Solvent recycling has been in the market for so long, but it has been a while since it got the attention of many industries. Due to their significant environmental impact and imposed regulations to recycle solvents, industrial owners are keen on recycling solvents. But this process not only helps them to reduce environmental impact but also saves cost.
Also, with the advancement in technology, the latest tools have made it more accessible to recycle solvents at a higher rate. But, there is considerable scope for improvement in this field, and you will see the evolution yourself, contributing to a greener environment.
If you see at the numbers, we are experiencing tremendous growth in the global solvent recycling market. As per the study, the global solvent recycling market grew at a CAGR of 16.65% from 2016-2020.
Industries are becoming more aware of the environment and willing to contribute to making a healthier place for all. Let’s discuss how they do it.
But, before that, we will highlight some basic information you must be aware of.
What are Industrial Solvents?
Solvents are chemicals that can easily be dissolved, suspended, and extracted with other substances without changing the chemical nature of their constituents. Thus, it is easy to recycle the solvents with different treatment methods.
Solvents are of two types: organic and non-organic, depending on the nature of their constituents. A solvent is referred to as organic if it contains carbon emissions. Some solvents come with different physical and chemical properties, making them suitable for different uses.
Typical solvent applications include:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Cosmetics
- Agrochemicals
- Paints and coatings
- Cleaners and degreasers
- Inks
- Automotive
These solvents can harm the environment and health. Thus, recycling them to reduce their imprints in the environment is necessary.
What is Solvent Recovery?
The solvent recovery process has gained recent traction due to its increasingly negative environmental impact. But what is solvent recycling? As the name suggests, we recycle the solvent back from the industrial solvent to reuse it in manufacturing.
But this is not the only benefit that an industry can get. Recycling helps the industry save a considerable amount of money in buying new solvents every time it starts manufacturing. Though, now we have the latest technologies embraced with new tools, which has made the recycling process much more manageable.
Different solvents have different characteristics; thus, different methods are required to recycle them and return the original solvent. You can only recover some categories of solvents, such as,
- Non-azeotropic
- Aqueous non-azeotropic
- Heterogeneous azeotropic
- Aqueous homogeneous azeotropic
Most companies can recover solvents with 75-80% efficiencies, but higher efficiencies are sometimes possible.
Below are some methods to recycle your solvents, but the choice of method depends on the constituents of the solvent.
- Fractionation
- Azeotropic distillation
- Miscible and immiscible
- Reactive Distillation
- Batch and Continuous
- Extractive distillation
- Multi-stage rectification
- Filtration
Reasons for increased traction
Several reasons have increased the attention of industries towards solvent recycling. Some reasons are monetary, while some are related to environmental health. But seeing the overall picture, we are seeing a swift change in adopting the recycling process globally.
- Benefit from the circular economy.
Whether you are a small or large industry, circular thinking or approach will help you get value from the generated waste and discover more resources within your supply chain that are valuable.
Solvent recycling is one of those approaches that will help your business to achieve its goals at an affordable price. You can also generate solvents for other industries that will help you earn back what you have invested.
So, it will be helpful if you choose recyclable materials for your manufacturing process and contribute toward a sustainable society.
- Cost saving.
For industries, the cost has always been a driving factor. If they know that a specific method incurs less cost than the existing approach, they will be eager to know about it.
Solvent recycling is one of those methods that help them save money, as it reduces the reliability of buying new solvents for manufacture. They just recycle the industrial waste and recover the original solvent so they can use it again without paying additional charges to dispose of it.
The cost will reduce more if you place an on-site solvent recycler, as you can eliminate the transportation cost.
- Great brand value
It is observed that people are not willing to work in a harmful environment. If your industry does not have a solvent recycler or recycling facility, they tend to leave the job. But, if you recycle the solvent, you can create an excellent brand reputation in the market.
Not only this, you will not be facing any legal complications while running your business. So, it is better to adopt recycling as it comes under regulations, and you do not have to worry about giving heavy fines.
- Contributing to a healthy community.
Today, people are becoming more aware of the clean and green environment and expect the same from others, especially industries that harm the environment. You can contribute to the community with a proper recycling strategy while maintaining a positive environmental impact.
It all depends on culture. If you make it a practice to recycle, you can eliminate landfills. You can create a community of people who will work in favour of your brand reputation.
- Protecting the environment.
Due to increasing global warming, the Govt. has placed strict rules and regulations for the companies emitting immense pollution and waste into the environment. They are allowed to emit to a specific limit, or else they have to face legal action. So, they need to make efficient approaches to help industries reduce emissions.
One of the profitable ways is to recycle the solvent, so they can use it again without disposing of it in the environment. This helps them to protect the surroundings and save money for new solvents.
Conclusion
Some industries still face issues due to the lack of information and proper strategies. They are still figuring out what method they should use to recycle their solvents. If you are one of them looking for a recycling partner, we are happy to help.
We have been in this market for years, benefiting many industries by recycling their solvents. So, try us. We would love to answer your queries as our priority.
About Solvent Waste Management
Since 1994, Solvent Waste Management, Inc. has assisted many companies in a variety of different industries not only improving their operations but also reducing costs.
Solvent Waste Management Inc. designs and manufactures solvent distillation equipment that cleans contaminated solvents, allowing users to restore and continuously reuse solvents – thereby saving money on the cost of disposal and the cost of new solvents.
Model SW8 Solvent Recovery System
Model SW30 Solvent Cleaning Machine
Model SW55 Solvent Recycler Machine
Model SW70 Solvent Recovery Equipment
Solvent Waste Management designs and manufactures solvent recycling equipment that cleans contaminated solvents in such a way that the customer can reclaim and reuse solvents again and again, thus saving on both the cost of solvent disposal and the cost of new materials.