Hydrochloric Acid Recovery System for

Galvanizeis and Steel Manufacturers

With the escalating cost of waste disposal and by-product can be used in fertilizer, animal
scarcity of sites, galvanizers and steel manufacturers feed, waste treatment, and as an etchant.
are seeking alternative methods of industrial waste n Energy Savings: The HCl recovery system
control. The overriding industry trend seems to be eliminates the cost of fuel to transport wastes
toward on-site recovery and recycling. Furthermore, and chemicals to neutralize HCl; it also
recent regulations have clearly indicated the relative substantially reduces the cost of electricity.
desirability of on-site recovery. Projected energy savings are 5 billion Btu
Beta Control Systems, Inc., of Beaverton, (5.28 trillion
Oregon, develops, manufactures, and installs state-of joules)/yr.
the-art, closed-loop systems for recovering and recy- Partners: Beta Control Systems, Inc., Oregon
cling hazardous industrial wastes. With the help of a n Environmental Department of Energy
NlCE3 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Benefits: SIC Code: 3823
(DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen- Because the only
Cost: $245,608 (Industry share: $100,000)
cy, Beta plans to develop an on-site hydrochloric acid by-product of the
HCl recovery
Energy Savings: 5 billion Btu (5.28 trillion joules)/yr
(HCI) recovery system for galvanizers and small- to Environmental Benefits: Waste reduction of 200 tons
medium-sized steel manufacturers. process is a non-
hazardous, sale- (181 metric tons)/yr/unit
n Challenge: Although HCl recovery tech- able metal Economic Savings: $260,600/yr
nology has been developed for large-scale steel chloride, this tech- National Impact (2010): Waste reduced by
manufacturers, no cost-effective method is avail- nology generates 42,000 tons (38,094 metric tons)/yr
able for galvanizers and small- to medium-sized no hazardous Applications: Steel manufacturers and galvanizing
steel plants. Beta introduced technology for sul- wastes. Beta plants
furic acid recovery in 1986. However, designing estimates annual Contact: Bill Ives-DOEs Golden Field Office:
a system for an HCl acid recovery system has waste reduction (303)275-4755
been more challenging. of spent HCl and
n Solution: Over the past 5 years, Beta has neutralized sludge
developed an HCl recovery system that the com- of 200 tons/unit and projects industry-wide
pany plans to test at the pilot scale and then HCl waste reduction of 42,000 tons
introduce to the marketplace. This system will (38,094 metric tons)/yr by 2010. Also, with the
recycle used acid solution from pickling, a availability of recycled HCl, the demand for
process that cleans and removes rust from raw virgin HCl will decrease.
NATIONAL
steel by dipping it into a tank of hydrochloric or . Economic Savings: This technology is INDUSTRIAL;
sulfuric acid. After continuous pickling, the acid economically attractive because it is less expen- COMPETITIVENESS
loses its effectiveness and must be replaced. Pre- sive than transporting and disposing waste
viously, the acid was transported to deep injec- acid, plus it eliminates the associated long-term ENERGY
tion wells for disposal, but those wells are now liability. The total savings for a typical (small- to ENVIRONMENTAL
permanently closed. medium-sized) galvanizer using HCl to pickle ECONOMICS
In the HCl recovery system, used acid is steel are projected to be $260,600 each year.
pumped through a pre-filter to an evaporator, A joint cost-sharing grant
n Applications: When the HCl recovery system program of:
where it is heated until the water and acid is ready for introduction into the marketplace, U.S. Department of Energys
vaporize, leaving only concentrated iron the untapped 60% of galvanizers who are cur- Office of industrial
chloride. The iron chloride is pumped to a rently using HCl to pickle steel will have a cost- Technologies and Office of
storage tank for sale or disposal, or is converted Technical and Financial
effective method of waste control. The system Assistance;
to a crystal. The water/acid vapor cools and con- will also be helpful to the steel manufacturing U.S. Environmental Protection
denses, then descends through an absorption market, which is dominated by HCl-based Agencys Office of Pollution
column into the stripper, where the acid is recon- pickling. Potential future markets for this sys- Prevention
centrated and pumped to the pickling tanks. tem include specialty metals and electronics Produced by the National
The remaining water vapor moves into the con- markets. Renewable Energy Laboratory
denser and is scrubbed of any residual acid. a laboratory of the
This scrubbed solution can be reused as rinse U.S. Department of Energy
water in the pickling process. 1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
This technology will allow industry to
recover HCl at the source, eliminating disposal DOE/CH10O93-233
costs. Moreover, a non-hazardous, saleable by- DE93017073
product-iron chloride-will be generated. This October 1993