METALURGIJA 42 (2003) 3, 173-177 173

J. DANKO at all.: RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION

Received - Primljeno: 2002-06-03
Accepted - Prihvaceno: 2002-12-30
Preliminarv Note - Prethodno priopcenfe
ISSN 0543-5846
METABK 42 (3) 173 (2003)
UDC - UDK 621.742.5520
J. DANKO, R. DANKO, M. HOLTZER
J. Danko, R. Danko, M. Holtzer, Faculty oI Foundry Engineering, Uni-
versity oI Mining and Metallurgy, Cracow, Poland
RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Existing Ioundry technologies are main consumers oI
silica sand used as a basic component oI multi-purposed
moulding and core sands. Traditional sand technologies
still dominate all other manuIacture Ioundry processes.
Casting production perIormed in sand moulds is evalu-
ated as about 80 oI total world casting. Technologies
developed in recent time are also applying silica sand as a
base material in mould and core processes.
The estimation oI used sand quantity generated every
year in European Ioundries shows that during the produc-
tion oI 17 mln metric tons oI casts the volume oI about 7
mln metric tons oI waste is produced |1|.
Generally this waste is directed to dump apart the Iact,
that main component (70 ) is the Iully recoverable silica
sand proper potentially Ior Iurther Ioundry application aIter
being subjected to reclamation process. The waste manage-
ment has to be considered individually in each Ioundry, be-
cause it is determined as a resultant oI many Iactors eg:
Ioundry location, access to Iresh sand sources, waste vol-
ume associated with casting volume, costs oI waste disposal,
costs oI reclamation processes and the others |2-5|.
The scope and purpose of the present study is to contribute to the research of reclamation processes by inves-
tigating factors and conditions allowing replacement of fresh quartz sand consumption in foundry production by
the recovered sand. Actually gained experience by the foundries on this field confirmed that reclamation of
moulding used sands is regarded as an effective way of saving and protecting of the natural silica sand deposits.
Key words: foundry used sand, thermal reclamation, mechanical reclamation, sand testing, waste minimization
ObnavIjanje uporabIjenog pijeska pri proizvodnji odIjevaka. Opseg i svrha ove studije je doprinos razvoju
istrazivanja procesa obnavljanja pijeska pri pronalazenju okolnosti i uvjeta koji omogucuju zamjenu svjezeg
kvarcnog pijeska u proizvodnji odljevaka. Na tom polju stvarno steceno iskustvo u ljevaonicama potvrduje da se
obnavljanje pijeska koristenog za izradu kalupa smatra djelotvornim nacinom cuvanja i zastite postojeceg prirodnog
silicijskog pijeska.
Kljucne rijeci: rabljeni ljevacki pijesak, termicko obnavljanje, mehanicko obnavljanje pijeska, ispitivanje pijeska,
minimiziranje otpada
In Poland the one oI crucial steps which are expected
to be an eIIective way towards protection oI natural silica
sand deposits is wide introducing reclamation processes
into home Ioundries.
The aim oI this article is to contribute to the research
oI reclamation processes by investigating oI Iactors and
conditions allowing replacement oI Iresh quartz sand con-
sumption in Ioundry production by the recovered sand
