Alternatives Assessment Reports
Alternatives Assessment for Toxics Use Reduction. 2005.
|
| TURI Methods & Policy Report No. 23. One of the key challenges in toxics use reduction planning is alternatives assessment. This is the process whereby a chemical, material or product that has been identified as toxic is compared with alternatives to find a substitute that is safer for workers, communities and ecosystems. This report reviews nine methods for alternatives assessment of chemicals that have been developed by government and private organizations in the United States and Europe and is designed to assist Massachusetts companies in the process of alternatives assessment for chemical hazards. Download PDF file (673.18 kB) |
Five Chemicals Study |
|
| Overview of the Five Chemicals Alternatives Assessment Study Read more... | |
Biobased Cleaners: An Assessment
|
| March 30, 2005 presentation by Dr. Carole LeBlanc Download PDF file (327.11 kB) |
Alternatives to Mercury Containing Products, January 2003, |
|
|
Comprehensive alternatives assessment for mercury containing products.
By the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, an affiliate of TURI at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Products reviewed include measuring devices and products with mercury relays and switches. Includes a detailed evaluation of product functionality, health & environmental impacts, costs, and product transition consideration. URL: http://www.maine.gov/dep/mercury/lcspfinal.pdf |
|
Elimination of Acid and Lead on Wire Strand Annealing and Galvanizing, Riverdale Mills Corp. 2000.
|
| TURI Technical Report No. 48. Requiring the addition of a new multi-wire strand galvanizing line to meet growing market demand, Riverdale Mills made the goals of toxics use reduction a large part of the operational requirements of the new line. The company sought to reduce or eliminate the chemicals conventionally used in the process, the byproducts generated and the energy required. These goals required the innovative re-thinking of a mature industrial process. Riverdale Mills chose an induction heating chamber for the annealing process, eliminating the use of lead in the conventional liquid lead annealing process. Following annealing, commercial hot-dip wire galvanizing operations typically use hydrochloric acid in a pickling process, and zinc ammonium chloride as a flux prior to immersion into the zinc bath. Modifying the annealing process and annealing within an inert atmosphere replaced both the pickling and the flux processes; these were replaced by an alkaline soap pre-wash and hot water rinse. Re-engineering the process to eliminate the need to re-heat the wire during processing achieved significant energy savings. Download PDF file (55.55 kB) |
Technology Application Analysis Template Utilizing SuperatorTM Thin Film Oil Recovery System. 1999.
|
| TURI Technical Report No. 47. The design of the Suparator incorporates an innovative adaptation of Bernoulli's Principle. (Fluid flow across an asymmetric foil causes a pressure differential to be applied along the surface of that foil. This pressure differential is the result of the differing fluid velocities required to maintain laminar flow across the asymmetric structure.) The Suparator is capable of recovering thin films of floating oil by utilizing the specific gravity differential between oil and water. The thin-film separation technology used by the Suparator was originally developed for the petroleum refining industry, which required a continuous high efficiency oil-water separation process. This proven technology was adapted to aqueous cleaning applications to address the need for a reliable and consistent oil-water separation method for modern, high-throughput aqueous cleaning processes. The flow rates and oil loadings associated with such modern, high-throughput aqueous cleaning processes often exceed the processing capability of traditional EOP techniques. Download PDF file (5.36 MB) |