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Resources, Conservation and Recycling

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec

Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction

through cleaner production application for a zinc electroplating
industry in Istanbul
Basak Daylan a,b, , Nilgun Ciliz a,b , Aydin Mammodov a,b
a
Bogazici University, Institute of Environmental Science, Hisar Campus, 34342 Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey
b
Sustainable Development and Cleaner Production Center, Hisar Campus,34342 Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The metal nishing industry consumes a range of chemicals that are considered hazardous to human
Received 19 January 2012 health and the environment. The technology and processes used in metal nishing operations such as
Received in revised form 3 September 2013 electroplating of metal parts and rinsing operations are the major sources of environmental pollution. The
Accepted 6 September 2013
aim of this study is to achieve a more efcient use of raw materials and water and to reduce the rinsing
water consumption and hazardous waste generation for the selected zinc electroplating plant. This can
Keywords:
be achieved through source reduction and material reuse and recovery that will lead to reduction in total
Metal nishing
amount of waste, emissions and waste toxicity. The zinc electroplating process and its resulting envi-
Zinc electroplating
Cleaner production
ronmental loads were investigated within the scope of the study, by considering the cleaner production
Counter current rinsing (CP) opportunities. The proposed source reduction options include (a) closed loop cleaning system that
Closed loop cleaning eliminates hazardous chemical consumption as a technology modication and (b) counter current rinsing
and drag-out tank application as an on-site reuse/recovery/recycling. The CP assessment methodologies
implemented in the study cover on-site plant auditing and mass-balance analysis of zinc electroplating
process. In order to determine all involved inputs and outputs, measurements and data collection were
performed for the related process ows as a part of the mass-balance analysis. The selected CP oppor-
tunities were evaluated in terms of their environmental benets and economic feasibility. The results of
the study indicate that implementation of the closed loop cleaning system prevents hazardous chemical
consumption by utilizing aqueous cleaning solutions instead of toxic solvents resulting in 14.7% chemi-
cal and 80% water consumption reduction during pre-treatment of metal parts while implementation of
counter current rinsing application for the entire zinc electroplating process reduces the rinsing water
consumption by 62% thus, decreasing the end-of-pipe treatment cost.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction reuse/recovery. CP methods also offer signicant nancial advan-

Cleaner production (CP) methodology is a preventive strategy
directed at elimination or minimization of the impacts of produc-
tion processes and products on the environment (Taylor, 2006). In
recent years, there has been an increasing interest in CP assessment
by industries, government authorities, non-governmental organi-
zations (NGOs), consultants and the stakeholders in Turkey, since
application of CP methodology leads to the economic and envi-
ronmental efcient products through sustainable use of energy,
raw materials, chemicals and water in the production processes
via process modication, input material substitution and on-site
Corresponding author at: Bogazici University, Institute of Environmental Sci-
ence, Hisar Campus, 34342 Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel.: +90 212 359 46 23;
fax: +90 212 257 50 33.
E-mail address: basak.buyukbay@boun.edu.tr (B. Daylan).
tages along with environmental benets on local and global scale
due to improvements in the competitiveness of the industry though
increase of revenues and decrease of inputs such as process water
and chemicals and non-product outputs such as hazardous wastes,
wastewater and emissions to air (Ozbay and Demirer, 2007).
Applied to a number of South African surface treatment companies,
these methods have typically achieved reductions of the order of
90% in water use and 5060% in the use of chemicals and 5560%
in sludge generation (Telukdarie et al., 2006b).
Metal nishing industry (Standard Industrial Classication, SIC,
3471) provides a broad range of surface nishing and conditioning
services to the medical, aircraft, construction, automotive, elec-
tronics and energy industries. Metal nishing operations provide
modications to the surface properties of metallic products in three
main process stages; surface preparation (cleaning and surface acti-
vation), plating (electroplating, coatings, electroless plating, etc.),
and post-treatment (chromating, passivating, etc.). Each stage is

