MakingSustainabilityPalletable

ArcelorMittalUSA

TheWoodchippers
MattJohannes
mzj5185@psu.edu
BandishThaker
bst5093@psu.edu
MadisonDeWitt
msd5297@psu.edu
CaitlinLander
crl5291@psu.edu

EngineeringDesign100
April20,2015
Section22

TableofContents

Abstract.........2
ProblemStatement..........3
DefinitionofSustainability......4
Background...........5
CustomerNeeds..........6
ConceptGeneration...........8
ConceptSelection.......9
DesignReview.......11
ModelofProcess.......13
SystemsDiagram.......14
CostandFeasibilityAnalysis...........15
LifeCycleAnalysis.......16
Conclusion..............17
References.........18
Acknowledgements.......19

Page1

Abstract

Forthisproject,weweretaskedbyArcelorMittalwithtacklingtheproblemofreducing
theirlumberwasteandecologicalfootprintwhileincreasingoverallsustainability.Wehadto
findawaytoconvertwoodenpalletsandrailcarsintoareusableproduct.Afterbrainstorming,
carefulconsideration,andthoroughprocessanalysiswecameupwithamethodthatfitthe
customerneeds.Wechosetoputthelumberthroughanindustrialwoodchipper(1000Tub
Grinder)sothatthenailsandstapleswouldntaffectthebladesaswellasithasthecapability
toseparatethemetalfromthewoodandrunoffofelectricity.Theendresultisaproductthat
canberepurposedandsoldtomakeaprofit.
Wefoundthatthismethodwouldinvolveafairlylargeinitialpaymentbutthewood
chipperwouldenduppayingforitselfinalittleunderthreeyears.Webelievethatthisoption
wouldbefeasiblebecauseafterArcelorMittalbreakseventheywouldthenbemakingaprofit
ofapproximately$36,000ayearjustfromthewoodchips.Themethodisalsosustainable
andproduceslowemissionallwhilemeetingthecustomerneeds.

Page2

ProblemStatement
ArcelorMittalwouldliketoreducethevolumeofwastedlumber,whichisusedto
transportrawmaterialstothefactoryforprocessing,inordertoreducethecompany's
ecologicalfootprintandincreaseoverallsustainability.
Thewastedmaterialnotonlyimpactsthecompany'sproductivityandrevenue,but
alsoadverselydamagestheearthbyincreasingtheecologicalfootprint.Afterreceivingand
processingcriticalrawmaterialsrequiredinthemanufacturingofArcelorMittalsteel,the
companyisleftwithexcessivequantitiesofwoodenpalletsandrailcarsupports.Atthispoint
intime,theseexcessmaterialsarediscardedinsteadofbeingreusedandrecycled.Muchof
thelumberiswastedbecauseofthepresenceofnailsandscrews.Thisproblemshouldbe
givenutmostimportanceandbefixedassoonaspossibletomaketheplantanefficientplace
toproduce.Theexcesswoodiscurrentlyeithergivenfreeofchargetoplantemployeesfor
personaluseorsenttolandfillsfordisposal.Fixingthisproblemwouldallowperfectlygood
woodtobereusedinamultitudeofdifferentways.
Toachievethisgoal,wewilloptimizetheprocessofnailremovalinordertomaximize
efficiencyduringthedeconstructionofthecratesandpallets.Wewillinvestigateecofriendly
methodsofwooddisposalinhopestodiscoverabetterdisposalalternative.

Page3

DefinitionofSustainability
AsdefinedbyArcelorMittal,sustainabilitymeansstrivingtodevelopacleaner
steelmakingprocess.Theiroperatingphilosophyistoproducesafe,sustainablesteel.Asa
groupwehavecreatedourowndefinitionofsustainabilityandusedthatdefinitiontoleadus
inourproblemsolvingstrategies.Toussustainabilitymeanssomethingthatislonglasting,
andabletoproducethesameresultsmultipletimes.Westriveforoursolutionstobe
environmentallyfriendly,safeandtouseourresourcesinthemosteffectivemanner.

