Yet Robbins found that ion exchange still required a fair amount of supervision and that acids and bases were needed to regenerate the resin columns. The ion exchange closed-loop system still generated significant amounts of liquid waste for evaporation. Robbins realized significant reductions in the use of sodium hydroxide and muriatic acid as a result of this change. The company's usage of sodium hydroxide was reduced from 500 gallons in 1993 to 20 gallons in 1994. In addition, by using in-process water conservation techniques, Robbins reduced its daily water consumption from 100,000 gallons in 1984 to 5,000 gallons in 1986, to just 156 gallons in 1994.
City water is needed by the closed-loop system only to compensate for evaporation.
These savings are derived only from lowered chemical purchase costs and lowered hazardous waste disposal costs. Mention of any particular equipment or proprietary technology does not represent an endorsement of these products by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This information is available in alternate formats upon request. OTA's confidential, nonregulatory services are available at no charge to Massachusetts businesses and institutions that use toxics. All rights reserved.