Chemical cleaning shop fulfills mission and cuts waste

Published Sept. 17, 2010
By John Stuart
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Numerous airplane parts will take the plunge at some point during their time here.

The chemical-laden waters of the Propulsion Maintenance Group Chemical Cleaning shop ensure that each of these parts emerges from the bath clean and ready for the next process. It's a process to strip parts of unwanted compounds for further processing, and it's a crucial mission at Tinker. But it does come with a price -- about 160 million gallons of water per year.

With some changes in the works, however, that number will be reduced in the coming months.

Each year Tinker consumes about 688 million gallons of water. But according to some estimates from 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer directorate personnel, that total could be slashed by more than 20 percent. The savings process has started at the PMXG Chemical Cleaning shop, one of the largest water-users on base.

Several weeks ago, 72 ABW/CE personnel installed a meter that monitored the flow of chemical cleaning rinse water. Chemical Cleaning personnel then changed the process to cut back on use in the water-intensive shop. In the seven days that the water meter was installed, Chemical Cleaning personnel saved 2.2 million gallons of potable water, which equates to $36,000 in water and wastewater process savings.

"We have seen an 84 percent reduction in water use by changing the current process," said Paul Garnaas, Tinker's resource efficiency manager with the 72 ABW/CE. "And they can cut back even more."

With the Chemical Cleaning personnel changing their process to reduce water use after hours, Mr. Garnaas said about 100 million gallons of water can be saved annually.

It costs Tinker 81 cents per 1,000 gallons to pump water from wells and $15 per 1,000 gallons to dispose of the chemical-laden water. All told, the reductions -- coupled with planned process changes -- could save as much as $2.5 million per year, Mr. Garnaas predicts.

The Chemical Cleaning shop is also undergoing renovations that should garner additional water savings. The installation of a reverse osmosis machine will make the water supply more effective in cleaning, cutting back on demand.

Mr. Garnaas noted that several other equipment upgrades are in the works for the coming years, which could field a more effective and efficient process. With further automation and process refinement, even more water could be saved in the shop, he explained.