Page4

Background
WoodenPalletsareusuallydisassembledbecauseitiseasiertohandlethewooden
boardswhentheyareseparatedfromeachother.Ourinitialapproachforrecyclingthe
woodenpalletswastodisassemblethem,removethenailsandthensellorreusethewood.
Patentresearchshowedmanydevicesthatwereusedtoprythewoodenpalletsapart.There
isaproductthatusesbandsawstocutalongtheconnectionoftheplanksofwood[1].The
sawwouldcutthroughthenailsinthewood,whileleavingtheplanksintact.Theplanks
howeverwouldstillhavethenailsimbeddedinsideofthemwhichisnotidealforoursolution.
Wealsodidresearchonhowtoeasilyremovenailsfrompallets.Theideaswefoundincluded
atypeofmagnet[2]oranelectricdrill[3]thatwouldremovethewoodimmediately
surroundingthenailmakingiteasiertopryitout.Thelastideathatweresearchedwasthe
recyclingofwoodenpalletsandmanypeoplerecommendedtheshreddingofthepalletsto
createwoodchipshoweverthereweremanycomplaintsaboutthenailsdullingthebladesof
theshreddersorjammingthemachine.

Page5

CustomerNeeds
Inordertostartorganizingourprojectrequirementsintoastatisticalmanner,our
groupdecidedtocomposeanAHPmatrix.AnAHP(analyticalhierarchyprocess)matrixis
usedtodeterminewhatelementsofaproductsdesignismostcrucialtothesuccessofthe
device.Inotherwords,itisatoolthatisusedtohelpranktheimportanceofdifferent
elementsofaprojectbycomparingeachelementtooneanother.Giventheconstraints
providedbyArcelorMittal,ourgroupcompiledalistof8necessitiesthatwebelievedtobestfit
theirrequirements.Innospecificorder,ourinitiallistofneedswasasfollows:(1)cost
effective,(2)timeeffective,(3)nonlaborintensive,(4)simplicityofuse,(5)safe,(6)reliable,
(7)durable,and(8)profitable.OurAHPmatrixisdisplayedin
figure1.1
below

Figure1AHPMatrix

Cost
effective

Time
effective

Nonlabor
intensive

Simplicity
ofuse

Safe

Reliabl
e

Durable

Profitabl
e

Total

Weight

Cost
effective

.5

.33

.5

.33

6.66

.097

Time
effective

.5

.33

9.83

.153

Nonlabo
r
intensive

.5

.66

.5

.5

8.16

.119

Simplicity
ofuse

.5

.33

.5

.33

.5

7.16

.105

Safe

16

.234

Reliable

.5

1.5

12

.176

Durable

.5

12.5

.183

Profitable

.5

.33

.5

.5

6.83

.100

Page6


Aftercomposingthematrix,itwasaveryclearastowhichelementsoftheprojectneededto
befocusedonduringthedesignofourdevice.Showninthelastcolumnof
figure1.1
are
theweightedequivalentsforeachofthedifferentelements.Theseweightedfiguresallowed
ustorankthe8elementsinaveryspecificandpurposefulway.Ourelementsareorganized
frommostimportanttoleastimportantinthelistbelow.

(1)safe

(5)nonlaborintensive

(2)durable

(6)simplicity(easeofuse)

(3)reliability

(7)profitable

(4)timeeffective

(8)costeffective

AsshownbytheresultsoftheAHPmatrix,thethreemostimportantcriteriaaresafely,
profitability,andreliability.Thisislogicalbecausealmostalloftheotherrequirementsactas
asubsidiarytothesethree.Iftheprojectisdesignedtobesafe,mostlikelyitwillbenonlabor
intensiveandrelativelysimpletouse.Similarly,durabilitywillreducethemaintenance
requiredtoupkeepthemachine,andthereforemaximisecosteffectivenessandprofitability.
Allofthisconsidered,theAHPactedasasuccessfulmeanstoidentifyaspecificorderof
designconstraints.