0921-3449/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002

Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
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followed by a series of rinsing stages, leading to generation of high
volumes of hazardous liquid and solid wastes mainly contaminated
with heavy metals and inorganic anions (Viguri et al., 2002). Over 11
million tons of zinc are produced annually worldwide and roughly
half of it is used in electroplating industry for galvanizing to pro-
tect steel against corrosion (IZA, 2011). Approximately 1% of the
hazardous waste in Europe is generated by the electroplating indus-
try (Fresner et al., 2007). Due to highly hazardous nature of solid
and liquid wastes generated by this industry and the regulatory
pressures on discharge limits, the pollution prevention measures
have become important tools in achieving environmental and eco-
nomic improvements in metal nishing industry. Giannetti et al.
(2008) implemented a CP practice in a medium size gold-plating
company in order to reduce waste and pollution load of the plant.
A 35% reduction in water volume was achieved by manually con-
trolling each rinsing tank and only opening the valve when the
rinsing water showed a certain turbidity controlled by the line staff.
Additionally, 18% reduction in energy consumption was achieved
by using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) balls in process bath to reduce
evaporation and heat loss. The volume of degreasing solution con-
taining caustic soda, cyanides and hypophosphite was also reduced
by 86% through prolongation of the bath life by tieing it up to the
mass of pieces degreased rather than replacing the solution at xed
intervals.
The main objective of this study is to implement a CP audit
for the selected zinc electroplating plant through evaluation of
the main characteristics and quantity of the generated waste and
identify the CP options that would lead to less wastewater and haz-
ardous waste generation. A comprehensive on-site data collection
was performed to identify the CP opportunities for zinc electro-
plating process. The economic benets of these CP options were
considered along with the technical and environmental evaluation.
2. The company prole and the methodology of CP
assessment
The background information of the company and related envi-
ronmental aspects were assessed in the pre-assessment phase
in order to develop the company prole. The selected zinc elec-
troplating plant is a small and medium-size plant (SME) with
220 personnel and production capacity of 6,000,000 dm2 elec-
troplated metal parts per year. The company manufactures and
markets racks, cabinets, wall-mount enclosures, subracks, mechan-
ical assemblies, structural cabling products, ber optic products
for domestic and international telecommunications, Internet, net-
working and electronics industries. Three main stages of the zinc
electroplating process were considered within the scope of the CP
audit; pre-treatment, zinc electroplating and post-treatment.
An environmental and technical analysis was carried out in the
assessment phase to determine the process ow charts to identify
the waste streams and their sources. Direct on-site measurements
and data collection for the mass balance analysis were performed
to quantify the raw material, water and chemical inputs and out-
puts including waste and emissions from different process stages.
On-site auditing of the existing production processes revealed high
amount of chemical consumption with toxic properties and the
resulting losses due to drag-out, particularly in zinc electroplating
and passivation processes in addition to considerable wastewater
generation resulting from rinsing operations. 11,800 m3 water and
24,200 kg process chemicals in total were consumed in the electro-
plating processes in the year 2005.
Further information regarding available CP opportunities was
obtained through evaluation of previous case studies, literature and
personal communications with the CP expert team. After identica-
tion of CP options and their environmental benets, the unfeasible
Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
CP scenarios were excluded by the joint decision of the company
managers and the CP audit team members. Finally, prioritized
production processes and their corresponding CP options were
