LET THERE BE (GREEN) LIGHT

At the end of the day, manufacturers look to meet one goal: create an outstanding product that meets the needs of consumers while maximizing profitability. In order to stay competitive, however, they now need to be concerned about one more thing — environmental responsibility. Luckily, today's new chemical technologies and practices allow manufacturers to continue producing quality goods without causing environmental damage.

Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. (Conyers, GA), a worldwide manufacturer of commercial, industrial, institutional and residential lighting fixtures, has implemented such technology, saving more than $240,000 in its first year of environmental changes. The company is North America's largest manufacturer of lighting fixtures and equipment for commercial, industrial, outdoor and residential applications. Its parent company, Acuity Brands, Inc. (Atlanta, GA), had fiscal year 2006 net sales of approximately $2.4 billion and employs approximately 10,000 people in operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

In 2004, Ben Decker, the corporate environmental manager for Acuity, became aware that the waste discharge at Acuity's 1 million sq ft manufacturing facility in Cochran was above the permissible environmental limit for phosphorus in the state of Georgia. Like many other manufacturers, the plant was using iron phosphate and phosphoric acid to seal metal lighting components before they entered the painting process. However, those chemicals created considerable phosphorous bearing sludge that the facility's waste stream carried out in the environment.

To lower its phosphorus discharge, Acuity spent $250,000 and several months of labor to install a waste treatment system. The system served the facility's 40,000 sq ft painting operation, including ovens, painting booths and washers. At the end of the day, however, this process was not cost-effective and did not prevent the harsh environmental effects of using phosphorous-based chemicals. So the company again began searching for an alternative technology to meet its waste treatment needs.

In 2006, Decker consulted with Houghton International, Inc., Acuity's paint pre-treatment supplier. Instead of focusing funds on new waste treatment systems, Houghton looked to make a chemical change upstream that would help produce less waste. It saw a potential fit for one of its products in Acuity's painting preparation operations: Houghto-Prep ZP technology, a zirconium phosphate, iron-rich conversion coating chemistry, promotes paint adhesion and corrosion resistance in metals used in manufacturing.

The proposed coating could clean and pre-treat at a low-temperature range — ambient (room temperature) to 100 deg F. In most cases, the product would not require system heat, reducing the amount of energy output during pre-treating. The coating would also reduce water consumption because it requires minimal rinsing and can be prepared without the need for reverse osmosis or deionization. Working with Decker, Houghton tested its conversion coating chemistry at the Cochran plant. In the first few months of testing, Acuity experienced significant reductions in water use because the product did not create a waste stream, as well as energy (gas) costs previously associated with prepping the metal with phosphate chemicals.

In order to fully integrate the new chemistry, Acuity engineers worked closely with Al Scott, the plant's paint line supervisor. Under Scott's watchful eye, the team performed a complete cleanout of the washers in the painting preparation line. When manufacturers run high-temperature washer operations, water evaporates and solids scale up in the washers. So, the cleaning process removed buildup caused by the iron phosphate process. Cleanout began at the end of production on a Friday. With Houghton's guidance, Acuity discharged and cleaned the washers, each taking six to eight hours to de-scale. They added the new product to the washer tanks and then recharged them.

The entire operation was back online by Monday morning and, from start to finish, the changeover took less than 24 hours. "The best part of this coating is that we didn't need to make any equipment changes," says Scott. "All we had to do was clean out the old chemicals and put it in the tanks." He notes that the new chemical runs cleaner than other chemicals because it de-scales while in use. Because of this efficiency, now Acuity only needs to use three of its eight original stages in its paint preparation line.

Initially, by implementing this new chemistry Acuity hoped to reduce its waste streams in painting prep procedures to comply with environmental regulations. In very little time, Acuity completely eliminated its waste stream, as well as the use of its $250,000 waste treatment system. The plant is so confident now that it plans to sell or move the system to another one of the Acuity facilities. "Even with a waste treatment system, you're always worried about discharging something you shouldn't," states Decker. "Now, the biggest relief is not worrying about someone making a mistake and discharging something they shouldn't because that something doesn't exist. That burden is gone."

By shutting down its wastewater treatment and removing water treatment chemicals from its budget, Acuity realized a cost savings of $16,800 per year – or 100 percent of its treatment costs. Further, by eliminating the waste stream and going to zero discharge (only water loss from evaporation), Acuity now saves 80,000 gal of water each month, reducing water bills by almost $26,000 a year. The plant also saves almost $46,000 in labor costs by removing the wastewater treatment operation and distributing those employees to other areas of the company.

Acuity also met its goal of reducing gas costs associated with heating water for its metal preparation. With the previous process, engineers heated washers to 130 deg F or more before applying them to metal parts. Because the zirconium phosphate-based product can be used at ambient temperatures, the company now uses less energy to heat the washers to 90 to 95 deg F. In its first year of use, the plant saved more than $140,000 in gas costs.

Because the new process runs so cleanly, Acuity only needs to clean out its phosphate stage of the washer once a year, down from three to four times annually. Decker adds, "Engineers only need to dump its cleaners once or twice a year now, as opposed to every six to eight weeks before the changeover. This has added up to a 50 percent reduction in costs for cleaning labor." In addition, clogged spray nozzles on the washers are a thing of the past. Before switching, technicians checked the nozzles daily for chemical build-up and cleaned them once a week. Today, the nozzles are still checked routinely, but they only require monthly cleaning. "And cleaner washing means more efficient line time," remarks Decker.

The use of traditional iron phosphates can affect human health due to corrosivity and the heat of the process bath. Although Acuity experienced few health-related problems using the old chemicals, worker comfort has vastly improved since switching products. "If an employee was exposed to the old chemicals, there was a tremendous health risk," says Decker. "We needed to take great steps to make sure no one was exposed." The new product is heated less than other chemicals and, because it is mildly acidic, there is a smaller risk of burns, the corrosivity of the bath is milder, reducing the potential for skin irritation.

Due to its success greening the Cochran plant, Acuity plans to implement the conversion coating chemistry into its painting operations in Austin, Texas, and Edison, NJ.

Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. 1170 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2400. Atlanta, GA 30309-7676, 404-853-1400, www.acuitybrandslighting.com.

Houghton International, Inc., Madison and Van Buren Avenues, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0930, 610-666-4000, Fax: 610-666-1376, www.houghtonintl.com.