Page7

ConceptGeneration
Ourinitialideaforrecyclingthepalletswastooremovethenailsandthenrecyclethe
wood.Theprocessofremovingthenailshoweverwouldmostlikelydamagethewoodby
eithersplinteringitormakingitweakerbecauseofthegreatforceneededtopullthenailsout.
Thiswouldbringdownthevalueofthewood,andwouldnotbebeneficialforussincewe
plannedonreusingorsellingthewood.
Wethenthoughtoftheideaofjustcuttingthenailsdownsothattheywouldbeflat
alongthewood.However,thequalityandworthofthewoodwouldnotbehighbecausenails
wouldstillbeimbeddeditinsoresellingthewoodwouldbehard.
Wethenresearchedhowpalletsaredisposedofwhentheyaredonebeingusedby
othercompanies.Welookedatwoodshreddersbutfoundthatifapalletwastobeputinto
themachine,thenailsinthepalletswoulddullthebladesoftheshredderveryquickly.The
shreddingofthepalletswouldallowforanewfinalproductofwoodchipswhichcouldbesold.

Page8

ConceptSelection
Weputallthreeofourconceptideasinamatrixandwerankedthemagainstour
customerneeds.Ourmatrixcanbeseenbelow.Werankedeachofourideasagainstthe
customerneedsofArcelorMittal,onascaleofonetofive,fivemeaningthatthedesignmeets
therequirementverywellandonemeaningthatthedesignfailstomeettherequirement.
Thesenumberswerethenaddedupandthattotalistheleftmostnumberinthetotalcolumn.
wethencalculatedthetotalofeachdesignusingtherankingsforeachofthecustomer
needs.Wetookthescoreofthedesignfeaturesandmultipliedthembytherankingsofeach
ofthecustomerneeds(whichisthenumbershownintheparenthesesunderneaththe
customerneeds)andaddedthemtogethertogetthetotalwhichisshowninthebottomright
ofthetotalcolumn.Thegreaterthenumberofthetotalthebetterthedesignmetthedesign
requirementsandcustomerneeds.Afterallofthecalculations,isitshownthatthechippingof
thewoodandsellingitasafinalproductmetthecustomerneedsmosteffectively,therefore
weselectedthisasourproposedsolution.
Manypallets,aftertheyareused,arenotingoodcondition.Mostofthemareworn
andweak.Thewoodplankswouldthennotbegoodforreusingorselling.Soshreddingthe
woodwouldcreateanewfinalproductthatwouldbesellable,andcreateanewprofitfor
ArcelorMittal.
ForoursolutiontobeprofitabletoArcelorMittaltheshredderwouldneedtobeableto
cutthroughthenailsbecausedisassemblingandremovingthenailsfromthewoodfirstwould
betoolaborintensiveandtimeconsuming.Itwouldalsobeverycostlytohavetooften
replacethebladesofthemachine.Weneededamachinethatwillbeabletoshredtheintact
palletsandbeabletocutthroughthenailswithoutwearingovertime.Tubgrindersdojust
that,andwefoundagrindercalledtheMorbark1000.ThisTubGrindercanshredthroughthe
woodandnailswithoutdamagingordullingthebladesovertime.Themodelcanalsowork
fullyonelectricpower.Wewillthenhavetheshreddedwoodseparatedfromtheshredded
bitsofnails.Theshreddedwoodwillthenbeshippedofftobebaggedandsoldasafinal
product,andthenailbitsrecycles.

Page9

Figure2ConceptSelectionMatrix

cost
effectiv
e
(1)

time
effective
(5)

nonlabo
r
intensive
(4)

simplicit
yofuse
(3)

safe
(8)

reliabl
e
(6)

durable
(7)

profitable
(2)

Total

Design1:
Cutnailsand
leavein
wood

26

129

Design2:
Remove
nails
manually/
mechanically

25

116

Design3:
Chipwood
andsellas
newproduct

33

149

Page10

DesignReview
Ourdesignreviewconcludedthattheothergroupfullysupportedourideaanddidnot
provideasubstantialamountofnewrecommendations.Instead,ourtwogroupsdiscussed
differentfacetsoftheproposedprocessandlocatedaspectsofourfinaldesignthatseemed
lacking.Afterthepeerreviewhadended,ourgroupreviewedtheprovidedresponsesand
developedafewspecificactionitemsthatwefeltitnecessarytoaddress.Theseactionitems
consistedoffacetsofourdesignproposalthatwerelackingindepthorseeminglyneeded
improvement.