RESEARCH
PROCESSES AND THE EXPERIMENTAL STAND
The objective oI the research perIormed at Faculty oI
Foundry Engineering, University oI Mining and Metallurgy
in Cracow was to determine both the possibility oI reclama-
tion treatment and the best technological way to achieve the
good quality reclaim. Four used sands were tested:
1. Used selI-hardened sand with water glass hardened by
ester dumped to the dump yard.
2. Used selI-hardened sand with water glass hardened by
ester aIter mechanical reclamation treatment in the cho-
sen Ioundry
3. Used Ioundry sand with alkyde resin binder dumped
to the dump yard.
4. Used Ioundry sand with Iurane resin dumped to the
dump yard.
METALURGIJA 42 (2003) 3, 173-177 174
J. DANKO at all.: RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION
Because oI the chemical composition oI the binder
which does not undergo destruction in the process oI ther-
mal reclamation used selI-hardened sand with water glass
hardener was reclaimed by mechanical reclamation car-
ried out in a special disc type centriIugal reclamation unit
developed at the Faculty oI Foundry. The pilot plant
reclaimer is illustrated on Figure 1.
In the case oI reclamation oI used Ioundry sands with
resin binders additionally thermal reclamation tests were
perIormed. Thermal reclamation was carried out in a pilot
reclamation unit, using gas burner directed on the sand bed
surIace and with Iluidizing system engaged periodically to
mix the bed oI Iluidized material. The range oI temperatu-
res obtained in the reclamation unit was 750 - 800 C. The
experimental thermal reclaimer is illustrated on Figure 2.
APPLIED METHOD
OF RECLAIMED SAND QUALITY ASSESSMENT
A large number oI Iactors characterizing the reclaimed
material may be used as the indicators grading oI the re-
claimed structure.
The diversity oI the casting technologies constrain the
laboratories to use Iactors not always corresponding with
themselves. The used methods oI grading are characteris-
tic Ior the speciIic mass.
Depending on the requirements put on the reclaim there
may be used either some oI the proposed methods oI grad-
ing or even all oI the mentioned methods |9|.
Table 1. Purposed reclaim quality index Ior various
used sands. Succession in the brackets given in decreas-
ing importance hierarchy.
In tests perIormed in UMM Iollowing reclaim quality
indexes were applied:
1. Na
2
O content Ior sands 1 and 2 listed below used,
2. Loss oI ignition (LOI) and bending strengths Ior used
sands 3 and 4 listed below.
Figure 1.
Slika 1.
a) Schematic representation of grain movement phases in
a centrifugal reclamation unit with profiled rotating disc
and specially profiled peripheral ring,
b) general view of a reclaimer
a) Shematski prikaz faza kretanja zrnaca u uredaju za
centrifugalno obnavljanje s profiliranom rotirajucom
plocom i posebno profiliranim perifernim prstenom,
b) Izgled regeneratora
used sand inlet used
sand
inlet
exhaus of
dusty air
b) a)
air air
air air
air air
rotating
disk
reclaimed
sand outlet
profiled
peripheral
ring
Reclaim
quality
index
Bending strength,
tensile strength
Clay
content
Clay
activity
Loss oI
ignition (LOI)
Sieve
analyses
N

