NC POLLUTION PREVENTION PAYS PROGRAM OFFICE OF WASTE REDUCTION P. 0. BOX 27687 RALEIGH, N. C. 27611-7687

FINAL REPORT: OFF LINE COVER LAYER PROJECT MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM REMET ELE"N1CS CXI€U?ORATION SHELBY, NORTH CAWOLINA

JUlVE 30, 1993

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I . . .. . ..-. . . . . . ._ . ,. . . I ..". -- . . .,:* ,\.. ..-.. . ,. - - -._. .-. ... . .. ... . ., . ._ . . . .. . . . ..

PROJECT SUMMARY

KEMET'S CERAMIC CHIP MANUFACTURING OPERATION UTILIZES

A CERAMIC TAPE TO MANUFACTURE MULTILAYER CAPACITORS. THIS

CERAMIC TAPE VARIES IN COMPOSITION BUT CAN CONTAIN 7 TO 15

PERCENT LATEX AND 93 TO 8 5 PERCENT CERAMIC. BARIUM TITANATE

IS THE PRIMARY CERAMIC MATERIAL IN THE CARRIER TAPE.

CURRENTLY, 30% OF THE TAPE THAT IS USED AS A STARTING

MATERIAL IS LANDFILLED. THIS SCRAP IS CREATED BY THE PROCESS

WHICH CONSISTS OF A NUMBER OF CUTTING AND PUNCHING

OPERATIONS. PROCESSING DOES NOT CHANGE THE CHEMICAL

STRUCTURE OF THE TAPE; HOWEVER, THE TAPE SCRAPS ARE NOT PHYS-

ICALLY SUITABLE FOR PROCESSING. UNTIL NOW, IT WAS BELIEVED

THAT THE RECLAMATION OF LATEX SHEET WAS IMPOSSIBLE. THROUGH

THE EFFORTS OF KEY KEMET EMPLOYEES, A PROCESS HAS BEEN DEVEL-

OPED THAT ALLOWS THE LATEX/CERAMIC FILM TO BE RECLAIMED AND

REUSED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF A CAPACITOR.

XEMET USES APPROXIMATELY 300,000 lbs. OF CERAMIC RAW

MATERIALS EACH YEAR. THIRTY PERCENT, OR 90,000 lbs. IS

EVENTUALLLY LANDFILLED. THE PROCESS INCLUDING RECLAIMED SHEET

WILL BE USED FOR AN "OFF-LINE COVER LAYER PACKAGE PROCESS."

SU DIELECTRIC HAS BEEN TARGETED AS THE FIRST OFF-LINE COVER

PROCESS. SU REPRESENTS A ONE-THIRD CERAMIC RAW MATERIAL MIX.

THIRTY PERCENT, OR 27,000 lbs. WILL BE5 RECLAIMED ON AN ANNUAL

BASIS. $8,333.00 WILL BE THE COST SAVINGS IN HAZARDOUS

WASTE GENERATION. OTHER ADVANTAGES ARE AS FOLLOWS; A GAIN

IN CASTING CAPACITY, A GAIN IN CHIPMAKING CAPACITY, AND AN

IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY BY REDUCING SCREEN BLINDING.

7 1 RESEARCH - - & DEVELOPMENT

SLIP CONSISTS OF DISCRETE PARTICLES OF LATEX AND

CERAMIC. AS THE SLIP 11s DRIED TEE LATEX PARTICLES COALESCE

AND FORM THE FILM. SINCE THE CASTER'S DRYING PROFILE DOES

PROMOTE CROSSLINKING OF THE LATEX MOLECULES, ONLY THE

PHYSICAL STRUCTVRE C.3 THE LATEX IS CHANGED. HOWEVER, THE

CHEMICAL STRUCTURE REMAINS INTACT. AN AMMONIA SOLUTION IS

USED TO SWELL AND SOFTEN THE LATEX. A DISK DISPERSER IS USED

TO BREAK THE SHEET SCRAPS INTO SMALL PARTICLES FOR PROCESSING

AS IT INCREASES THE SUZFACE AREA THAT IS EXPOSED TO THE

AMIYIONIA. CAVITATION ENERGY IS USED TO BREAK THE SHEET

PARTICLES IIJTO A SLIP THAT CAN BE PROCXSSED. A COMBINATION

OF COMPATIBLE HYDROPHILIC AND HYDROPHOBIC SURFACTANTS ARE

ADDED TO STAEILIZE THE DISFERSION OF THE RECLAIMED LATEX.

