Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628

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Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Research article

Mechanical and thermal methods for reclamation of waste foundry sand

Mohd Moiz Khan a, *, S.M. Mahajani a, **, G.N. Jadhav b, Rohit Vishwakarma c,
Vithoba Malgaonkar c, S. Mandre d
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India
b
Department of Earth Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India
c
Tata Centre for Technology and Design, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India
d
Department of Metallurgy, Government Polytechnic, Kolhapur, 410064, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Binder material (e.g. bentonite, polymeric resins) is used for producing molds and cores in foundries. It de­
Waste foundry sand activates upon exposure to the high temperature (~1400 C) of molten metal. As a result, these binders form
◦

Binder either loosely or strongly bound deposits on the surface of sand grains, leaving them unsuitable for further use.
Dead clay
Disposal of Waste Foundry Sand (WFS) remains to be one of the significant challenges faced by foundry industry
Mechanical reclamation
Thermal reclamation
nowadays. In order to remove these deposits from WFS, we have studied and compared two types of methods
namely, mechanical and thermal reclamation. The WFS samples after being reclaimed either mechanically or
thermally or by combination of both, are compared using various tests. These tests include determination of
loosely bound and strongly bound clay content, compressive strength, Grain Fineness Number (GFN), Loss on
Ignition (LOI), Acid Demand Value (ADV), Particle size distribution and optical microscopy. We have used the
aforementioned tests to characterize the quality of foundry sand and the suitability of reclaimed sand for use in
mold and core production in foundries. The results showed that neither of these treatments is sufficient to
completely remove the deposits from sand grains. However, solely mechanically reclaimed sand is suitable for
the mold production after maintaining 8% active clay and 10% loosely bound clay in the reclaimed sand,
respectively.

1. Introduction
For decades, foundries have been considered as metal recyclers. The
manufacture of metal castings using scrap metal is considered the most
effective method of utilising scrap metal in foundries. Gigante (2010)
ascertained that iron, aluminium, and copper are among the most
common recyclable materials in foundries. According to Mizuli et al.
(2018), currently, foundries are considered part of the green technology
movement because they are used to recycle metals. However, only a
small fraction of the total recyclable materials is recovered. Therefore, a
higher level of sustainability should be achieved in foundries across the
globe. Khan et al. (2018) pointed out that the foundries, in addition to
being energy intensive, generate large amounts of waste materials, such
as sludge and waste sand, which is often dumped in isolated places,
rivers, and landfills. The author also emphasised that the waste sand
contains heavy toxic metals that can severely pollute the environment.
In one research, Mizuli et al. (2018) discussed the working environment
in foundries and concluded that the foundry industry is unhealthy and
unsafe when compared to other process industries. Fine particles of sand
and clay remain suspended in the foundry air space, which is an occu­
pational hazard. A similar study was conducted by Mgonja (2017) to
investigate health issues related to sand exposure for a longer time. The
authors elaborated that sand is composed of quartz that does not
degrade after inhalation and attaches itself on many parts inside the
human body, causing problems such as chronic cough and respiratory
problems. Researchers have developed some innovative technologies to
reduce materials and energy used in foundries and limit the resulting
pollution. Some researchers such as Oman (2018) explored to use green
sand and baghouse dust in advanced oxidation process to reduce
bentonite consumption in the foundry. Furthermore, Torielli et al.
(2014) looked over to substitute phenolic urethane core binders with
collagen-alkali silicate binders to diminish volatile matter in the foundry

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: moiz.khan@iitb.ac.in (M.M. Khan), sanjaym@iitb.ac.in (S.M. Mahajani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111628
Received 6 August 2020; Received in revised form 3 October 2020; Accepted 10 October 2020
Available online 14 November 2020
0301-4797/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.M. Khan et al.
sand. However, even after implementing these technologies, a large
amount of waste sand is still generated in foundries.
Khan et al. (2018) conducted a foundry survey in Kolhapur, India,
and it was observed that approximately 60% green sand and 40%
chemically bonded sand are used. Waste sand from these foundries
contains a mixture of green sand and chemically bonded sand as
depicted in Fig. 1. Presently, WFS is mostly disposed in dumping sites
because it cannot be used directly for further foundry applications. Ac­
cording to Fan et al. (2004), WFS does not have strength required for
molds and cores. Further, the author argued that the WFS becomes a
liability for foundries unless treated or disposed properly. Even though
the sand remains intact, the concentric layers of dead clay or oolitic
deposits on the sand during casting is a concern. If these coatings can be
removed from sand grains, the sand can be further used in foundries.
Therefore, there is an urgent necessity to develop a cost-effective tech­
nology to reclaim any type of sand.
Mechanical reclamation is based on the principle of attrition. Khan
et al. (2018) investigated mechanical reclamation method for WFS. The
sand grains were rubbed against each other and also with external media
such as agate balls to remove any surface deposit on the waste sand.
These fines were then separated using sieves and cyclone separators. The
authors revealed that a substantial amount of coating is removed from
the surface of WFS. Alike research was conducted by Cruz et al. (2009)
wherein author used fluidized bed reactor to reclaim WFS at different
operating pressures. The experiments were conducted for green sand
and calcined green sand, to assess the consequences of prior calcination
of the green sand on its reclamation potential by attrition. The author
concluded that attrition calcined green sand produced better results. In
thermal reclamation, waste sand is heated to 700 C, which burns the
◦
dead binder attached to the sand grains (Sabour et al., 2020). Although
this process is relatively efficient, but it is energy intensive. Lucaz (2015)
mentioned that the thermal reclamation technique is most suitable for
core sand. Furthermore, Danko (2011) pointed out the advantages of
thermal reclamation and concluded that most of the binding agents can
be removed, and that the reclaimed sand can be used for making molds
and cores in the foundry. However, in the case of waste green sand,
thermal reclamation is rarely used as the sole technique. The heating in
the process converts only the active clay into dead binder/oolitic de­
posits and does not remove the dead binder attached to the surface of the
sand grains. To remove this dead binder, mechanical treatment is also
required. Therefore, both thermal and mechanical treatment are
necessary to reclaim mixed sand. The loosely bound clay content of WFS
typically varies in the range 10%–18%, as reported by Siddiqui et al.