O
content

SurIace
morphology

Chemical chara-
cter (pH, ADV)
Waste to reclaim

bentonite
and the
coal dust
water
glass
binder
cement
binder

resin
binders

( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 1 ) ( 2 )

( 2 ) ( - ) ( 2 ) ( - )

( 3 ) ( - ) ( - )
( - )


( - )
( - )


( 3 ) ( - ) ( - ) ( 1 )

( 4 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 4 )
( - ) ( 1 )
( 5 ) ( 5 ) (5) (5)

( - ) ( 4 ) (3) (3)
Used sand with
Table 1.
Tablica 1.
Purposed reclaim quality index for various used sands.
Succession in the brackets given in decreasing impor-
tance hierarchy
Namjenski indeks kvalitete recikliranog materijala za
razne vrste rabljenog pijeska. Niz podataka prikazanih
u zagradama naveden je redoslijedom od vaznijih pre-
ma manje vaznim
Figure 2.
Slika 2.
Experimental thermal reclaimer unit:
a) general view of reclaimer: 1- steel casing, 2 - jacket, 3 -
refractory lining, 4 - ceramic insulation, 5 - cover, 6 - ther-
mocouple holes, 7 - seal, 8 - burner, 9 - burner casing, 10 -
air distributor, 11 - ceramic wool, 12 - air box, 13 - dump
hole closure, 14 - stub pipe, 15 - hanging
Eksperimentalni toplinski generator:
a) shematski prikaz: 1 - celicna zastita, 2 - vanjski plast, 3 -
zastitno vatrostalno zide, 4 - keramicka izolacija, 5 - po-
klopac, 6 - otvor za termopar, 7 - brtva, 8 - gorionik, 9 - za-
stita gorionika, 10 - razdjelnik zraka, 11 - mineralna vu-
na, 12 - zracna komora, 13 - zatvarac otvora za paru, 14 -
cijev za sarziranje, 15 - vjesalica
b) shema dizajna
b) scheme of design
15
5
a) b)
8
9
4
2
6
7
Gas
Air
Air to fluidisation
3
14
13
12
3
3
10
11
1
METALURGIJA 42 (2003) 3, 173-177 175
J. DANKO at all.: RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Used sand with water glass binder
Used Ioundry mixture oI known composition was sub-
jected to mechanical reclamation treatment. Following
reclaims were obtained:
- R1 - the reclaim aIter 30 cycles oI mechanical reclama-
tion,
- R2 - the reclaim aIter 30 cycles oI mechanical reclama-
tion with preheating up to the temperature oI 450
C Ior the time oI 2 hours,
- R3 - the reclaim aIter 30 cycles oI mechanical reclama-
tion with preheating up to the temperature oI 450
C Ior the time oI 2 hours additionally reclaimed
in laboratory batch mixer.
The results oI Na
2
O content in the reclaims are given
on Figure 3. It can be noted that iI reclamation scale is
higher the process product is better. It is accepted that the
limit Na
2
O content in the reclaim is 0.2 . This limit was
established as a result oI research carried out in Poland in
the Irame oI CIATF commission |10, 11|.
Used sand
with water glass binder reclaimed in the foundry
The aim oI the research was to determine the eIIiciency
oI the reclamation system installed in the Ioundry. The new
installed system is destinated Ior the waste with water glass
binder. In the Ioundry the waste is reclaimed in the me-
chanical centriIugal reclaimer. At the Faculty oI Foundry
Engineering the reclaim obtained in the Ioundry was tested
in aspect oI increasing oI its properties by 1, 5 and 10
reclamation cycles treatment in the laboratory reclama-
tion unit. Loss oI ignition and Na
2
O content were used as
a reclaim quality indexes. Results oI the conducted tests
are shown on Figure 4.
Used foundry sand with alkyde resin
The comparative studies oI the reclaim obtained by
mechanical and thermal reclamation perIormed on the
equipment operating in the examined Ioundry and that
available at the Faculty oI Foundry Engineering, Univer-
sity oI Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow, included deter-
mination oI the loss oI ignition and testing the mechanical
properties oI Ioundry mixtures prepared with the reclaimed
sand. The loss oI ignition was determined by the method
oI heating the sand samples at a temperature oI 850 + 20
C Ior the time oI 2 hours. The research was conducted on
three types oI the used sands with alkyd resin, including:
1. Weakly burned out lumps oI the sand with alkyd resin
(designated as 'Sand 1);
2. Heavily burned out sand directly adjacent to the cast-
ing surIace (designated as 'Sand 2);
3. Mixture oI used sands, containing about 60 oI the
weakly burned out sand and 40 oI the heavily burned
out sand (designated as 'Sand 3);
4. Reclaim obtained in an installation Ior mechanical rec-
lamation (designated as 'Sand 4);
5. Reclaim obtained in an installation Ior thermal recla-
mation (designated as 'Sand 5).
Sands with the alkyde resin are now considered as-
out-oI date sands and technologically unmodern. This is
the reason why the researches aiming to maximize the eI-
Figure 4.
Slika 4.
I oss and Na O content after determinition of sta-
ge of reclamation treatment
Gubitak zarenjem i sadrzaj Na O nakon odredivanja ko-
raka postupka recikliranja

gnition l
R
e
c
l
a
i
m

f
r
o
m
t
h
e

f
o
u
n
d
r
y
1

r
e
c
l
a
m
a
t
i
o
n
c
y
c
l
e
5

r
e
c
l
a
m
a
t
i
o
n
c
y
c
l
e
s
1
0

r
e
c
l
a
m
a
t
i
o
n
c
y
c
l
e
s
*Sodium
oxide
content
*SOC
LOI
L
O
I
,

N
a
O

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

[
%
]

0.57
0.42
0.41
0.38
0
.
1
0
0
0
.
0
9
9
0
.
0
9
8
0
.
0
8
8
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.101
0.484
0.197
0.168
0.157
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
N
e
w

s
a
n
d
f
r
o
m
"
S
z
c
z
a
k
o
w
a
"
m
i
n
e
U
s
e
d

s
a
n
d
f
r
o
m
t
h
e

f
o
u
n
d
r
y
R1 R2 R3
N
a
O

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

Reclaimed sand
Figure 3.
Slika 3.
Na O content in tested reclaims
Sadrzaj Na O u testiranom recikliranom materijalu