RECLAIM SLIP CAN EITHER BE BLENDED WITH VIRGIN MATERIALS FOR

ACTIVE AREA PROCESSING OR CAST THICK FOR OFF-LINE COVER

LAYER PROCESSING. SINCE 1 9 8 8 , KEMET HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR

A METHOD FOR SHEEET RECLAIM. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF

HISTORY

1.

2.

OF THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT;

JUNE 1988 TO JUNE 1990.

WORK FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLUBLE BINDER SYSTEM. SOLUBLE BINDERS DID NOT PRODUCE SHEET THAT COULD BE PROCESSED IN OUR MANOFACTURING PROCESS. THE PROPERTIES OF LATEX SHEET MADE IT EASIER TO USE.

JUNE 1990 TO DECEMBER 1992.

THE TECHNOLOGY FOR RECLAIMATION OF LATEX SHEET IS DEVELOPED ON A LABORATORY SCALE. PROPOSE PURCHASING NEW EQUIPMENT FOR PRODUCTION SIZE PROCESSING.

3, JANUARY 1993 TO PRESENT.

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION TRIALS, NEW EQUIPEMENT ON ORDER AND INSTALLED, PRODUCTION SIZE BATCH COMPLETE AND QUALIFICATION SAMPLES BEING BUILD.

4. OCTOBER 1993.

COMPLETE IMPLEMENTATION INTO PRODUCTION.

3

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b

. . . ,.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

ATTACHMENT #1 SHOWS SOME RESULTS FROM EARLIER PILOT

PLANT TRIALS. BATCH SIZES RANGE FROM 2 kgs. TO 2,000 kgs.

THE SCALE-UP TO A MANUFACTURING PROCESS HAS ALSO PROGRESSED

VERY WELL. THE PROJECT IS CURRENTLY DIVIDED INTO THREE

SUBGROUPS. THE GROUPS WORK AS INDIVIDUAL TEAMS AS FOLLOWS;

RECLAIM SHEET TEAM, PAD TEAM, AND SYSTEMS TEAM. ATTACHMENT

#2 IS A TECHNICAL SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT SITUATION. TO MY

KNOWLEDGE, RECLAMATION OF LATEX BASED SHEET HAS NEVER BEEN

DONE BEFORE IN A MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT. TECHNICALLY,

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS AND HAS GIVEN

KEMET A "WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING PROCESS." THE POTENTIAL

FOR EXTENDING THE OFF-LINE COVER LAYER PROCESS TO OTHER

DIELECTRICS IS VERY GOOD. THE POTENTIAL FOR USING RECYCLED

PRODUCT IN THE PRINTED SHEET OR MORE COMMONLY CALLED "ACTIVE

AREA," IS WEAK. THE RECLAIM SHEET WILL BE COMPLETELY USED UP

IN THE OF LINE COVER LAYERS AND WILL NOT BE NECESSARY TO BE

USED AS ACTIVE LAYERS. - . - - -. -

3

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES INCLUDE THE REDUCTION OF A HAZARDOUS WASTESTREAM

AND COST SAVINGS IN RAW MATERIALS AND HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL . AN INCREASE IN CAPACITY OF EQUIPMENT AND REDUCTION IN PRINTING CYCLE

DELAYS WILL ALSO BE ADVANTAGEOUS ONCE IN FINAL PRODUCTION.

13 1

TO DATE, NO DISADVANTAGES HAVE BEEN NOTED. HOWEVER,

IMPLEMENTATION IS BEHIND SCHEDULE DUE TO THE ELIMINATION OF 111

TRICHLOROETHANE AS OUR RELEASE AGENT IN THE CASTING OPERATION.

