Used Oil

JWA uses large amounts of energy to melt aluminum. The energy used for melting aluminum is natural gas. Recently, JWA initiated a used oil burning project that involves collection of oily water from the bilges of ships and other industries in the area, separation of the oil, treatment of the water and finally filtration. The oil collected from the process is burned in the melting furnace and the treated water is evaporated with waste heat exhausted from the melting furnace stacks.

JWA is currently burning approximately 60,000 gallons of waste oil per month, with over 100,000 gallons of waste oil burned in the month of January 2006, primarily from ships arriving in the Charleston harbor. The US Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA, tugboats, and commercial ships are the primary source of the oil. Future waste oil sources include vegetable oil that is currently being disposed of in landfills. Other future waste oil projects include burning the oil with pure oxygen, which would double the energy efficiency of the melting furnaces.

Recycling Efforts including Paper and Scrap

Other ongoing recycling efforts at JWA include: office paper, cardboard, pallet grinding, steel, fluorescent light bulbs and batteries. The office paper and cardboard goes to the Sonoco facility, the pallets are ground and sold to Georgia Pacific for fuel, and the steel is sold to scrap metal yards.

Recycling Data for Mt. Holly Facility based on CY 2006 data

Recycling Reclamation News from the Aluminum Association