METALURGIJA 42 (2003) 3, 173-177 176

J. DANKO at all.: RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION
Iectiveness oI their reclaim capability are not recently con-
ducted in many research centers. Technologies causing the
generation oI the spent masses oI this kind are used mainly
with the steel casting demanding speciIic technological
conditions which are demanded especially because oI the
requirements oI the casted alloy. This is the reason why
those sands considered to be out-oI-date, and useless by
the cast iron technologies requiring the high Ilexibility
predispose the technologically out-oI-date sands |12|.
In terms oI the quality oI the obtained reclaim, the sys-
tem oI thermal reclamation is Iunctioning correctly. The
loss on ignition oI the reclaim amounting to less that 0.1
is lower than in the case oI new silica sand Irom Wislak
(0.53 ) and Grudzen Las (0.11 ).
Examining extensively the eIIect oI the mechanical rec-
lamation cycles on the reclaim quality measured by the loss
oI ignition it can also be observed that in many cases the
number oI the additional cycles oI the reclamation process
is less eIIective than the dedusting oI sand done beIore and
aIter the reclamation process. Hence a conclusion Iollows
that the existing system oI vibration reclamation conducted
in a Vibrader equipment is acceptable, but more attention
should be paid to dedusting oI the reclaim and specially to
keeping the level oI dust content stable, i.e. the lowest pos-
sible, since on this value depend the mechanical properties
oI the sand mixture. In this aspect one can observe a consid-
erable increase in permeability oI all the types oI the base
sand grains resulting Irom its eIIective (additional) dedusting.
Used foundry sand with furane resin
Used Ioundry sand with Iuran resin binder was tested.
Figure 6. shows the results oI testing realized within
the 5 perIormation statuses which means mechanical and
thermal reclamation processes exerted upon reclaimed
sand. Bending strength tests and loss oI ignition tests were
carried out on:
- used moulding sand supplied Irom the Ioundry (1
st
stage
oI tests),
- used moulding sand supplied Irom the Ioundry aIter
pneumatic classiIication in cascade classiIier (2
nd
stage
oI tests),
- used moulding sand supplied Irom the Ioundry aIter dry
mechanical reclamation process carried out in mechani-
cal centriIugal impactless reclaimer (3
rd
stage oI tests),
- used moulding sand supplied Irom the Ioundry aIter ther-
mal reclamation process carried out in experimental ther-
mal reclaimer (4
th
stage oI tests),
- used moulding sand supplied Irom the Ioundry aIter ther-
mal reclamation process carried out in experimental ther-
mal reclaimer and additionally subjected to dry mechani-
cal reclamation in mechanical centriIugal impactless
reclaimer (5
th
stage oI tests).
The two main properties oI reclaimed sand are high-
lighted. The Bending Strength |MPa| oI sand mixture pre-
pared on reclaimed sand basis, and the percentage Loss oI
Ignition (LOI) ||.The specimens Ior strength testing were
prepared in hot box process holding them Ior 40 seconds in
a core box preheated up to a temperature oI 220 C. BeIore
strength testing, the specimens were stored Ior 1 hour.
Examining obtained data one can observe that the bend-
ing strength noticeably increase with more advanced rec-
0.0
0.0
0.5
0.5
1.0
1.0
1.5
1.5
2.0
2.0
2.5
2.5
L
O
I

[
%
]
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

[
M
P
a
]
S
a
n
d
n
o

1
S
a
n
d
n
o

2
S
a
n
d
n
o

3
S
a
n
d
n
o

4
S
a
n
d
n
o

5
Sand from the foundry
Reclaimed without dedusting Reclaimed with dedusting
Figure 5.
Slika 5.
Bending strength and loss of ignition of reclaims from us-
ed foundry sands with alkyde resin after reclamation tre-
atment at the UMM
Cvrstoca na savijanje i gubitak materijala zarenjem rab-
ljenog ljevackog pijeska s alkidnom smolom nakon
recikliranja tretiranjem u UMM
2.2 2.22
3.04
3.96
4.16
2
.
9
9
2
.
4
5
1
.
2
7
0
.
2
7
0
.
2
3
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0.
4.0
1 2 3 4 5
LOI
[%]
Bending Strength [MPa]
The testing status of reclamation treatment
Figure 6.
Slika 6.
Results of testing realized within the 5 performation sta-
tuses of mechanical and thermal reclamation processes
Rezultati testiranja dobiveni u okviru 5 izvedenih meha-
nickih i toplinskih procesa recikliranja
METALURGIJA 42 (2003) 3, 173-177 177
J. DANKO at all.: RECLAMATION OF USED SANDS IN FOUNDRY PRODUCTION