PERFECTING THE NEW RELEASE AGENT (NON-OZONE DEPLETING) HAS SLOWED

PRODUCTION OF THE NEW SU DIELECTRIC SCHEDULED TO BE THE FIRST

DIELECTRIC USED IN THE "OFF-LINE COVER LAYER PROJECT".

TRIALS TO DATE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR LATEX

MAY BE APPLICABLE TO ANY USER OF LATEX, 1 . e . PAINT MANUFACTURING IN

RECLAIM OF DRIED SCRAP FROM MIXING OPERATIONS.

3

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1 'Y ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

UPON IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL DIELECTRICS: i r Y

$650,000 COST SAVINGS (RAW MATERIALS/DISPOSAL)/YEAR

$110,285 TOTAL PROJECT COST

$15,000 CHALLENGE GRANT CONTRIBUTION

$95,285 PROJECT CONTRIBUTION ' .

ATTACHMENT #1

1'00-33 1 200- 55

. . .

3 kgs

4.5 k g s

4.5 b p

3.3 kgs 3 . 3 kgs 3.3 k.gs

IC! kgs P.gs

3 !.gs

15 kgs 15 kgs

3 kgs

3.3 I.+

> t

1.5 kgs 3 kgs

1.5 kgs 1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs 1 . 5 hgs 1.5 kgs 1.5 kgs ! . 5 hgs

27.2 kSs 1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs 1.5 kgs 1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs 1.5 kgs , 1.5 kgs

21.6 kgs 1.5 kgs

1.5 ' kgs

1.5 k p 1.5 kgs 1.5 hgs 1.5 kgs

1.5 kgs

1.3 kgs

1.5 kSS

1.5 kgS

MA E R IAL PR OCE S SED

5.0 kgs 5.d kgs

43.5 kss

13.3 k.gs

!3.3 kSS

13 .3 kgs 13.3 kgs

. IO.c! kcs 2.!) \ . & S

3.0 1.p

14.5 hgs

15.12 k ~ s 15.0 kgs

176.5 kgs 3 . 0 hgs

144.0 kgs 35.3 hgs

144.0 kgs 450.0 kgs

543.5 kgs 195.0 kgs 27.2 kgs

423.5 kgs

270.0 kgs

360.0 kgs

2.0 kgs 2.0 kgs

3h0.0 kgs

2.0 kgS 2.0 kgs 2.0 kgs 2.0 kgs

21.6 kgs 1200.0 kgs 1560.0 kgs

. 1320.0 kgs 540.0 kgs

1560.0 kgs 1350.0 kgs 1560.0 kgs 600.0 kgs 33O.ii kgs I0S9.9 k p

70 ?fl

711

71

fl i b 5 h5

hS 66 t.5

75 75 ?5

55 69

66 66

69 hS

75 75 76 7 4 70 70 75 75 75 75 75 75 71 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 70 70

bb

(IOfLlME?ITS Two 5 min p n s ~ s : d d d 3 7 Y I140 I I

Thrw 25 niin passes; d J d 25. Y I I J O I I I : I 1 ~ i ~ :.!l:c

5 7 4'I{coH @ staIrt

5'7c S'H.IC!H start

'l'wo 5 nil1 psscs: d d c d 3: ?;II40t-I

5'7 NII4014 cl: s i i r t

5 9, .Vti40H irjj s i u t

Chnged plunger ~ 1 x 1 s

t 'rduclion slip I hl s C' I'ilti.11

2nJ SU hnlch Thick shut @ >OOid/min t l r w Talc

Thick shect @ 50OxnVmin flow r . i [ s

Kccirculated Priductioii slip SL1 thin shmt JR Recirculatd Prod. slip Kxi rcu lard Prod. slip Rccircdatcd Prod. slip JR Recirculatcd Prod. slip JR Rccirculatd Prod. slip IR Recirculatd rcclairn slip JR Rccircvlated reclaim slip; p1un;cr .<:.:i I-iG Recirculated reclaim slip JR reclaim; pump was slow JR Recirculated reclaim slip: p l u n ; ~ c r -c.iI

