Immersion tanks and batch cabinet spray equipment costs

The manufacturing sector has experienced a transition with its' industrial cleaning methods, turning away from chlorinated solvent vapor degreasing towards more environmentally acceptable alternative industrial cleaning processes. In support of this change, it has become necessary to develop tools that allow preliminary economic evaluations of these alternatives. The research detailed in this thesis was undertaken to further develop the economic tools of the Solvent Alternatives GuidE (SAGE) computer program originally developed by the Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate this transition. The costs of industrial cleaning equipment were investigated for aqueous, semi-aqueous, and hydrocarbon cleaning technologies. The costs of two basic equipment configurations were identified as capable of being modeled, immersion tanks and batch cabinet spray washers. This thesis details three cost models for immersion tanks as a function of their volume. The models differ on the materials of construction, carbon steel, stainless steel, and both carbon and stainless steel construction. In addition, eight process options were identified and modeled for immersion tanks. These options were ultrasonics, mechanical agitation, particle filtration, rotating basket mechanism, immersed jets, air sparging, vapor extraction, and oil skimmers. An additive procedure is suggested from which a total estimate of the cost of immersion equipment can be made. Also detailed, is a cost model for batch cabinet spray equipment. This model, suitable for estimating the cost of both top-load and front-load equipment configurations, is a function of total equipment volume, i.e., spray chamber volume plus reservoir volume. A comparison of cost estimates for three immersion tanks between those generated using the aforementioned cost models and vendor quotes demonstrated that the models were capable of providing cost estimates within the ±30 per cent accuracy levels required of a study estimate in traditional process engineering design. Finally, the annualized costs of an alternative process are projected in which the calculations performed detail some of the design considerations necessary to evaluate an alternative industrial cleaning process.