Putting sand reclamation to the test at General Motors.

GM recently opened a prototype unit that could lay the groundwork for widespread sand reclamation at all its foundries.

As the once-easy route of landfilling or stockpiling spent foundry sand has hit roadblock after roadblock, metalcasters everywhere

Business Credit Solutions

• Get a Credit Report
• Get a D&B D-U-N-S Number
• Monitor My Business Credit - FREE TRIAL!

Business Credit Advice

• Business Credit Basics
• Build My Business Credit
• Extend Credit to Customers
• Use My Credit to Get Loans

Developing a strategy before the curtain falls, General Motors Powertrain Group unveiled a prototype unit at its Malleable Iron foundry in Saginaw, Michigan, this spring. Known as the Sand Reclamation Development Center (SRDC), it will validate the sand reclamation process in a production setting, and GM will use that knowledge to install units to handle reclamation for all its foundries.

Investing $5 million in the project, GM officials feel the 5-ton/hour ther-mal-mechanical reclamation unit marks a major step forward in addressing the issues of inadequate sand disposal space and increasing disposal costs.

"GM Powertrain saw this as an opportunity to install a prototype sand reclamation system," said Mike Williams, director of Manufacturing-Castings. "Due to the many different sand and binder systems used in GM casting plants, it was decided that a center must be established to prove technical and economic feasibility, ensure that product quality levels are not adversely affected and determine the requirements for corporatewide implementation."

Realizing that inevitable government mandates are expensive to implement, Larry Stahl, senior project engineer, said: "We want to be proactive and already be ahead in reclamation before they say we have to."

GM Casting

GM Powertrain's sand mold castings include engine blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts, connecting rods, steering gear housings and steering knuckles. The North American casting operations at GM use 650,000 tons of sand/year, with the majority considered reusable. Through reclamation, GM officials believe they can ultimately reduce newsand use by more than 75%.

In addition to depleting sand resources from the western Michigan sand dunes, GM's on-site landfills are becoming full (Saginaw Malleable Iron already must transport its spent sand to the Saginaw Grey Iron landfill). It is difficult to obtain approval to build new land-fills, and landfill construction and closing costs are continuing to escalate. Liability is also a factor in operating landfills, since monitoring responsibilities may extend 50 years or beyond their closure.