E AP Project Summary

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Innovative Clean Technologies

Case Studies, Second Year

Project Report

Angel Martin-Dias, Editor

Risk Reduction

Engineering Laboratory

Cincinnati, OH 45268

Research and Development

The Innovative Clean Technologies

Case Studies contained herein are the

products of the “Pollution Prevention

by and for Small Business” Program

(P2SB). The P2SB was an outreach

program directed to small businesses

that had developed innovative concepts

for pollution prevention in their industries. The P2SB focused on high-risk

concepts without emphasis on media

or industry in order to provide an open

program where ground-breaking concepts were given a fair opportunity.

The P2SB provided awards of up to

$25,000 to assist small businesses for

conducting their own demonstrations

of pollution prevention techniques and

technologies and for advancing their

products towards a practical stage.

In its second year, the P2SB funded

projects in a variety of industries across

the nation. This publication provides a

history of the P2SB and lists case histories of the projects funded in the second year. An earlier report entitled

“Innovative Clean Technologies Case

Studies” (EPA/600/R-93/175) covering

the first year of the program is already

available.

This Project Summary was developed

by EPA’s Risk Reduction Engineering

Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce

key findings of the research project

that is fully documented in a separate

report of the same title (see Project

Report ordering information on back).

Introduction

In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established a 2% set-aside

program to fund pollution prevention initiatives from across the Agency. These

set-asides were instituted to encourage

the research, development and demonstration of pollution prevention concepts,

techniques, and technologies nationwide.

One such initiative, Pollution Prevention

by and for Small Business (P2SB), was

proposed by EPA’s Office of Small and

Disadvantaged Business Utilization

(OSDBU) with the support of EPA’s Office

of Research and Development (ORD).

This initiative was selected for funding under the pollution prevention 2% set-aside,

with co-funding provided by ORD. The

P2SB was managed through a cooperative agreement with the Center for Hazardous Materials Research (CHMR), and

some of the P2SB small businesses received additional support for the commercialization of their technologies through

the National Environmental Technology

Applications Center (NETAC). Nineteen

trade associations supported the program

though promotion, advice, and information transfer.

The P2SB provided awards of up to

$25,000 to assist small businesses for

conducting their own demonstrations of

pollution prevention techniques and technologies and for advancing their concepts

to a practical stage. The P2SB was a 3-

year program, ending September 1993,

with awards being made in the 1991 and

1992 fiscal years of the federal government.

The recipients of the grants applied their

own knowledge and expertise in the field

to structure their projects and data collection activities in a manner they determined

EPA/600/SR-94/169 September 1994
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would provide the most effective means

of furthering the development of their concepts. The reader should be aware that

the data provided in these summaries are

not the results of third party evaluations.

The in-house demonstrations were completed in 14 to 16 months, and reports

were filed with CHMR, which in turn developed research briefs for Agency review. These research briefs have been

reorganized into the chapters of this publication. The technologies are considered

promising research and development concepts, and while several have advanced

towards commercialization, others require

further investigation and testing. All are

presented to provide the reader the opportunity to contact the small business

demonstrator for potential uses.

The success of the P2SB program depends on the involvement of the trade

associations who sponsor presentations

by the participating small businesses at

annual conferences and regional workshops. This initiative was developed to

support critical pollution prevention efforts

in a variety of facilities and industries that

might not otherwise have the chance or

the resources to reduce wastes or to test

and implement their innovative ideas. The

P2SB was an attempt to support promising ventures and encourage further development. It also expanded EPA’s

knowledge of pollution prevention needs

in different sectors, supporting government, business, and public cooperation

in finding ways to prevent pollution.

The full report was submitted in fulfillment of Cooperative Agreement # 817670

by Center for Hazardous Material Research under the sponsorship of the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency.

Project Title Author(s) Research Institution Abstract

Phase II and III Vented Two Reggie D. Huff Acro-Tech, Inc., Tigard, This project assessed a concept to improve the induction proStages Valves for Internal OR 97223 cess of the internal engine. The task of the induction cycle is

Combustion Engines to move air and fuel molecules from an inlet Venturi so they

can be burned efficiently. This design facilitates a reduction in

mechanical stress and an increased efficiency in air flow

dynamics. The net results are expected to be improved

engine performance, decreased emissions, and enhanced

fuel efficiency.