selected for further technical, economic and environmental analy-
sis in the feasibility phase.
2.1. Pre-assessment phase: evaluation of the zinc electroplating
process
The selected zinc electroplating process starts with a pre-
treatment stage that consists of cleaning and degreasing opera-
tions. Metal surfaces contaminated with oil or grease lubricants,
dust, soil matter, metal nes, particulates and oxidation products
are cleaned in this stage (Randal, 1998). While the cathodic and
anodic cleaning baths are used to remove oil, grease and particles,
acid washing (pickling) is applied for the removal of metal oxides
from the surfaces being plated (Erol and Thming, 2005). After the
pre-treatment stage, metal parts are plated with an alkaline zinc
electroplating process. Zinc plating provides a homogeneous sur-
face and corrosion resistance to the metal object. The activation
and passivation processes (electro-polishing) of the post-treatment
stage, consist of application of hot concentrated acid that yields
stainless steel mirror sheen parts and enhances the corrosion resis-
tance of the nishing material. The use of nitric acid and trivalent
chromium solution as cleaning agents in these stages results in pro-
duction of highly acidic and heavy metal containing wastewater.
Each chemical bath is followed by an overow rinsing bath in the
zinc electroplating process.
Rinsing operations were the primary source of wastewater in
the selected zinc electroplating process. Almost 88% of the water
was used for the rinsing operations and the rest was used for the
chemical bath replacement and cleaning of the chemical baths.
The rinsing operations are necessary for the removal of the drag-
out from racks and parts after being drawn out from the process
baths. The chemical and metal loss through drag-out from process
baths pollutes the rinsing water. Depleted process baths are also
periodically discharged and added to the wastewater volume. In
order to comply with efuent discharge regulations, the selected
zinc electroplating plant had an end of pipe treatment plant which
generated sludge that required further disposal.
Due to outdated equipment and poor maintenance there were
excessive levels of waste generation and unnecessarily large quan-
tities of water consumption from these processes. According to
the STS BREF, efcient process control methods such as measuring
and controlling process parameters (ow rate, pressure, tempera-
ture, composition and quantity) and development of a maintenance
program were suggested to the company management (STS-BREF,
2007). Since there were no scheduled training programs for work-
ers, informational seminars and workshops were conducted during
the pre-assessment phase on the topics of occupational health and
environmental safety for the plant managers, administrators, tech-
nicians and workers in order to efciently implement the CP plan.
2.2. Assessment phase: input and output evaluation of selected
process
A detailed site audit was performed during the assessment
phase to identify the quality and quantity of raw materials,
water and chemicals consumed and wastewater produced since
no recorded data was available for the plant. The process mass
balance was established to determine the amount of raw mate-
rials, products, byproducts, wastes and emissions for the zinc
electroplating process (Fig. 1). In order to determine all inputs
and outputs, chemical concentration and replacement periods of
process baths, input water type (recycled water or tap water) of
process baths, tank volumes, inlet/outlet points of rinsing tanks
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Table 1
The generated CP option categories for the selected processes.
CP option
(A) Technology modication
Closed loop cleaning system application in the pre-treatment unit of metal parts
Longer drainage time implementation in the zinc plating for drag-out minimization
Wetting agent application in vertical chemical baths for drag-out minimization
Drag-out tanks application for drag-out minimization
Drain board installation in zinc plating baths for drag-out minimization
Counter current rinsing application in rinsing baths of alkaline zinc electroplating line
Spray rinsing application in rinsing baths of production lines
(B) On-site recycle/reuse/recovery
