Abstract
Pollution prevention methods were applied at an optics manufacturer in an effort to improve recovery of a valuable polishing component, cerium oxide (ceria), 77% of which was lost to dragout and sewer discharge. Centrifugation and microfiltratiion were evaluated to develop a process that would increase recovery of used ceria, which would then be sent back to the ceria supplier for reclamation and reuse. Full-scale implementation included a high-speed centrifuge that operates continuously with a microfiltration system through recirculation in a single process tank. Sydor Optics has improved ceria recovery from 23% to 48%, saving thousands of dollars annually.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Date
Spring 5-2020
Document Type
Article
Department, Program, or Center
Sustainability (GIS)
Recommended Citation
E. Park, W. Gallagher, Z. Hobbs, M. Mayton, Pollution prevention via recovery of cerium (IV) oxide in optics company, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 1 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2020.100003
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Included in
Environmental Engineering Commons, Membrane Science Commons, Other Chemical Engineering Commons, Semiconductor and Optical Materials Commons