(2010) in his study. The primary aim of reclamation methods is to
reduce the dead clay content to <0.2%. It was observed by Zanetti et al.
(2003) and Danko et al. (2013) in their investigations that the reclaimed
sand with clay content < 0.2% is suitable for making cores and that with
dead clay content < 2% is suitable for molds. In addition to the dead clay
content of reclaimed sand, other properties, such as grain fineness
number (GFN), loss on ignition (LOI), permeability, compressive
strength, and acid demand value (ADV), should also satisfy the re­
quirements of foundries for producing quality molds and cores (Khan
Fig. 1. Dumped waste foundry sand, Kolhapur, India.
2
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
et al., 2020). The ADV is indispensable for core sand.
From the foregoing discussion, it can be inferred that numerous
studies have been reported on the mechanical and thermal reclamation
methods. The reclaimed sand obtained using these methods had not
been discussed and compared in detail with regard to cost and sand
properties, such as active clay, dead clay, compressive strength, Cation
Exchange Capacity (CEC), LOI, ADV, GFN, and permeability. Moreover,
the validation of lab scales studies through field trials can be counted on
fingers to the best of our knowledge. Furthermore, the process sequence
of reclamation has not yet been reported in literature. Studying whether
mechanical reclamation should be first followed by thermal reclama­
tion, or vice versa is essential. Therefore, the objective of this study is to
compare performance of these reclamation techniques and to determine
the best possible process sequence for WFS reclamation based on the
aforementioned standard foundry tests.
2. Materials
WFS samples were collected from the foundry cluster in Kolhapur,
India. The most common binder used in these foundries for producing
molds is bentonite while phenolic resins are used as binders for pro­
ducing cores.
3. Experiments performed
3.1. Mechanical treatment
A two-stage mechanical attrition device, reported in our earlier study
(Khan et al., 2018) was used for attrition followed by sieving, to remove
the loosely bound dead clay from WFS grains as shown in Fig. 2. WFS
(7.5 kg) was fed into the two-stage mechanical attrition device, which
was 0.5 m in length and 0.2 m in diameter (Khan et al., 2018). It was first
subjected to the attrition offered by agate balls (3 kg). The attrition
between the agate balls (crypto-crystalline silica) sand particles, and the
wall of the device, disintegrated the dead coating on WFS surface. The
device was operated at a speed of 20 revolutions per minute (RPM) for
30 min. Thus, the WFS was reclaimed mechanically; the reclaimed
samples were further analysed.
3.2. Thermal treatment
A lab-scale thermal fluidized bed reactor, with a diameter and height
of 0.25 m and 0.60 m, respectively, was used for thermal treatment
(Fig. 3). An air compressor was used to provide air for fluidisation and
combustion of sand particles. A mixture of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
and air was supplied into the reactor at a flow rate of 250 lpm, which
Fig. 2. Two-stage mechanical attrition device.
M.M. Khan et al.
Fig. 3. Lab-scale fluidized bed reactor for thermal reclamation.
was determined using minimum fluidisation velocity calculation based
on reactor capacity, processed material, and temperature of the reaction
chamber. The requirement for combustion was estimated to be 95 lpm
which is less than the fluidisation requirement. An LPG torch was
mounted on the top of the reactor to ignite the mixture of LPG and air. In
thermal reclamation process, the temperature was increased up to 700
C; this was based on the batch process (10 kg capacity) with a residence
◦
time of 20 min.
3.3. Analytical methods
3.3.1. Loosely bound clay
The method of analysis follows Indian Standards (IS) 1918:1966. A
25-ml solution of 30 g/l NaOH was added in 475 ml of distilled water;
50 g of dried sand was subsequently added in this solution. After stirring
for 60 min, particles were allowed to settle for 10 min. The sand was
filtered and allowed to dry at 110 C for 2 h. The difference in weights
◦
between the actual sample and the processed sample is the amount of
loosely bound clay.
3.3.2. Strongly bound clay: oolitic content
A dried sand sample (50 g) was added to a beaker filled with 475 ml
of distilled water and 25 ml of 0.1 N NaOH. This solution was stirred at
100 RPM for 30 min. Thereafter, a 53-μm sieve was used to filter the
solution, which was then washed with distilled water until it appeared
clear. The washed sand sample was then dried at 900 C for 2 h. Further,
◦
10 g dried sample was treated with 200 ml concentrated phosphoric acid
(85%) at 158 C for 80 min. The solution was cooled to room tempera­
◦
ture, washed three times with distilled water, and finally dried. Based on
the weight of the dried samples, oolitic content (OC) was calculated
using Eq. (1).
(10g − Final ​ wt.of ​ dried ​ sample(g))*100
OC(%) =
10g
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
3.3.3. Compressive strength
A universal testing machine (UTM) was used to determine the
compressive strength of the molds produced using the processed sand.