Reverse osmosis application in rinsing water baths
Deionized rinsing water reuse in rst rinsing baths
(C) Good housekeeping measures
Bath concentrations optimization
Bath lters installation
Increase in bath temperature
were considered by evaluating the pre-treatment, electroplating
and post-treatment bath preparation data sheets. Flow meters were
used to identify the amount of rinsing water consumption. Drag-
out and evaporation losses were adopted as 1.5 mL/dm2 from the
literature for the wastewater generation calculations (EPA, 1998;
Mediterranean Action Plan, 2000). The annual and monthly data
records of the accounting and purchasing departments were also
evaluated. Since, there was no energy consumption data collection
and calculation system at the company for the selected processes,
the annual energy consumption inventory and related cost calcula-
tions for the selected product groups could not be included in this
study.
The material balances were evaluated to identify the amounts
of the inputs, outputs and identied losses. The environmen-
tal performance indicators for the involved unit processes were
developed from the material balance data sheets by dividing the
quantity of a raw material input or waste stream by the sur-
face area of the electroplated metal part produced over the same
period (Barbiroli and Raggi, 2003; Fresner, 1998; Gurbuz et al.,
2004). According to the environmental performance indicator cal-
culations, 1.97 kg water and 4 103 kg process chemicals were
consumed to electroplate 1 dm2 sheet steel (Fig. 1). The 1.97 kg/dm2
water consumption is signicantly higher than the limit value of
0.030.2 kg/dm2 described in the STM-BREF, Chapter 3 current
consumption and emission levels for the surface treatment of met-
als and plastics-, and thus, the pollution prevention efforts were
Chemical consumption;
Eloctrolytic oil cleaner: 260 kg/year
Hot oil cleaner: 420 kg/year
HCl: 11,325 kg/year
Electrolytic Zn anode: 4,190 kg/year
NaOH: 2,550 kg/year
Zn-polisher 1,410 kg/year
HNO3: 3,655 kg/year
Zinc Electroplating
Trivalent Chromium
solution: 390 kg/year
Water consumption:
Water for process baths:18x105 kg/year
Rinsing water:10x106 kg/year
Fig. 1. The mass balance analysis of zinc electroplating process.
Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
3
Advantages
Reduction of water consumption and elimination of hazardous chemicals
More chemical drips back to process tank, leading to chemical reduction in
rinsing water
Reduction of drag-out up to 50%, but in the meanwhile, foaming problems
can occur
Recovery and reuse of drag-out losses
Drag-out reduction up to 40%
Reduction in rinsing water consumption
Reduction in rinsing water consumption
Recovery and reuse of rinsing water with up to 9099% efciency
Reuse of rst rinsing water in plating bath as evaporated water make-up.
Reduction in chemical consumption
Extension of bath life
Minimization of drag-out loss
focused on the reduction of the process water consumption (STM-
BREF, 2006).
2.3. Generation of cleaner production options
The CP options were developed based on the process informa-
tion gathered from the company and literature survey. Evaluation
and mass balance assessment of inputs and outputs had led to
identication of the processes with excessive resource consump-
tion (Koefoed and Buckley, 2008). Development of the CP options
that include process changes and product improvements leading
to reduced environmental impacts and economic benets through
resource conservation and recycling were carried out in coopera-
tion with the company managers. The generated CP options were
grouped under (a) technology and process modication, (b) on-site
recycle/reuse/recovery and (c) good housekeeping practices cate-
gories and the list of generated CP options were given in Table 1.
Once all possible CP options and their benets were identied,
the prioritized CP opportunities were dened and further evalu-
ated.
2.4. Prioritization of focus points
Production processes with the most severe environmental pol-
lution potentials were considered in the identication of focus
points. Among those, the closed loop cleaning system for the
Product:
6x106 dm2/year electroplated
sheet steel (SS)
Emission produced:
Wastewater: 1.7x106 kg/year
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Table 2
The selected and prioritized CP options.

