Autoliv, Inc. Partners
Challenge
Autoliv, Inc., a manufacturer of initiation devices that set off air bags, needed innovative waste treatment options for a solvent mixture of acetone and hexane that is decanted during their explosives manufacturing process.
Veolia Solution
Veolia ES - Technical Solutions provides transportation for drummed quantities of these solvents to two Veolia facilities—Henderson, CO for solvent recovery and Sauget, IL for the safe disposal of materials containing high energy explosives. The Henderson facility processes the spent acetone-hexane blend from Autoliv and then the recycled acetone and hexane products are reused by other customers. In the future, Autoliv hopes to bring back the hexane as a recycled product and use it in their operations.
Benefits
Due to the quantity of hexane used in their processes, Autoliv is required to report the use of hexane on an EPA FormR. However, Autoliv receives recycle credits from the EPA for recycling the hexane portion of the hazardous waste. By using the environmentally desirable recycling option instead of other forms of disposal, Autoliv removes about 160,000 pounds per year of hazardous waste from their large quantity generator reports. This also eliminates some EPA reporting requirements.