The prepared molds were of the standard size, that is, cylindrical molds
with diameter of 36 mm and length of 72 mm. These molds were then
placed in the UTM, and a gradual load with an increment of 2 mm/s was
applied. The compressive strength of the mold was calculated by
dividing the maximum load by original cross-sectional area of the
specimen.
3.3.4. Grain fineness number (GFN) and particle size distribution of sand
A high performance vibrational sieve shaker (make: Retsch, Model:
AS-200) was used for this analysis. A 100 g sample of dried sand was
placed in the top sieve and made to pass through a set of 11 sieves, 3.35
mm, 1.70 mm, 850 μm, 600 μm, 425 μm, 300 μm, 212 μm, 150 μm, 106
μm, 75 μm, 53 μm and a pan. The run was carried out for 20 min, and
thereafter, the weight of retained sand was noted for each sieve and pan.
The data was used to calculate GFN (IS, 1918:1966). Furthermore, a
graph of particles size against mass retained on each sieve was plotted.
3.3.5. Loss on ignition (LOI)
LOI is the loss of matter calculated by comparing the weight of a
sample before and after the sand is ignited. LOI in this case was
measured by using a muffle furnace (make: Therelek, Model: TES-12) by
placing a sand sample at 900 C for 2 h.
◦
3.3.6. Acid demand value (ADV)
A sample of dried sand (50 g) was placed in a beaker filled with 50 ml
distilled water and 50 ml 0.1 N HCl; this solution was stirred for 5 min at
room temperature. The sample was allowed to soak for an hour, and
then back-titration was carried out using a 0.1 N NaOH solution until the
end point was reached. The consumption of 0.1 N HCl by the sand
sample, expressed in terms of mg/100 g of sand, is reported as ADV.
3.3.7. Permeability of the mold
The recommended value for the permeability of a mold in foundries
is 120–145 cm/min. A permeability tester (make: Kelsons, Model: 0221)
contains a cylindrical water tank with an air tank floating inside. When
the valve is properly opened, air from the air tank flows through the sand
specimen and a back pressure is established. The pressure of this air is
measured using a water manometer. The tester is equipped with a chart,
which directly provides permeability based on the pressure.
3.3.8. Microscopy
Microscopic analysis was used to study the surface of the sand grain,
shape of grains, effects of sand reclamation on sand grains etc. The op­
tical microscope (make: Labomed, Model: Lx 200) was used under the
magnifications of 5×, 10× and 20x in the mode of in Polarizing Light
(IPL) and cross Nicol prism.
3.3.9. Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
Bentonite has a net negative charge on its surface and thereby it
attracts cations. CEC is a measure of the ability of clay to hold positively
charged ions (Sposito et al., 1999). A total 2 g of sample along with 300
ml distilled water was poured into a 500 ml beaker. A desired amount of
sulphuric acid was added in this solution to maintain the pH 2.5–3.8. A
5 ml solution was taken into a conical flask. Thereafter, the burette was
filled with methylene blue solution (10011 ppm). The solution was
shaken continuously while methylene blue solution was allowed into the
conical flask drop by drop. A drop of solution was taken out from the
conical flask at every minute and placed on the filter paper. The titration
point was indicated by the formation of light blue ring around the drop.
(1) The CEC can be calculated using Eq. (2).
(EV)∗100
CEC = (2)
W
3
M.M. Khan et al.
where.
CEC = cation exchange capacity in meq/100 g of sample
E = mill equivalents of methylene blue per milliliter
V = milliliters of methylene blue solution required for the titration,
and
W = grams of dry material
Both green sand and bentonite samples were heated in the auto­
mated electric muffle furnace (make: Therelek, Model: TES-12) in the
range of 35–1100 ◦ C for 2 h. Samples were then collected at room
temperature and CEC analysis was carried out. The obtained values of
CEC are plotted against temperature as shown in Fig. 8 in the manu­
script. It should be noted that the CEC decreased as temperature
increased and became zero at 900 C owing to the loss of free and
◦ strongly bound clay (oolitic deposits). The classification of loosely
structural water from the sample, and hence it lost the capability of
isomosphoric substitution (Sarikaya et al., 2000).
3.4. Process sequences for reclamation of WFS
The performance of a two-stage mechanical attrition device is suit­
able for waste foundry green sand and can considerably reduce the
loosely bound dead clay content from 10% to 2.2%. (Khan et al., 2018).
Cost analysis showed the process to be economically viable. The oper­
ation cost of the mechanical reclamation process is approximately $08
ton− 1. It is a promising option with certain limitations. The dead clay
content of the reclaimed sand was limited to 2.2% and it never reached a
value < 2%. Furthermore, it is not suitable for chemically bonded sand
and for the mixed type of sand. The strongly bound oolitic content re­
mains unaffected in this process.