JR Rcciruulated reclaim slip: l ? I ~ ~ ~ : i -c . . t I

JR rccldim: @ 3000 psi JR rcclaim: Ce, 5000 psi JR reclaim: @ 6000 psi JR reclaim: @ 7000 psi JR rwlaim: Ciz, 8000 psi JK reclaim: @ 9000 psi I-IG [lick shect!W.Jones IR Recirculated reclaim slip; p!ui+: -&:.I

JR Rccirculatd reclaim slip: plunscr -c.L;

JR Recirculated rwlaim slip; pluigcr -.c.I!

JR Recirculated reclaim slip JR Rccirculatcd rcclilim slip JR Recirculated rcclaiin slip: plungcr -& .. JR Rairculatal reclaim slip; plunger -..I.

J R Recirculated reclaim slip; plunge: - 8 .- IR Rccirculatd rcclaim: Inlet c h d . \.I,:.. I R Recirculatcd reclaim: Plunger w i i l

!I1 rwlaim

Changed pll.in,<i , . . . I ! -

I

. . . . . . . . - . . . : - . . . . . , . .... . . . . . .. . . ; . . ... . . . . .

I

ATTACHMENT #2

PROJECT NO: 939-280 TITLE: OFF-LINE COVERS ENG: J. HYSL,,

OBJECTIVE:

1. Increase APA productivity by 15%.

3. Decrease raw material cost by utilizing scrap sheet. 4 . Increase casting productivity by casting thick sheet. 5 . Decrease screen cleaning frequency and improve print

quality by continuous printing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

' I 2 . Decrease hazardous waste by utilizing scrap sheet.

CURRENT SITUATION AND GOAL

The project was organized into teams as follows:

1. RECLAIM SHEET TEAM: LEADER - M. VELASQUEZ a. Process developed ...... for SU.-di-electric._- I _ _ I ~ .____I_.___

1 . - --x::-- -'----.bl-T-Microf luidizer in house. Configuration in process. c. Succcessfully cast .004" green sheet in Sheiby. ~ - - - - - * . . d. Parametric chip data on several batches good. e. Full scale qualification batch run. Good results

in casting using water based release agent.

2 . PAD TEAM: LEADER - S. PARSONS a. Process concept developed. b. Machine designed, built, and installed in Shelby. c. Full shift run with OLC process completed. d. Received differential release paper from SXS. e . Made qualification batches with sheet from fu-1-1

scale production run and SKS release paper.

Batch t'icket revised to accomodate OLC.

.'a

3 . SYSTEMS TEAM: LEADER - B. WHITE a. b. XMS scheduling needs identifying. Changes in proce c . Scrap sheet handling system defined.

OBSTACLES & OPPORTUNITIES

rubbers with a radius on order.

. -

SCHEDULE:

i INSTALL RECWM PROCISS -- - .. :: '13 QUAL PARTS BUILT/ ON TEST PRODUCTlON iHIPLEMENTATION

1. Microfluidizer use as production equipment. 2 . Set-up SKS for release paper die cutting. 3 . Plant air pressure to operate equipment. 4 . Preventing contamination in reclaim slip.

- 5 : No increase in PPM'level-for ph 6. Resolve slivering problem at OL

,

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

..

CUSTOMER ORDER NO.

810-76623E

7 iviiLRurLuiuiL3 Lunruw I IUN 90 OAK STREET

NEWTON, MA 02164 (617) 969-5452 , *

'SHIPVIA .*' 7 * TERMS WEWON ORDoEURRNo. FED EXP STRND N e t . 3 0 days 19OSC 004354

SOLD T O KEMET ELECTROhICS CORP P.O. BOX 5928 ATTN: ACCOUNTS PAYABLE GREENVILLE,

F.O.B. POINT

NEWTON

ITEM NO./ SERIAL NO.

