Rethinking a "Waste" Stream
Chemical Engineering
Industrial Cohort: Xerox
One of the biggest environmental impacts in the new chemical toner process is the water demand in the washing process, and the solids removed from the product during the washing process. The main focus of my research will be directed at changing the process parameters so that water use is minimized, or at least brought down to manageable amounts. Currently the washing process uses an exorbitant amount of water to remove undesirable material from the product. The current washing method is a batch process with a re-slurry step after each wash. Improvements would be a counter-current washing process, or a continuous washing process. Another focus will be to reduce the solid wastes resulting in the wastewater from the washing process. Possible solutions to this area would be recovery for recycling of the solids, or reduce the amount of material that needs to be removed in the first place. These are all preliminary topics for research and will become more focused as the year goes on.