Based on an exhaustive survey of foundries in Kolhapur and litera­
ture survey, we identified the necessity to develop a prototype capable
of reclaiming any type of sand, such as waste green sand, waste core
sand, or a mixture of both. A lab-scale thermal reclamation setup was
developed and used to perform experiments. In the thermal reclamation
method, chemical binder (phenolic resin) was removed by heating. At
700 C, the phenolic resins burn completely producing CO or CO2. In
◦
waste green sand, bentonite is used as the binder, which was not
removed using thermal reclamation because at this temperature,
bentonite loses water, becomes brittle, and adheres strongly on the
surface of the sand grains. The energetic model developed by Danko
(2007) for dry mechanical reclamation of WFS in order to completely
remove of dead binder coating from WFS. The study suggested that the
undesired crushing is caused by external forces, dynamic or static, which
generate and transmit high contact loads between coatings and sand
grains. The product loss is expected to be higher due to the crushing of
WFS and is something not desired in the foundry. Therefore, to
completely remove the coating from the sand grains, a hybrid unit,
which is a combination of both thermal and mechanical reclamation
techniques, should be developed to treat all types of sand. To validate
this hypothesis, the following options were studied:
1. Mechanical reclamation
2. Thermal reclamation
3. Thermal followed by mechanical reclamation
4. Mechanical followed by thermal reclamation
In thermal reclamation, active clay is deactivated but the loosely
bound dead clay or oolitic deposits are not removed from the sand
grains. The mechanical reclamation can remove dead clay coating from
the sand grains. Therefore, the third option which is, combination of
these two treatments was chosen for the study. However, this option has
limitation that it does not remove the oolitic deposits from the sand
grain which are formed owing to thermal treatment or those already
present in WFS. The limitation of third option suggested a new sequence
4
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
i.e. mechanical followed by thermal. In this sequence, it is possible that
we remove the loosely bound clay with the help of mechanical treatment
in order to avoid oolitic generation further and then follow it by thermal
treatment. However, for removing chemical binder such as phenolic
resin, the efficacy of thermal treatment before and after mechanical
treatment remains same. Therefore, analysis of the fourth option, that is,
mechanical followed by thermal reclamation, may provide promising
results.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Classification of clay in the mixed waste sand
WFS comprises of loosely bound clay (active clay and dead clay) and
bound clay and oolitic deposit in mixed waste sand is illustrated in
Fig. 4. Active clay is the one that absorbs water and provides strength
whereas, dead clay does not absorb any water, and thereby, does not
provide strength (Khan et al., 2018). Active clay can be used to produce
molds, whereas dead clay is not suitable for mold production. It should
be noted that two major changes were observed in the clay after heating,
during the casting process. First, owing to the heat associated with
molten metal, active clay deactivates because of loss of inter layer water
in its structure, and thereby loses its absorbing capacity. Second, during
the casting process, the clay transforms into oolitic. This is a result of
various phenomena (dehydration, dehydoxylation, decomposition, and
recrystallization) that occur in the binder during casting process
(Bayram et al., 2010; Zivica et al., 2015).
As mentioned above, dead clay renders sand, unfit for mold pro­
duction. Therefore, experiments were performed to reduce dead clay
content in WFS (dead clay = 10%, active clay = 5%). In mechanical
reclamation, a two-stage attrition device was used, which reduced the
dead clay content from 10% to 2.2%, as shown in Fig. 5. In this tech­
nique, attrition happens between sand and sand (autogenous), sand and
agate ball, and sand and wall resulting in the removal of a large amount
of coating from the sand grain surface. However, the dead clay coating
was deposited on the surface and within the sand grains (because of
natural cracks on the sand grains) during the casting process. Mechan­
ical reclamation alone, is therefore not sufficient to bring down dead
clay content to less than 2%. In thermal reclamation, the loosely bound
clay was reduced considerably from 15% to 0.6%, as shown in Fig. 5.
The reduction in loosely bond clay from the sand grains does not imply
that the clay is removed by heating at high temperature (700 C), rather,
◦
the clay gets transformed into oolitic deposits. At high temperatures,
active bentonite is deactivated and forms a hard coating on the surface
of the sand grains. This bentonite is also diffused into the cracks of sand
grains because of the high temperature and pressure and forms a strong
bond with the sand grains. Therefore, the loosely bound clay decreases
as it is converted into oolitic deposits upon heating and does not
participate in the determination test of loosely bound clay content.
Fig. 4. Classification of binder material in mixed waste foundry sand.
M.M. Khan et al.
Value (%)
Reclamation Processes
Fig. 5. Effect of various recalmation techniques on clay and oolitic content of
waste foundry sand.
Furthermore, mechanical reclamation was used before and after
thermal reclamation to observe the effect on loosely bound clay content.
Mechanical attrition before thermal reclamation resulted only in slight
reduction (from 0.6% to 0.54%) in loosely bound clay content, as shown
in Fig. 5. Mechanical attrition after thermal reclamation showed a
relatively higher reduction in the loosely bound clay content (from
0.60% to 0.45%) because the sand was heated for 30 min at 700 C in the
◦
fluidisation chamber, and thereby a brittle coating of dead clay was
formed on the sand grains. Mostly, the clay coating was removed by
mechanical attrition but the oolitic deposits were not removed effec­
tively by mechanical attrition even after thermal treatment. As stated
above, some binder diffused into the cracks during casting, because of
which the clay content did not decrease to <0.45%. Applying more force
can reduce the clay content to <0.45%, provided the sand particles do
not break to generate fines, lowering the permeability of the mold.
The oolitic content was approximately 4.25% after the mechanical
reclamation of WFS and approximately 11.80% after thermal treatment,
as shown in Fig. 5. Therefore, compared with mechanical treatment, the
heating of sand in the fluidisation chamber promoted oolitic deposits.
Performance was superior when mechanical treatment was performed
before thermal treatment, and the oolitic content was increased from
4.25% to 7.2%. This happens because loosely bound clay gets consid­
erably removed from the sand grains during mechanical treatment. The
presence of loosely bound clay either in dead or active form promotes
oolitic content formation at high temperatures. In contrast, when me­
chanical treatment was performed after thermal treatment, the oolitic
content remained unaffected because it had deposited on the sand
grains, preventing it to be removed using mechanical treatment.
4.2. Compressive strength
Foundry practice suggests that compressive strength >90 kPa is
required to produce molds. The compressive strength of molds depends
primarily on the quantity of binder and moisture in the mold material.
