Committed to driving sustainability, Cleveland Manufacturing utilizes innovative processes to reclaim the metals used in their chroming process, including copper, nickel, and palladium.
Through filtration systems they can recapture a large portion of the metals used within the chroming process. The metals are then recycled and reused weekly, contributing to Plasman’s sustainability initiatives at Cleveland and globally.
For chrome recovery, they use two evaporator tanks, one for the chrome etch and one for the decorative chrome. Using heat, they evaporate the water off the chrome then add the concentrated chrome back to the tanks.
The copper recovery unit is used to hydroxide precipitate the copper metal and run it through a press. This turns the copper into a blue sludge that can be added back into the copper tanks. Once it hits the acid in the tanks, it converts back to copper sulfate to be used again in the copper plating process.
The nickel recovery unit removes the water through a membrane system, pushes it through a resin bed to pull all the organics out, and converts the nickel water into nickel sulfate. The nickel sulfate is then heated in tanks to evaporate it down into a more concentrated form that is recycled into the nickel tanks on the hoist line.
The palladium is recaptured in a resin bed that separates the water and absorbs the palladium. Once those are saturated, they send them out for palladium recovery.
By reclaiming these metals, Cleveland is able to decrease the amount of metal they need to purchase in its raw state, and less metal goes into wastewater for treatment. The metal that does go through wastewater treatment is treated and disposed of as hazardous sludge.
“Not only are we pulling the metal out and not running it through the wastewater in the sludge, we’re actually reusing it,” said Tim Aktas, General Manager, Cleveland Manufacturing. “You can’t eliminate the sludge, but controlling the amount of sludge that leaves this building has an environmental impact.”
As well, since closing down A and B line and moving the product level to the hoist line, they have cut down their metal usage by almost half.
Improvements in increased rack density have also optimized production efficiency and contributed to Plasman’s sustainability initiatives. Less racks running through the chrome process for the same number of parts has produced a reduction in energy, metal usage, and water consumption.
Driving Innovation and Sustainability
As Plasman drives towards climate neutrality in 2028, this innovative thinking and projects from our team contributes to Plasman’s goal of creating a better, more sustainable future.
About Plasman
Plasman is a leading global manufacturer in bumpers-fascias, grilles, exterior trim, and subsystem components. As One Driving Force™, our diverse team of talented employees in 11 countries is driven by a commitment to outperform in all areas from engineering design to state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Plasman’s headquarters are in Oldcastle, Ontario. Further information about Plasman is available at Plasman.com or follow us on LinkedIn.