse.
Chavez’s co-workers mop the plant floors with the recycled water.
After the floors are clean, Chavez filters the leftover mop water back through the system, cleaning it again. The recycled water is also used to rinse all soiled work gloves, rags and mop heads before laundering. Soap, grease and dirt from the laundry rinse and wash cycles are filtered out through the recycling system and again routed back as clean water into the system’s holding tank.
For this ingenious system of water conservation, the California Water Environment Association named American Industrial Manufacturing Services its Southern California Plant of the Year back in 1997.
What next?
“Our water-related goals include developing an alternative to water-based painting and a steam collection and condensation system,” says Manufacturing Engineer Ben Robledo.
“The steam emissions we collect will go back into our system. Every drop.”
Meanwhile, VOC’s, or volatile organic chemicals, which are a major contributor to smog in California, have been eliminated from our painting process.
Feature Story: Reclamation Fever
Feature Story: As the Worm Turns