The compressive strength the samples, namely green sand (GS), WFS,
mechanically reclaimed sand (MRS) is shown in Fig. 6. In addition, the
compressive strengths of MRS, thermally reclaimed sand (TRS) and TRS
+ MRS were also checked after adding the appropriate amount of binder
as shown in Fig. 6. Each sample was analysed three times and the
average is reported.
The compressive strength failure point of green sand was approxi­
mately 125 kPa, which was the highest among the samples because
5
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
Compressive Strength (kPa)
Strain
Fig. 6. Comparison of compressive strength of GS, WFS, MRS, TRS and TRS +
MRS samples.
green sand had 8%–10% active clay and almost 0% dead clay. The
compressive strengths of WFS and MRS samples were 58 and 57 kPa,
respectively, which is not suitable to produce molds because during the
metal casting process, the bentonite comes in direct contact with molten
metal at 1400 C, loses all water molecules, and becomes dead and
◦
brittle. This dead binder does not provide strength to the molds because
it loses its water-absorbing property rapidly. A high percentage of dead
binder in the mold decreases the strength of the mold. The compressive
strength of the reclaimed sand was approximately 57 kPa, which is
slightly less than that of the waste green sand because during mechan­
ical treatment, a small amount of active clay is also removed along with
the dead binder. All thermally reclaimed sand (TRS) samples exhibited
an active clay content of <0.2%. Because of such negligible amount of
active clay in TRS, mold was not formed and compressive strength was
not determined. Therefore, the compressive strengths of reclaimed sand
samples obtained using different treatment processes could not be
measured and compared directly. Therefore, appropriate amounts of
active clay were added to the reclaimed sand samples to measure the
compressive strengths.
Bentonite (2%) was added in MRS samples and a combination of
bentonite (8%) and coal powder (4%) was added in the TRS and TRS +
MRS samples. These samples were used to produce molds (density =
1195 kg m− 3), as shown in Fig. 7. The compressive strengths of these
samples were measured and results are shown in Fig. 6. The compressive
strength of MRS was 115 kPa and that of TRS and TRS + MRS samples
were approximately 50 kPa. The compressive strengths of TRS and TRS
+ MRS samples were much less than the recommended value, and thus,
not suitable for casting. Furthermore, the mold strengths of TRS and
TRS + MRS samples were unsuitable after adding 10% and 12%
bentonite, respectively. However, some increment was observed in the
mold strength once 10% and 12% bentonite was added. This occurs
because the cation excahnge capacity decreases with increase in tem­
perature as shown in Fig. 8. CEC is responsible for reducing the inter­
action between existing clay and added active clay resulting in low
compressive strength as compared to mechanically recalimed sand. The
value of CEC for mechanically recliamed sand was 9.5 while for ther­
mally reclaimed sand it was negligible. As mentioned before, it is well
reported in the literature that bentonite is negatively charged due to the
presence of isomorphic substitutions in their octahedral and tetrahedral
sheets with high specic surface area (Sposito et al., 1999; Kraevsky et al.,
2020). Due to this inherent property of bentonite, it provides interaction
between bentonite-bentonite (cohesion) and bentonite-sand (adhesion)
M.M. Khan et al.
Fig. 7. Molds prepared using reclaimed sand; (A) MRS and (B) TRS.
CEC (meq/100g of bentonite)
CEC (meq/100g of sand)
Temperature C sand grains. Yaghoubi et al. (2020) also reported that the WFS consists of
Fig. 8. The variation in CEC of bentonite and green sand samples over the
temperature range (35–1100 ◦ C). (For interpretation of the references to colour
in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
in the presence of appropriate amount of water. The clay which has
negligible CEC, does not absorb water and thereby does not show any
binding property. Therefore, it can be inferred that only TRS was un­
suitable for producing molds even after appropriate amount of bentonite
(10%) and moisture (5%) were added. However, TRS may be used for
producing molds if it is mixed with appropriate amount of fresh sand. On
the contrary, MRS can be used effectively for producing molds in
foundries after active clay of approximately 8% is maintained in the
reclaimed sand.
4.3. Grain fineness number (GFN)
GFN is a factor that indicates the permeability of the sand. It is the
number of meshes per centimetre of a sieve through which sand grains of
a particular size pass. Sand grains with a high GFN have low perme­
ability. In processing this type of sand, it is difficult for hot gases to
escape from the mold, which causes blisters on the surface of the pro­
duced casting. By contrast, if the GFN is low, molten metal may seep into
the pores of the mold. It should be noted that the calculation of GFN is
the basic requirement to assess the suitability of a sand for its use in
6
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
foundries. Typically, GFN should be between 45 and 70 (IS:
3018–1977). If GFN >80, majority of particles are in the form of fines
(<100 μm), if GFN < 40, then the majority of particles are coarse (>600
μm).
In all reclamation techniques, mechanical, thermal, or a combination
of both, sand with GFN within the foundries’ requirements is used. GFN
varying from 52 to 61 is suitable and can be used for producing both
cores and molds. For sand samples obtained using different sequences of
reclamation processes, GFN does not vary much.
4.4. Particle size distribution of the sand
Primarily, grain size distribution affects three properties of foundry
sand, namely mold strength, permeability, and compactibility. Foundry
sand particles of the same size have a suitable GFN and permeability.
Most Indian foundries analyse particle size distribution before using
sand, for producing molds and cores. The most common particle size
range preferred in foundries is 150–425 μm. In addition to particle size
preferences, GFN between 60 and 90 is recommended to produce molds
with a suitable quality (Cruz et al., 2009). Particle size analysis was
performed for the following samples: fresh sand (FS), waste foundry
sand (WFS), mechanically reclaimed sand (MRS), thermally reclaimed
sand (TRS), and TRS + MRS, and the results are presented in Fig. 9.
