Design and Fabrication of Briquetting Device and Reuse of ETP Sludge as Fuel for Safe Disposal in an Automotive Industry

Abstract

Manufacturers of wind turbines, heavy machineries, gear grinders, bearings, and other industrial products constantly struggle with the problem of safe disposal of the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) sludge produced during the manufacturing processes. Although grinding is an important process to attain the desired surface finish of many components, the grinding sludge creates environmental impact [1]. The sludge often consists of the grinding oil, which is more expensive. So, the manufacturers have wrestled with this issue for the past several decades. In this paper, an overview of grinding sludge characteristics and energy recovery routes is presented. The most important disposal methods are presented. A Briquetting device is designed and fabricated. Samples are taken from the ETP of a leading automobile industry in India. The analysis of the elementary chemical composition of grinding sludge, the composition of the ash content, volatile mater and fixed carbon analysis were carried out. The results show that the prepared briquettes could be used as a fuel [2].