Existing process Proposed process Benets

Technology modication
Conventional pre-treatment (anodic Closed loop cleaning system Elimination of hazardous solvents, recovery and reuse of the cleaning
and cathodic cleaning) solution, reduction of water consumption, sludge production
minimization

On-site recycle/reuse/recovery
Rinsing operations of zinc plating Two stage counter current rinsing and drag-out Minimization of rinsing water consumption, recovery and reuse of
tank application process chemicals

pre-treatment of metal parts as a technology modication and 3. Results and discussion

counter current rinsing and drag-out tank applications as on-site
recycle/reuse/recovery were selected since these options had the
greatest effect on the recovery of cleaning and plating chemicals as
well as process rinsing water consumption. The selected CP options
summarized in Table 2 were evaluated in detail in the feasibility
phase.
3.1. Feasibility analysis of the CP options
Cost estimation and environmental assessment of the proposed
CP options were performed in the feasibility phase in order to
evaluate applicability of the prioritized CP options. The calculated

Original System

Water: Water: Water:

3,200 m3/year 3,200 m3/year 3,600 m3/year
(rinsing bath3-4) (rinsing bath 8-9) (rinsing bath 12-13)

Sheet steel 1. Rinsing Bath 2. Rinsing Bath Sheet Steel

Chemical Bath

Recycled Water: Recycled Water: Recycled Water:

3,200 m3/year 3,200 m3/year 3,600 m3/year

a. The existing overflow rinsing

Proposed System

Water: Water: Water:

1,263 m3/year 1,263 m3/year 1,263 m3/year
(rinsing bath3-4) (rinsing bath 8-9) (rinsing bath 12-13)

Counter Current rinsing

Sheet Steel Drag-out Sheet Steel
Chemical Bath
tank
Fresh water

Recycled Water: Recycled Water: Recycled Water

Drag-out return 1,263 m3/year 1,263 m3/year 1,263 m3/year
Zinc: 27 kg/year
Trivalent solution:
102 kg/year

b. Two stage countercurrent rinsing

Fig. 2. The mass balance analysis of (a) the overow rinsing and (b) the counter current rinsing with drag-out tank.

Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
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Table 3
The Summary of the economic evaluation of counter current rinsing and drag-out tank application.

Parameter Before After Saving

Two stage over ow rinsing Two stage counter current rinsing

On-site recycle/reuse/recovery (counter current rinsing and drag-out tank application)

Rinsing water consumption m3 /year 10,000 3789 6211
EUR/year 5900 2234 3666
Zinc recovery kg/year 27 27
EUR/year 158 158
Trivalent solution recovery kg/year 102 102
EUR/year 357 357
Saving from chemical recovery EUR/year 515

Saving from water recovery EUR/year 3666

Total annual saving EUR/year 4181
Capital investment cost EUR 2000
Payback period Months 6
IRR value for 5 year % 208

annual savings, internal rate of return (IRR) values and pay-back
periods were used as indicators of the economic viability of the
options (Barbiroli and Raggi, 2003). The comparison of the plants
environmental and economic performance before and after imple-
mentation of a given CP option served as a basis for its subsequent
implementation. The overall results were expressed as net environ-
mental impacts, in the units of pollution intensity indices, such as
kilogram of water and chemical used per unit of product described
further below (Howgrave-Graham and Berkel, 2007).
3.1.1. Counter current rinsing and drag-out tank in zinc
electroplating
The existing rinsing operations were operated by the skip rins-
ing technique that used the same rinsing tanks for different stages
of plating and cleaning processes in the selected zinc electroplating
process and consisted of four rinsing baths (Mediterranean Action
Plan, 2000; UNEP, 1998a). Overow rinsing 1 and 2 are used after
both anodic cleaning and acid washing and overow rinsing 3 and
4 are used after both cathodic cleaning and zinc plating which
leads to increase of the hazardous waste load of rinsing water and
accumulation of sludge residues, as the quantity of the sludge is
proportional to the concentration of metal in the waste rinsing
water (Park et al., 2000).
The two stage overow rinsing was used in the existing zinc
electroplating process as shown in Fig. 2. Each tank had its own
inlet point for fresh water with 200 L/h capacity. In the recom-
mended counter current rinsing, only the last rinsing bath has an
inlet point for fresh water and the excess water goes to preceding
rinsing bath. The excess wastewater from the rst rinsing bath is
sent to the reverse osmosis (RO) system and recycled through the
rinsing system. Additionally, a drag-out tank lled with deionized
water is recommended after zinc plating and passivation tanks for
the recovery of plating metal and passivation chemicals (Koefoed
and Buckley, 2008; Reeve, 2007; Telukdarie et al., 2006a). A chem-
ical metering pump is used to return the drag-out from this tank to
the plating tank. The pumps are controlled by level sensors placed
in the process tanks (Roy and Shapiro, 1999).
Counter current rinsing in metal plating provide over
6200 m3 /year water saving which corresponds to 62% reduction in
companys total water consumption (Table 3). The pollution inten-
sity index as kilogram of water per unit of product is decreased to
0.6 kg water/dm2 SS from 1.7 kg water/dm2 SS for rinsing opera-
tions. The recommended option leads to 4181 D saving on annual
basis with a short payback period of 6 months. Moreover, drag-
out bath application provides 515 D /year worth process chemical
recovery. This option was considered in 2-year middle term appli-
cation plan starting from the year 2007, due to its relatively high
IRR value (208%) and short payback period.
3.1.2. Closed loop cleaning system for zinc plating
The recommended closed loop cleaning system that replaced
conventional pre-treatment system as illustrated in Fig. 3, works
with aqueous cleaning solutions instead of cathodic (electrolytic oil
cleaner) and anodic (hot oil cleaner) cleaning solvents. In this sys-
tem, naturally occurring microorganisms digest and metabolize oils
and greases by enzyme action and convert them into carbon dioxide
and water (Groudeva et al., 2001; Reeve, 2007; UNEP, 1998b).
In the recommended system, the aqueous cleaner is constantly
replenished and returned back to the tank in the optimum con-
dition for a steady-state operation. The benets of the system
include energy saving due to low operating temperature, minimal
tank residue generation that eliminates costly hazardous sludge
disposal, continuous replenishment of chemicals, safer working
environment, moderate pH and simple operation. Since this is a