A single peak is preferred because it indicates that maximum number
of particles are of the same size, offering higher permeability. An
agreeable pattern is observed in the fresh sand sample (Fig. 9), and other
samples deviate from the fresh sand pattern because of the coating of
loosely bound clay or oolitic deposits onto the sand grains, lump for­
mation, and fine generation during the casting and knockout processes.
Two major peaks were observed in the WFS sample at 215 and 430 μm,
as shown in Fig. 9, which shows that the particle size of WFS is more
diverse (non-uniform particle size distribution) than that of fresh sand,
and is not suitable for molding. Non-uniform distribution of WFS par­
ticles may affect permeability, GFN, and compactibility of the mold. In
case of reclaimed sand, one major and one minor peak was observed as
shown in Fig. 9. It shows that the particle size distribution of MRS is
superior to that of WFS but not as good as that of fresh sand because
during the reclamation process, lumps are broken, grains become more
spherical, and most importantly, dead clay coating is removed from the
non-uniform sand grains.
The trend of particle size distribution in reclaimed sand for all
reclamation sequences was almost the same as shown in Fig. 9. One
Weight retained (%)
Particle size m
Fig. 9. Particle size distribution of FS, WFS, MRS, TRS and MRS + TRS samples.
M.M. Khan et al.
major peak of 215 μm particles and one minor peak of 430 μm particles
were observed in all cases. However, in case of TRS, 13% of the particles
of size 425 μm were observed-more than that in MRS (9%) and TRS +
MRS (12%). It is because, in thermal reclamation, active clay (bentonite)
converts into dead clay and oolitic, but remains on the surface of sand
grains. The coating of waste core sand (phenolic-resin-coated sand) is
removed from the sand grains in the form of oxides of carbon at high
temperature (~700 C).
◦
4.5. Acid demand value (ADV)
Pure silica sand is neutral (pH ~ 7) on the acid base pH scale and has
an ADV of 0 because it does not contain impurities. However, if the sand
contains impurities that can react with hydrochloric acid, the ADV
number increases. Most impurities in foundry sand are in the form of
carbonates and metal oxides, such as Al2O3, Fe2O3, and MgO. The ADVs
of all reclamation techniques are compared and shown in Fig. 10. After
mechanical reclamation, the ADV of WFS decreased from 9 to 6.4
because fines (mostly dead clay) generated during mechanical treatment
were separated. In case of only thermal reclamation, loosely bound dead
clay and oolitic deposits mostly remained attached to the sand grains
and were not removed due to less attrition. Therefore, the ADV (7.5 mg/
100 g of sand) of the thermally reclaimed sand was higher than the
mechanically reclaimed sand. Mechanical treatment after thermal
reclamation did not affect the ADV mainly because of the oolitic deposits
on the sand grains. Mechanical attrition did not remove the oolitic de­
posits coating from the sand grains.
Foundries do not consider ADV to be an essential test for green sand
because a lower strength (90 kPa) is required for producing molds.
However, ADV is crucial in case of chemically bonded sand to produce
cores because strength of more than 600 kPa is required. The foundry
recommended value of ADV is < 6 mg/100 g of sand. Generally, ADV
indicates the basicity of the sand which comes from the clay. Thus a
change in the basicity of the sand can affect the performance of the
binder system. Usually, the basicity of the sand can change the rate at
which the binder system cures because the catalysts of many binder
systems are either acids or bases. Reclaimed sand with ADV >6 mg/100
g of sand can be used to make molds but not the cores. Fresh sand can be
mixed with reclaimed sand in appropriate proportions to ensure ADV <6
mg/100 g of sand and use it for making cores.
Acid demand value (ADV)
Reclamation Processes
Fig. 10. ADVs of various Reclamation processes.
7
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
4.6. Loss on ignition (LOI)
LOI indicates the presence of organic and other gas forming materials
in the WFS when exposed to temperatures of around 1000 ◦ C. These
temperatures are a result of the molten metal poured into the sand
sample. A weighed sample of pre-dried material was fired in a silica
crucible held in a muffle furnace at 900 C for 2 h. The percentage loss in
◦
weight was determined, which is a result of the volatilisation, oxidation,
and decomposition of substances that form gaseous products. It is
possible to minimise casting defects by monitoring the LOI of system. A
high LOI may produce gas defects, such as pinholes, blows, scabbing,
and carbon pickup, on the casting surface. By contrast, a low LOI may
result in poor casting peel and a rough casting surface finish. This is
because of available oxygen in the mold that would react with molten
metal resulting in bad surface finish of the casting, if presence of
carbonaceous material is too low (Seidu et al., 2013). Therefore, the
presence of carbonaceous materials in the mold is essential within the
foundry limit. As per foundry practice, the LOI of prepared sand should
be in the range of 1%–3.5% and 3%–6% for core and mold production
respectively.
As expected, the LOI of mechanically reclaimed sand is nearly 3.6%,
which is higher as compared to the thermally reclaimed sand. The LOI of
mechanically reclaimed sand is more because this reclaimed sand has
around 5% active clay plus volatile matter. If thermal reclamation (700
C) is employed, the LOI comes down to as low as 0. 27%. The com­
◦
parison of LOI of all the reclamation processes is shown in Fig. 11. It
should be noted that the LOI of all the reclaimed sand samples obtained
by different techniques remains almost the same when thermal treat­
ment is applied.
