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Q&As since 1989


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Disposing of used cleaners and acids

 

How do I dispose used cleaners and acids?

Karen Smith
- Dearborn, Michigan

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That would depend on the cleaner, acid, and contaminants.

James Totter, CEF
- Tallahassee, Florida
 

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Your question is pretty broad, Ms. Smith. They can be hauled by a licensed hauler, batch treated, or bled into the continuous treatment system for the process line. The acid may be useable as a neutralizing reagnet in the treatment system. Which approach is better, or which is required, depends on a number of things. Please give us some more details if you'd like people to suggest the most applicable approaches.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
 

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It depends on the volumes and frequency. Can you provide better details/more info?

Tom Baker
wastewater treatment specialist - Warminster, Pennsylvania
 

Karen, before answering this, I need much more information. Is this an on going operations or just a one shot deal? How much material do you have? What are your discharge limits? What materials are you permitted to discharge? Do you have any waste treatment capabilities on site? What materials were in contact with the acid? What acids were used? What materials are present in the cleaners? What soils did the cleaners remove? Let me know the details and I can probibly suggest how to dispose of those materials.

Roy Nuss
Trevose, Pennsylvania, USA