Design and development of mechanical vibrating filter for reclaiming coolant from aluminium sludge

• Published in: Materials today : proceedings Vol. 19; pp. 895 - 901
• Main Authors: Vinay Kumar, A., Ashok kumar, U., Reddic, B.V., SreeRam, G., Laxminarayana, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2019
• Subjects: Aluminum sludge; Deformation; Filtration; Finning; Reclaiming; Vibration; Aluminum sludge; Filtration; Deformation; Vibration; Reclaiming; Finning
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2019.08.247

In view of ever-increasing quest for developing cost-effective cutting-edge technologies, researchers are making all efforts to make use of materials for reuse many a time in order to overcome dwindling resources of raw materials and/or reduce the consumption of energy for production of metals/materials and products, which directly save the environment from the generation of green gases and global warming. Finally, protect the lives of not only human beings but also flora and fauna on this mother earth from their extinction [1]. This phenomenon has followed in two diverging fields described here. A significant problem in finning industry is the generation of aluminium scrap powder, contaminated with coolant which has necessarily used to keep the working tool (machinery) and work-piece (fin tube) at room temperature. In this manufacturing process of fin – tubes, a large quantity of aluminium scrap has generated in the form of paste. This heavily contaminated with the coolant and atmosphere; hence, it is heavy and not supports for recirculation, it has to throw away, which adds up to the cost of the final product as a result. Leads to loss of virgin metal and coolant, which otherwise could have reused for making products of aluminium and composites, moreover for recycling the coolant to repeated time hence thus derive more benefits both economically and environmentally. We have undertaken to salvage aluminium scrap and coolant for reuse. For this purpose, we have fabricated a vibrating tank, using all locally available materials and parts, which has provided with six filter cells and fixed firmly on the base plate of the tank. With this mechanical vibrator, we have successfully separated coolant up to 80% from the initially contaminated aluminium sludge in a most eco-friendly process. Thus saving both Al-scrap (powder) and coolant from being thrown away as a “wastage”, as both ingredients –coolant could be reused up to defined time in the finning process, and the sediment Al-powder could be used to make a variety of lightweight structural components for many applications including automobile and aerospace-vehicles.