Table 4
The summary of the economic evaluation of closed loop cleaning system.

Parameter Before After Saving

Conventional pre-treatment Closed loop cleaning

Technology modication (substitution of the conventional pre-treatment of zinc plating with the closed loop cleaning system)
Water consumption m3 /year 7550 1263 6287
Chemical consumption kg/year 680 630 50
EUR/year 713 1152 439
Wastewater production m3 /year 732 732
Cost of treatment EUR/year 772 772
Recycled water production m3 /year 6776 1260 5516
EUR/year 4140 618 3522
Running costs EUR/year 5625 1770 3855

Total annual saving EUR/year 3855

Capital investment cost EUR 13,000
Payback period Years 3.3
IRR value % 15

Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
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Original System

Electrolytic Water: Hot oil Water

oil cleaner: 4000 m3/year cleaner: 3,550 m3/year
260 kg/year 420 kg/year

Overflow Overflow
Cathodic Anodic
Sheet steel Cleaning rinsing rinsing Sheet steel
cleaning

Waste water: Recycled water

732 m3/year 6,776 m3/year

a. Conventional Pre-treatment

Proposed System

Bio-soak Bio-water: Bio-plus:

430 kg/year 80 kg/year 70 kg/year
Bio filter

Sheet steel Bio-cleaner Sheet steel

tank

Recycled water:
1,250 m3/year

b. Closed Loop Cleaning

Fig. 3. The mass balance analysis of (a) conventional pre-treatment and (b) closed loop cleaning system.

