Solvent Still

Solvent is a substance, usually a liquid, capable of dissolving another substance forming a solution.  The resulting solution which is considered hazardous can be placed in a solvent still in order to separate the solvent from the contaminating substance (i.e. paint, ink, resin, etc.).  This clean solvent can now be reused resulting in a significant cost savings to the company.

A user friendly solvent still should be self sustaining in that once installed and programmed it requires little attendance by an operator.  At best with smaller machines the operator will place a solvent waste liner bag in the container, load the “dirty” solvent and start the process; an investment of 10 to 15 minutes at best.  When the process is complete approximately 4 hours later the operator returns opens the unit (after cool down) and removes the bag of residue, then refills as before.  This is a part time commitment for an existing employee.  For a large automated system this process is reduced even further since the machine loads itself and empties the waste on its own.  No liner bags are required and no cool down period is necessary.  The operator basically oversees the process and insures that the waste drum has room for the unit to “drop” the residue.  Again only a part time commitment.

When calculating the cost to purchase a solvent still often the organization doesn’t take into account what the total solvent operation is for the company.  In the case of a large quantity generator, the company is paying continuously for reusable solvent, disposal costs to safely remove the waste stream from the premise and all of the EPA and or state DEP paperwork to account for the entire process.  Consider that the government has special write off programs for capital purchase of environmental equipment.  This has an impact on the ROI.  The reduced paperwork allows employees to do other work while the cost of service operations is an “expense” that cannot be written off.  Most acquisitions of a solvent still turn out to have a very favorable return on investment normally less than a year, but certainly less than 18 months.  The expense cost of purchase and disposal is never ending and always escalates over time.

For more details on our line of solvent recycling units and how NexGen can help you save money view our catalog below and contact us now.