BIBKO

Ongoing efforts in Congress, State DEP’s and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put teeth back into environmental standards for water should make concrete producers sit up and take notice. This year’s Clean Water Restoration Act, if passed, will radically tighten the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Given the inevitable march toward tighter pollution standards, now may be the right time to take stock of how you deal with waste concrete and washout water. The good news is that investing in the right recycling system can earn a solid return on investment. Please see our link at www.maconcrete.com/bibko-roi for a downloadable spreadsheet to help you calculate your return on investment.

 A BIBKO concrete reclaimer/recycler adds to your bottom line by recovering sand and stone and by reducing fresh water use. Costing roughly the same as a mixer truck, a concrete recycling system can have a payback period ranging from a year and a half to four years (based on 5% return rate and 400 yards daily production). Put another way, there is an average potential savings of near a dollar per yard of production; i.e. 70,000 yards of production generates $70,000 in savings. Many concrete producers in North America and Europe are using the BIBKO System, of which 1,300 have been sold worldwide, according to Bob Miller, vice president of R.J. Miller Company, BIBKO’s North American distributor. Although there were ready mix reclaimers on the market before 1985, founder Horst Brenner’s design combined features of drum-type and screw-type reclaimers in a unique way. “It washes like a drum, but uses a reclaimer screw to unload and dewater,” says Miller.

 “Where BIBKO really made their mark is in recovery of process or gray water,” says Miller. “We keep cement fines in suspension; we monitor and measure slurry water; and we mix with clear water to keep suspended solids under 7 percent by weight.” The system agitates the water to keep cement fines from settling out, automatically monitoring and adjusting specific gravity by adding fresh water.

 “Sand and stone comes out; you can put it in piles,” Miller says. “But cement fines is a water mass balance operation. You have to ship out what you bring back.” The size of the grey water or process water storage tank is critical for that reason, says Miller. A 30,000 gallon gray water – process water tank absorbs the inevitable spikes in specific gravity much better than a 5,000 gallon tank. “The larger your slurry tank, the slower you get in trouble.” Batching systems can be adjusted to allow for cement fines when using recycled water. “The water ratio is so critical that people have moisture probes in sand piles,” says Miller. “We reverse that process for water; we count solids toward sand.” The goal of the ready mix concrete recycler is to keep the specific gravity of the process water at 1.05 or less.

 OK, so let’s say your budget has allowed for buying a reclaim/ recycle system. After thorough research, you have decided to go with a BIBKO System. Depending on the size of your ready mix or precast operation, it could range from the Model 1000, rated at 10 cubic yards/hr (3 to 10 trucks, 30,000 to 60,000 yards per year) to the Model 4000 (18-35 trucks, 130,000 to 200,000 yards per year).

 You may want to choose from several options, including an above-ground gray water tank, a split tank for clear and gray water, an adapter for concrete pump trucks, and an external loading buffer that accommodates up to 10 truck rinsing stations. Installation is performed by a BIBKO specialist who is on site for up to two weeks, training your staff in maintenance and operation. Then what? According to Miller, there are systems that have been in continuous operation for up to 12 years with only routine maintenance. When a pump or a hose does need replacement, you’ll find many repair parts readily available from local sources, as well as directly from the Miller Company’s central parts warehouse in Houston.

Go to www.maconcrete.com/bibko-roi for a downloadable spreadsheet to help you calculate your return on investment.

Request additional information about BIBKO.

Read about how recycling systems can pay their own way.
The BIBKO article pictured below may be found on page 3 of
the Fall 2007 Concrete Answers newsletter.

Go to BIBKO's Web site