Pollution Prevention Through Arthur Schwartz Earth Safe Industries, Formaldehyde, a major component of most biological

Use of a Formaldehyde- & Barbara Schwartz Inc., Belle Mead, NJ 08502 preservatives, is a toxic air pollutant; 67 billion lb of this

Free Biological Preservative substance are produced in the United States annually. NoToX

is a nontoxic, biological preservative intended to replace

formaldehyde in a variety of applications. This project

demonstrated the effectiveness of NoToX in eliminating air

pollution and in acting as an effective, long-term preservative

and fixative.

Substitution of Biodegradable Joe S. Wilkins, Environmental Pesticide Low toxicity, biodegradable, natural products (terpenes

Low Toxicity Natural Products Jr. & Joe Wilkins, Sr. Group, Pasadena, TX 77502 isolated from citrus fruit peel) can be substituted for toxic

for the Killing of Fire Ants chemicals for the effective killing of fire ants in agricultural

settings or on residential lawns. This project showed that

citrus fruit terpene compounds are as effective as commonly

used insecticides, less expensive, and rapidly biodegradable

in the environment.

Pollution Prevention in Mandar Sunthankar IonEdge Corporation, Cadmium is electroplated on many industrial components

Cadmium Plating Fort Collins, CO 80526 because of its desirable lubricity and corrosion resistance.

However, the use of cyanide baths in electroplating and the

toxic waste disposal related to cadmium are of significant

environmental concern. In recent years, 50/50 zinc-cadmium

alloy coating has shown promise as an alternative to cadmium. A novel dry plating has been developed that eliminates

liquid chemicals and prevents solid waste generation by using

in situ reclamation. This project showed that the lubricity of

this alloy is competitive with that of cadmium and superior to

that of known values of zinc.

Particulate and Hydrocarbon Guy Lauziere Production Machinery, Inc., This project assessed whether particulate emissions are

Emissions Reduction during Jim Wilson Bend, OR 97709; reduced or eliminated when wood veneer is dried using Radio

Wood Veneer Drying Operations Oregon State University, Frequency (RF) energy as compared to conventional energy

Forestry Products sources. Current dryers use natural gas, wood waste, or

Department, Corvallis, OR electric resistance heating of veneers. The premise is that RF

energy, attracted directly to the water in the wood, is able to

heat the water and drive it from the wood cells at lower

temperatures than are required by conventional dryers. Due

to the lower temperatures, there is little or no release of

hydrocarbons from the wood compared to emissions

generated from other types of dryers.
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Project Title Author(s) Research Institution Abstract

Conductive Polymer Composites Harry S. Katz Utility Development Improved polymer matrix conductive coatings and adhesives

to Replace Heavy Metals in & Radha Agarwal Corporation, are needed to replace current products that use heavy

Coatings and Adhesives Livingston, NJ 07039 metals. This project presented a low-cost polymer adhesive

that has equivalent conductivity to those currently available

and assessed its physical and electrical properties. It

focused on the inclusion of short graphite fibers, carbon/

graphite microspheres, and conductive carbon powder fillers

and the conductive elements.

Compound Adiabatic Air Condi- Jamends F. Mattil Climatran Corporation, Adiabatic air conditioning (AAC) is a water-based cooling

tioning for Transit Buses Englewood, CO 80155 process that requires minimal energy and uses no refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). This project

assessed the performance of an AAC system installed on a

bus and operated under a variety of climate conditions

representative of summer design conditions in selected

metropolitan areas.

Reducing Heavy Metal Content Roger Telschow Ecoprint,

in Offset Printing Inks Silver Spring, MD 20910 A commercial offset printing ink is created using pigments

with no heavy metals, thus preventing pollution in three key

areas: (1) the waste ink that must be handled as a hazardous waste; (2) the printed materials that are landfilled or

incinerated; and (3) the sludge that is created during the deinking and repulping of waste paper fibers as they are made

into recycled paper. The result of the testing throughout the

project was the creation of a “palette” of colored inks with a

low heavy metal content.