4.7. Microscopy
Fig. 12 (a) shows the absence of any type of binder coating on the
sand grains as it is fresh sand and has no added binder. The shape of sand
grains is round/sub-round, which indicates that the sand is natural and
is of suitable quality. Some natural cracks are visible on the surface of
the sand because of the effect of weather over millions of years. More the
cracks, more is the amount of binder required. The binder (bentonite)
deposits in the cracks present in sand grains, is difficult to remove during
the reclamation process. For the green sand, the binder was thoroughly
mixed with the fresh sand. The coating of the binder on the sand grains
was formed well in the presence of suitable amount of moisture as shown
in Fig. 12 (b). When green sand is heated at a high temperature (~1400
Loss on Ignition (%)
Reclamation processes
Fig. 11. LOI of reclamation processes.
M.M. Khan et al.
Fig. 12. Optical microscopy of foundry sand samples. (a) Fresh sand, (b) Green sand, (c) Waste foundry sand, (d) Mechanically reclaimed green sand, (e) Thermally
reclaimed green sand, and (f) Mechanical plus thermally reclaimed sand. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to
the Web version of this article.)
C) during the casting process, the active clay becomes dead and adheres
◦
to the sand grains which is referred to as WFS, shown in Fig. 12 (c).
In mechanical reclamation, a considerable amount of the dead
binder coating is removed from the sand grains but oolitic deposits re­
mains on the sand grains, as seen in Fig. 12 (d). In addition, complete
coating is not removed because of binder deposition inside the sand
grains through the natural cracks, as shown in Fig. 12 (d). It is difficult to
remove these binder deposits by using only attrition. In the thermal
reclamation process of WFS, the dead chemical binder is removed but
clay-bonded coating on the sand grains remains. An observation similar
to that of mechanical treatment before and after thermal reclamation, is
shown in Fig. 12(e) and (f). The coating was not removed completely in
any reclamation process. During the casting and reclamation processes,
fractures were developed on the sand grains because of stress/attrition,
which even cracked some particles. If the process of particle breaking
accelerates, then the GFN number increases, which reduces perme­
ability. More the fines, higher is the surface area, which results in
increased binder consumption.
A thermally reclaimed sand has fewer cracks on the surface of grains
compared to fresh sand because of heating and attrition during the
reclamation process. Thermally reclaimed sand requires less binder,
which may reduce the load on further reclamation processes. Further­
more, when sand undergoes thermal treatment, the sand grains expand,
which makes it suitable for further use in mold production. Thermally
reclaimed sand does not expand during casting, which results in a
reduced chance of mold expansion and compression, thereby ensuring
superior mold stability. Some grains were rectangular/conical in shape
and were mixed with round/sub-round sand grains. The irregular shape
of grains indicates that these grains are not actually quartz and are
probably some type of crushed rock. Sand grains also show fractures on
the edge of grains, which may have formed during mechanical and
thermal reclamation processes. It is also possible that artificial and
natural sand are mixed and used for foundry applications. The exact
source of the fresh sand cannot be determined. The quality of artificial
sand is not good compared with natural sand, and it easily cracks when
subjected to thermal and mechanical treatment.
5. Mold making using mechanically reclaimed sand
WFS was collected from foundry (Impel Founders Pvt. Ltd., Kolha­
pur, India), and reclaimed in the two-stage mechanical attrition device.
In this process, dead clay content successfully brought down from 10%
to 2.2%. First, the properties of reclaimed sand were checked after
8
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
addition of 2% bentonite in it. The properties of reclaimed sand were
found to be satisfactory as shown in Table 1. Thereafter, reclaimed sand
was used for making molds in Impel foundry.
Initially, a mold was prepared using reclaimed sand as shown in
Fig. 13 (a). The strength of the mold primarily depends on the quantity
of the binder, degree of ramming, size and shape of the sand grains,
setting time of the binder, and the ratio of binder to moisture. The
properties of the green sand mold depend primarily on the type of sand
used and the amount of clay and water content. However, during the
preparation of the mold, critical parameter values were maintained to
obtain molds with suitable quality, that is, average sand grain size
(0.30–0.60 mm), shape (round and sub-round), mulling time (3 min),
degree of ramming (number of strokes = 3), and binder settling time (5
min). Thereafter, molten metal (1350 C) was poured into the mold as
◦
shown in Fig. 13 (b), and then, prior to the knockout mold, it was
allowed to solidify for 8 h as shown in Fig. 13 (c).
Immediately after the knockout of mold was prepared, the casting
was allowed to cool to room temperature. Then, the casting was placed
in the shot blasting machine where the sand adhered to the casting, was
removed as shown in Fig. 13 (d). Thereafter, the fettling process was
carried out, which is used to finish the surface. All extrudes and irregular
parts were removed using the fettling process as shown in Fig. 13 (e),
which depicts an image of a casting with an acceptable surface finishing.
After producing castings by using reclaimed sand, the quality of these
castings was evaluated by the quality manager. Swelling, metal pene­
tration, pin hole, blow hole, shrinkage cavity, and slag inclusion were
not observed in the casting. Based on these observations, the quality
assurance manager concluded that the casting is of suitable quality and
that it can be used for suitable purpose. The casting rejection was found
to be only 1.5–2.5% which is good and within the foundry limit.
Table 1
Properties of reclaimed WFS to produce molds.
S. Tests Values Recommended values (IS:
No. 3018–1977)
1 Dead clay content (%) 2.2
<4
2 Compressive Strength 115 90–150
(kPa)
3 Grain fineness number 65 50–70
(GFN)
4 Permeability (cm/min) 125 120–140
5 Compactibility (mm) 38 34–40
M.M. Khan et al.