M - 1 l O T

STANQARD MICRUF

M- 1 MODX4

REPLACE INLET

M- 1 MODXS

AEDITIONAL INLE

M- 1 MOOQ

TUNGSTEN CAR8 I I)

M- 1 M(328C

0 - 3 5 t i PRESSURE

M- 1 MODF

STANDARD OERAM PRIMING VALVE T PLUG. SERIAL t193002

PLEASE RETURN YELL

INVOICE DATE 02/05 /93 809666

CUSTOMER NO. MKEMET

INVOICE NO. S H I P OATE 02/04/93

SHIPPED TO:

tiEMET ELECTRONICS 1 4 2 8 OLD STAGE ROAD SYYN: GARY ElRANON

SC 29606 SIMPSONVILLE, SO 2 9 6 8 1

EACH

U I D I Z E

EACH

OUTLET

EACH

000

000

000 F I T T I

EACH 000

PLUNG

EACH

AUGE

EACH 000

2 CHAM BE RE

000

v COPY WI1

. ,,. _ . QUANTITY BACKORDERED ORDERED

1.00

1.00

CHK VLVES

1.00

GS

1 . oo

R

1.00

1.00

ER SET LACED W/

PAYMENT

0.00

0.00

J/EZ CLEA

0 .00

0.00

0.00

0.00

TEE F I T T

SHIPPED

1 .oo

1.00

FOR HIGH

1 .oo

1-00

1.00

1 .oo

JG W / A RI

TI

I

19725.000

683.000

jOLIDS

72.000

4 4 6 - 000

625.000

9625.000 '

1OVABLE

S a l e s T o t a l ide Discount

F r e i g h t sc. C h a r g e s S a l e s T a x e s

.rn.rni

4 19725.00

& 683.0G

6) 2 72 .00

4 4 s . 00

625.00

9 5 2 s - 03

31 176.00 0.00

8 5 . 7 s 3.00 0.00

' 5 l c , c ' i 1c

ecopier 1 0 2 0 ; 6-24-94 ; 8:38AM ; 10448481 81-j 9 1 8 511 4 1 3 5 ; # 2

I$TE REDUCTION Fax!919-S?l-4135 May 25 9 4 1635 P,#/O3

. . I '

Case Study: KEMET Electronics Corporation Location: Shelby, NC(Cleve1and County) Industry: Electronic Capacitors, (SIC 3675) Pollution Prevention Application: Materials Reclamation and Reuse Annual Savings: $650,000 Payback Period: approximately 2 months PPP Challenge Grant Awarded: $15,000 Contact: Rena Huffman ( 7 0 4 ) 4 8 4 - 8 1 8 1

Background: KEMETls manufacturing operation utilizes latex- containing ceramic sheet to manufacture multilayer capacitors. The ceramic powder portion of the sheet contains barium metal exceeding Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure (TCLP) limits. Lack of on-site technology to reclaim this scrap latex sheet resulted in 90,000 pounds of ceramic raw material, or equivalently, one-third of the company's annual ceramic raw material input being sent to a Sub-title D landfill. The scope of the effort was to develop a process to use recovered latex as raw material for the manufacture of new outer capacitor covers on one off-line dielectric.

Waste Reduction Activities: With a Challenge grant, KEMET developed a process to soften the latex with ammonia, blend and disperse sheet scraps into small particles, and stabilize the resultant dispersion with surfactants for recasting. Although KEMET investigated the use of the recovered latex in on-line and off-line processes, use in the latter was found more suitable with potential for expansion into other dielectric applications. The off-line processes run completely on recovered feedstock.

Waste Reduction: Annually, this waste reduction effort recovers and reuses 27 ,000 pounds of hazardous waste with KEMET planning additional capacity through the purchase of two additional off- line cover machines. Additional cited benefits include increased casting and chipmaking capacity, improvement in chip quality from reduced screen blinding, and reduced printing cycle delays. This new recovery process may be applicable to other latex operations, including paint manufacturing.

Annual Savings and Payback: Implementation of the off-line cover layer project resulted in annual cost savings of $650,000 with respect to raw materials purchase and waste disposal. The cost of the project was $110,285. The payback period was approximately two months.