Reusing Zinc Plating Chemicals Douglas Brothers Global Plating, Inc., The project proposed to recover zinc chloride and other

Fremont, CA 94538 chemicals used in zinc plating through ultrafiltration and

reverse osmosis membranes in order to reduce the amount

of hazardous waste generated, remove chlorides from the

wastewater, and permit reuse of the reclaimed metals. It

assessed the effectiveness of the membranes, but technical

difficulties prohibited the actual recycling of zinc and plating

bath chemicals.

In-Ground Plastic Container Carl E. Whitcomb Lacebark, Inc., The use of a new in-ground, plastic container system was

Production System to Reduce Stillwater, OK 74076 investigated that reduced nitrate and phosphate pollution

Nitrate and Phosphate Pollution from above-ground container nurseries. Above-ground

container nurseries may use in excess of 2,000 lb of

nitrogen per acre per year; much of the fertilizer applied to

containers may be lost through leaching and spillage. The

project proposed the technique that could reduce fertilizer

application rate by 50% or more (compared with conventional above-ground containers) when plants are grown in

plastic containers submerged in the earth. In addition,

irrigation water demand could be reduced.

Reuse of Metal Fabrication Scott R. Taylor S.R. Taylor and Associates, Metal working and finishing operations generate wastewater

Wastewaters via a Novel Bartlesville, OK 74003 containing cutting and cooling fluids along with metal parUltrasonic Coalescence ticles and oils. Currently, this entire volume of wastewater

Process must be disposed of as a hazardous waste. This project

studied the effectiveness of a novel ultrasonic technique that

separates the hazardous contaminants from the fluids so

that the bulk microemulsion phase can be reused. A

multistage, multifrequency operation was built to assess the

commercial potential of the recovered oil phase and the solid

sludges, and to evaluate the long-term stability and

usefulness of recycled fluids.
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Project Title Author(s) Research Institution Abstract

Reduction or Elimination of Larry Stenger & Water Equipment Technol- Cooling towers used in air conditioning applications are a

Cooling Tower Chemicals Thomas Dobbs ogies, West Palm Beach, familiar site near many buildings. Since cooling towers are

FL 33411 vast heat exchangers, the water in the tower becomes a

perfect incubator to grow bacteria, algae, and fungi. Cooling

towers are also plagued by corrosion, scale, and sediment

accumulation. This project utilized a zinc and copper alloy

placed in the cooling tower sump. The reaction of the

cooling tower water with the alloy raises the water’s pH, thus

reducing corrosion, preventing algae formation, and

destroying bacteria. This reduces or eliminates the need for

chemical algaecides, fungicides, corrosion inhibitors, and

scale inhibitors currently used to maintain cooling towers.

Pre-Charged Vacuum Liquid Lowell Goodman Technical Support Services, An innovative device has been developed and tested that

Extractor/Containerization South Thomaston, provides simple, spill-free extraction of used oil from equipDevice ME 04858 ment during routine maintenance activities such as engine

oil changes. The objective of this project is to design, test,

and evaluate this device for use in other applications.

Successful development of this device will provide a

mechanism to remove and contain material in otherwise

difficult extraction situations, thereby promoting recovery and

recycling of material that is frequently disposed.

Environmentally Safe Fountain David R. Johns Summit Resource An ecologically compatible fountain solution for the printing

Solutions for the Printing Management, Inc., industry was formulated. This new solution eliminated isoIndustries Fort Wayne, IN 46804 propyl alcohol and mineral acids. Ethylene glycol was also

reduced through the substitution of propylene-based glycol.

These reductions and substitutions decreased the levels of

harmful vapors in the air and reduced the amount of toxins

released into the printer’s wastewater system.
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Angel Martin-Dias is with the Center for Hazardous Materials Research,

Pittsburgh, PA 15238.

Kenneth R. Stone is the EPA Project Officer (see below).

The complete report, entitled “Innovative Clean Technologies Case Studies,

Second Year Project Report,” (Order No. PB95-100079; Cost: $36.50,

subject to change) will be available only from:

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161

Telephone: 703-487-4650

The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:

Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Cincinnati, OH 45268

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

EPA

PERMIT No. G-35

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

Center for Environmental Research Information

Cincinnati, OH 45268

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use

$300

EPA/600/SR-94/169