Fig. 13. Casting of spoke using reclaimed sand; (a): Green sand mold of spoke (motor cycle wheel), (b) Molten metal pouring into the mold, (c) Cooling of green sand
mold after pouring cast iron molten metal, (d) Casting after knockout, (e) Casting with extrudations and irregular parts, and (f) Desired casting after fettling process.
(For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
6. Economic analysis
Reclamation cost is a crucial parameter to ensure that sand recla­
mation is accessible and sufficiently cost effective for foundries. In this
study, the cost of electricity was considered as $ 1.30 per 10 units (kWh).
A currency conversion rate of 1 U.S dollar ($) equal to 75 Indian rupees
(₹) was used based on the compressor run time and cost of electricity.
The reclamation cost per ton of WFS is presented in Table 2. Similarly,
the reclamation costs for the thermal fluidized bed reactor and for the
two-stage attrition device followed by thermal fluidized bed reactor are
calculated based on the compressor run and electricity and fuel (LPG)
consumption.
Using the two-stage mechanical attrition device resulted in savings of
>80% and the desired quality of sand was maintained. It may be noted
that only MRS cannot be used to produce cores in the foundries and it
can be used only to produce molds. According to the survey of foundries,
the current cost of reclaimed sand by using the two-stage mechanical
attrition device is acceptable to most stakeholders.
By contrast, the quality of TRS is acceptable but at a higher operating
cost, thereby resulting in decreased savings of nearly 75%, as shown in
Table 2. However, this type of sand cannot be used to produce cores
because of high ADV and oolitic deposits. Similarly, the operating cost of
using both, the two-stage attrition device and the thermal fluidized bed
reactor is quite high, as mentioned in Table 2. These reclamation costs
are not acceptable to the foundries because they increase the operating
cost compared with fresh sand cost. Further improvements for thermal
reclamation to decrease the operating cost can be ensured, such as by
utilising the heat of outlet sand and minimising the heat loss to the
environment (proper insulation), thereby lowering fuel consumption. In
addition, reclaiming the sand just after the knockout process may also
reduce LPG consumption. Notably, we have not included depreciation
and interest in the operating costs.
Table 2
Operating cost of reclaimed sand (fresh sand cost = $48 ton− 1).
S. Case Cost of reclamation ($ Saving/
No. ton− 1 of sand) Loss (%)
1 Two stage mechanical attrition 08 +83
device
2 Two stage mechanical attrition 84 - 75
device plus thermal fluidized bed
reactor
3 Thermal fluidized bed reactor 79 - 64
9
Journal of Environmental Management 279 (2021) 111628
7. Conclusions
In the present work, the efficacy of mechanical and thermal recla­
mation methods were examined for waste foundry sand (WFS). The
properties of sand samples (fresh, green, waste and reclaimed) were
compared, and the suitability of reclaimed sand for foundry purpose was
also examined. Following are the primary conclusions of this study:
• The loosely bound dead clay content of WFS was reduced from 10%
to 2.2% using mechanical reclamation. This process is suitable for
waste green sand but cannot be used for chemically bonded or mixed
sand. Thus the mechanical reclamation alone is insufficient if the
waste sand is a mixture of green sand and chemically bonded sand.
• Thermal reclamation reduced the loosely bound clay content
considerably from 15% to 0.5%–0.6%. It deactivates the active
bentonite in the waste sand, making it necessary to add makeup
binder, if it is to be used for molds. However, thermally reclaimed
sand was also not found suitable for mold in terms of strength (~50
kPa) despite the addition of 8%, 10% and 12% of bentonite. This is
because of negligible CEC that reduced the interaction significantly
between existed clay on the surface of sand grain and added active
clay. The thermally reclaimed sand was also found to be unsuitable
for the production of cores because of high ADV, oolitic and loosely
bound dead clay content.
• Mechanical treatment before and after thermal reclamation did not
show promising results in terms of GFN, LOI, and morphology of the
sand grains. However, mechanical treatment before thermal recla­
mation showed superior results to some extent in terms of removal of
the loosely bound clay content. It is because loosely bound clay if not
separated, converts into oolitic deposits upon heating.
• Microscopy showed that the significant amount of binder coating is
removed from the surface of reclaimed sand grains. The crevices in
the fresh sand were not evident in the reclaimed version and were
apparently filled up by the dead clay.
• Field trials of mechanically reclaimed sand were performed and
found to be satisfactory in terms of its suitability and casting quality.
Thermal reclamation, though offers in less dead clay content in
comparison to mechanical reclamation, will work only if we have an
efficient method to effectively remove dead binder and oolitic deposits
from the sand grains. By contrast, only mechanical reclamation is suf­
ficient to reclaim WFS to produce molds at an economical cost. Me­
chanical reclamation is a robust technology and can be adopted by
foundries to recycle waste green sand.
M.M. Khan et al.
Credit author statement
Mohd Moiz Khan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigations,
Performed experiments, Formal analysis, Validation, Field trials,
Writing- Original draft S. M. Mahajani: Supervision, Visualization,
Critical feedback, Reviewing and editing the manuscript G. N. Jadhav:
Supervision, reviewing and editing manuscript Rohit Vishwakarma:
Performed experiments, Formal analysis, Field trials Vithoba Malgaon­
kar: Performed experiments, Formal analysis, Field trials S. Mandre:
Supervision, Resources
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
The financial support received from Tata Centre for Technology and
Design, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay is gratefully acknowl­
edged. Mr. Sangram Bhosle (Managing Director, Impel founder Pvt. Ltd.,
Kolhapur, India) is also gratefully acknowledged for his support in
providing the various facilities for conducting experiments.
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