closed loop system and contains only aqueous cleaning solutions,
there is no toxic fume release which is a serious concern in open-
vertical baths (Veglio et al., 2003).
The recommended system eliminates consumption of 680 kg
electrolytic oil cleaner, a highly corrosive and strong oxidizing
solution, per annum and substitutes acidic cleaning solvents with
aqueous cleaners (Table 4). The closed loop system not only
reduces the wastewater generation but, also provides recovery and
reuses opportunities for the cleaning solution with 11.5 years
of cleaner bath life and as a result, reduces the consumption of
cleaning chemicals by 14.7%. The closed loop cleaning system
together with the counter current rinsing application results in
80% of rinsing water saving. The closed loop system is also suit-
able for workers environment as it prevents hazardous solvent
consumption and air mist generation. The water and chemical
consumption indices were reduced from 0.7 kg water/dm2 SS
to 0.2 kg water/dm2 SS which is within the range of the limit
value of 0.030.2 L/m2 described in the IPPC Directive and from
1.13 104 kg chemical/dm2 SS to 1.05 104 kg chemical/dm2 SS
respectively (STM-BREF, 2006). This system, with 15% IRR value
and 3.3-year payback period, was considered in 5-year long term
action plan by the plant management starting from the year
2006.
4. Conclusions
The inputoutput evaluation method based on ow and
material balances was implemented to reveal the possible CP
applications in the selected zinc electroplating plant. Water and
chemical unit indices were calculated using material ows related
to the selected processes. The CP assessment method was employed
for the modication of the existing processes by providing alter-
native technologies that lead to manufacture of the products of
equal quality. In the feasibility phase, technical, environmental and
economic performances of the prioritized CP options were evalu-
ated. The closed loop cleaning system as a technology modication
option and counter current rinsing and drag-out tank application as
an on-site recycle/reuse/recovery option have constituted the focus
points of the CP assessment in the zinc electroplating process.
The rinsing water consumption can be reduced from
10,000 m3 /year to 3789 m3 /year in the whole metal nishing
line after application of the counter current rinsing method,

Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
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which corresponds to 62% reduction in water consumption. The
recommended counter current rinsing option has a high 5-year IRR
value (208%) and short payback period of 6 months. Additionally,
the drag-out recovery prevents the carriage of process chemicals
to the rinsing bath, resulting in 515 D /year saving due to reduction
in chemical consumption. 680 kg/year hazardous solvent con-
sumption is prevented in the closed loop cleaning system with
application of aqueous cleaning solution in the pre-treatment
stage and rinsing water consumption is reduced by approximately
80%. Hazardous chemical load of the wastewater treatment plant
is also reduced since a cleaner bath solution is recovered and
reused with bio-lter unit for up to 11.5 years. The system has
a 15% 5-year IRR value and 3.3 year payback period and was
considered for a 5-year long term implementation by the company
management. Although the total process water consumption index
is decreased from 1.97 kg/dm2 to 0.96 kg/dm2 , it is still higher than
the limit value set by the IPPC Directive since the CP options were
implemented in only four out of seven different unit processes
used in the electroplating plant.
CP application does not end with process modications and
technical alterations of the existing processes and requires changes
in worker attitude and adoption of responsible environmental
management practices. The CP audit conducted in this study would
have been incomplete without considering the socio-cultural
aspects of the whole production process. As previously mentioned,
the educational level of the workers was low and thus series of
seminars and on-site workshops were conducted in order to famil-
iarize the working personnel with the technical and environmental
aspects of the proposed CP options. Since, an integrated CP devel-
opment requires the engagement of employees at every level of
the organization, additional seminars were held with the company
managers for the continuous promotion of the proposed CP con-
cept.
In this study, none of the recommended CP options interfere
with each other, and thus, can be implemented together in the
selected plant. The technical, environmental and economic eval-
uation of the CP options indicates that the proposed CP options
are feasible alternatives for the old production processes and
lead to minimal electroplating metal, chemicals and rinsing water
consumption. The preventive business strategy provided in this
study conserves resources and promotes greater overall efciency
through improved production technologies and will be useful to
the companies that aim to improve the economic performance and
environmental safety of the electroplating process.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to Mr. Can GUR, Canovate Group CEO,
for his great support to conduct this study, Mr. Gun Evren GOREN,
The Deputy General Manager and Mr. Erol YENICI, the Produc-
tion Manager, for their tolerance, valuable technical expertise and
know-how transfer as well as to all employees who have shown
continued cooperation for the successful execution of the project.
We would also like to thank Ms. Cigdem CENGIZ for sharing her
experience and technical information.
Please cite this article in press as: Daylan B, et al. Hazardous process chemical and water consumption reduction through cleaner production
application for a zinc electroplating industry in Istanbul. Resour Conserv Recy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.09.002
7
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