Figure 7.
Slika 7.
Difference of surface appearance after 1 (Figure 7.a) and
after 5 (Figure 7.b) stage of tests
Razlika u izgledu povrsine nakon 1-vog (Slika 7.a) i na-
kon 5. (Slika 7.b) 5-tog stadija pokusa
IJ
JD
a)
b)
lamation treatment exerted upon used sand during recla-
mation process. The top value oI bending strength (4.16
MPa) was obtained Ior combined thermal and mechanical
reclamation process (testing status no. 5), while sole ther-
mal reclamation gives value oI 5 lesser. In this order
mechanical reclamation enables to obtain only 75 oI
Iull bending strength range.
It is worth to emphasize that the used sand supplied
Irom the Ioundry was primarily reclaimed in vibration re-
claimed and dedusted in the Ioundry. In this light the eI-
Iect oI this primarily reclamation treatment has to be con-
sidered as a highly insuIIicient and unsatisIactory Ior Iur-
ther Ioundry application.
The bending strength has inverse manner to loss oI ig-
nition. The practical value that could be accepted as a suI-
Iicient Ior Ioundry practice is approx. 1 . It means that it
is located between 3 and 4 treatment status oI reclamation
rather more close to status 4, where thermal combustion
oI residual resin on grain surIace allows to rapid decrease
oI LOI.
REFERENCES
|1| D. P. Kanicki: Global casting raport: past, present & Iuture. Mod-
ern Casting, December 2000, 24
|2| J. L. Lewandowski: Moulding and core sands. Warsaw 1991,
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN
|3| G. Good, D. F. Hoyt et al.: Total sand reclamation. AFS Special
Report, July 1987, 30-34
|4| J. L. Lewandowski, J. Danko, M. Holtzer: Recycling oI Ioundry
sands in Polish Ioundry industry with regard oI environmental pro-
tection. The 4th European ConIerence on Advanced Materials and
Processes, Euromat 95, Padua/Venice, Italy, 25-28 September 1995,
73-78
|5| D. S. Leidel: The inIluence oI sand and binders on reclaimability.
Foundry Trade Journal, Issue 3497, v. 168, (1994), 384-387
|6| J. Danko: Research trends oI the laboratory Ior the theory, design
and measurement oI Ioundry machines. Przeglad Odlewnictwa,
vol. 51, 2001, No 9-10, 321-324
|7| J. Danko, M. Lucarz: CentriIugal reclamation units oI new de-
sign. Acta Metallurgica Slovaka, rocnik 3, Kosice 1997, 207-211
|8| J. Danko, M. Lucarz: Theoretical backgrounds oI designing im-
pact-Iree centriIugal reclamation units. Metallurgy and Foundry
Engineering, UMM, vol.22, Krakow 1996, 309-317
|9| J. Danko, J. L. Lewandowski: Analiza metod oceny regenerowal-
nosci zuzytych mas Iormierskich i rdzeniowych ze szczegolnym
uwzgldnieniem metod ruchowych. III KonIerencja Odlewnicza
TECHNICAL 2000, Nowa Sol 11 - 12.05.2000, 35-42. (Original
in Polish)
|10| J. Danko, J. L. Lewandowski: Reclamation ability oI selI-harden-
ing moulding sands with water glass. Przeglad Odlewnictwa, vol.
49, 1999, 3, 91-93
|11| CIATF - Development oI a method oI the reclamation oI selI-set-
ting Iluidized sands. International Cast Metals Journal, t 3, 1978,
4, 37
|12| M. Holtzer: Ocena technologii mas Iormierskich i rdzeniowych
stosowanej w odlewni Alstom Power pod katem celowosci i mozli-
wosci wprowadzenia zamiennika mas alkidowych w aspekcie aktu-
alnych i perspektywicznych potrzeb odlewni. Praca naukowoba-
dawcza, Krakow, 2001. (Original in Polish)
As it mentioned above the reclamation process is car-
ried out in order to remove the layer oI the used binding
material Irom the surIaces oI grains. Figure 7. shows the
diIIerence oI surIace appearance aIter 1
st
(Figure 7.a) and
aIter 5
th
(Figure 7.b) stage oI tests. The highest level oI the
sand grains cleaning process is achieved aIter both ther-
mal and mechanical regeneration.
CONCLUSIONS
It is possible to entirely eliminate and reduce to a gen-
erally acceptable level the toxic eIIect oI all side-products
oI reclamation that are harmIul to the soil, underground
water and air.
In Ioundries the best Ior recycling is the solid waste Irom
which the recovery oI moulding sand is Iully recommended.
The currently applied reclamation method oI waste sands
ensures the high eIIectiveness oI reclamation processes, and
at the same time allows Ior other speciIic Ieatures inherent
in every method oI reclamation and importance oI the pro-
cess perIormance under optimum conditions.