February 12, 1997

Engineers at Battelle have developed an efficient and environmentally friendly system to strip paint, labels, and insulating foam from aircraft propeller blades.

The system, which uses high pressure water and can be supplemented with bicarbonate of soda to strip the propellers, replaces a time-consuming process that used hazardous chemicals and brass chisels.

The waste water and bicarbonate are not harmful to the environment. However, because the mixture contains paint chips, it must be treated by an industrial waste water treatment process.

At the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, in Warner Robins, Georgia, where Battelle installed the system for the Air Force, the process will annually eliminate the use of up to 2,750 gallons of solvents that were used to strip the propellers of C-130 transport planes. Battelle engineers believe the process can be applied for similar uses throughout the military and the private sector.

Not only has this been beneficial to the environment, but it's also been beneficial to the taxpayer. This has provided a cost savings in material procurement, hazardous waste disposal, personnel training, and chemical protective equipment.

The Air Force has also seen a rise in worker morale since the system was implemented. The foam that houses the wiring for the propeller's de-icing system became hardened with age and was difficult to remove. This system strips it right away.

The installation consists of two rooms - a work cell and an adjoining equipment room. In the work cell, the propeller is anchored to a stand where a worker, using a hand-held nozzle similar in appearance to a car wash wand, strips it with pressurized water and bicarbonate of soda.

The second room houses the pressurization equipment and the exhaust air filtration equipment. The mist produced leaves via the exhaust system where it is filtered and released.

The water nozzle used to strip the blades has a pressure of 15,000 psi. (A car wash wand has a pressure of about 1,500 to 2,000 psi.) Under the old system, it took 105 minutes to strip a propeller blade. With the new system, the time has been reduced to 50 minutes. The application of this process for stripping propeller blades is an outgrowth of considerable prior development efforts by Battelle and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center.

For more information, contact Joe Zambanini, Battelle, 505 King Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43201-2693; telephone: 614-424-5952; fax: 614-424-7450.

Battelle serves industry and government by developing, commercializing, and managing technology. With a wide range of scientific and technical capabilities, Battelle puts technology to work for clients in 30 countries.