A UNIT OPERATIONS APPROACH TO WASTE MINIMIZATION

Experience with waste minimization audits has shown that there are pro blems which are common to multiple industrial categories. Presently, t here is no easy way to identify waste minimization techniques develope d in one industry and apply them to another industry. Additionally, th ere is no technique available allowing researchers to attack problems at their source where changes will have the greatest impact on hazardo us waste generation. This work reports on a method to describe industr ial wastes in terms of six sets: Laboratory, Reaction, Separation, Mec hanical, Housekeeping and Transportation wastes. These are broken down further by the three basic unit operation sets of processes: Processe s, Unit Operations and Unit Operation Configurations. A solutions data base was developed that is described in terms of these sets. The top 8 23 waste generators in South Carolina and their associated 4031 waste streams were also described in terms of the sets. It was found that th e greatest amount of hazardous waste was generated by operations in th e reactions set. Solutions that are applicable to multiple industrial categories include rinsing, cleaning, and mixing. The unit operations approach was found to be a useful approach for database analysis.