Ratherthanofferingredesignpropositionstoourbusinessmodel,thepeerreview
actedtojustifythelegitimacyofoursolution.Bothofourgroupsproposedaverysimilar
solutiontothepallet/railcarproblem,sobydiscussingourconceptswewereabletohelp
benefitbothourteams.Thediscussionwiththeothergroupreassuredourconfidenceinthe
finaldesignproposition,whichisoutlined,inbrief,below.
OursolutionbeginswiththepurchaseofaTubGrinder.ATubGrinderisamachine
thathasthecapabilityofchippingfullyassembledwoodenpallets.Afterthepalletisplacedin
thetopbinofthemachinebyalaborer,astrongsetofmetalteethlocatedatthebaseofthe
mainbucketgridsthepalletwoodandnailsintowoodchipsandnailbits.Thisisthefullextent
towhichworkersmustinteractwiththedevice,soitcompletelyeliminatesthetime/labor
intensiveworkinvolvedwithmanuallydisassemblingpallets.Thewoodchipsandnailshards
arethensentdownaconveyorbeltandrununderastrongmagnet.Fromabove,themagnet
willbeabletoseparateallofthenailbitsfromtheremainingwoodchipsanddiscardthemin
aseparatecontainerlocatednexttothebelt.Thenailbitscanthenberecycledandusedby
ArcelorMittalintheprocessofsteelmakingandthewoodchipscanbesoldtoother
distributors.
Beforethedesignreview,ourgrouphadproposedthatArcelorMittalselltheexcess
woodchipstobusinessesthatburnwoodasasourceofbiofuel.Therearemanydifferent
industriesthatrelyheavilyonwoodasabiofueltooperatetheirinternalsystems,andsothis
seemedlikethebestoption.Afterconductingthepeerreviewthough,werealizedthatthere
Page11


isnoneedtoidentifyaspecificlocationthatthechipsshouldbesentbecausetherearemany
industriesthatareinterestedinpurchasingthewoodchips.Asagroup,weidentifiedthree
separateoptionsastowherethewoodchipsshouldbesold:biofuelcompanies,landscaping
industries,andvariousnaturetrailorganizations.Sellingittothesecompanieswouldnotonly
makerevenueforArcelorMittal,butalsohelplowertheecofootprintoftheircompany.For
example,bysellingthewoodchippingstonaturecentersandnatureparks,ArcelorMittal
wouldcontributetotheconstructionoffoottrails.Thepalletchipswouldacttosuppress
vegetationgrowth,raisethetreadinmuddyareas,andoverallpromotethepreservationofthe
environment.ThiswouldallowArcelorMittaltosimultaneouslyprofitwhilepromotingthe

safetyoftheenvironment.

Page12

Modelofprocess
Becauseoursolutionisformattedmostlyasabusinessplan,theonlyadditionally
devicerequiredforthesuccessofourplanisthemagneticnailremoverthatislocatedabove
theconveyorbelt.Thepurposeofthismagneticplateistoseparatethenailshardsfromthe
woodchippingsthatareproducedbythetubgrinder.Oncetheundersidefaceofthis
magneticplateisfullyoccupiedbynailfragments,itmustbemanuallydisplacedoverthe
bucketplacedonthesideoftheconveyorbeltinordertodiscardofthenails.Oncecleared,
theplateisrelocatedovertheconveyorbeltandisreadyforuse.Essentially,theprocesscan
besimplybrokendowninto3differentsteps:
1. Woodenpalletsandrailcarsfixedwithnailsatthejointsarepiledup.
2. Aworkerwillmanuallyplacethethewoodenpalletsandrailcarsinsidethe100Tub
Grinder.1000TubGrindershredsthewoodandseparatesthenailsusingamagnet
locatedabovethesurfaceoftheconveyorbelt(displayedinthesolidworksmodel
below).Afterapproximately5pallets/railwaycarsupportsareprocessed,someone
mustmanuallymovethemagnetoutfromovertheconveyorbelt,resultinginthe
relocationofthenailshardsintoabucketbeside.
3. Thenailswillgotoametalrecyclerwheretheywillberepurposedandwoodchipswill
bepackedupandsoldforseveraldifferentuses.

Figure3.1(left)and3.2(right)Demonstratesmovementofmagneticplate

Page13

Systemsdiagram

Oursystemcanbeviewedasa
BlackBoxModel
characteristicofitsinputsandoutputs
withoutevenknowingofitsinternalworkings.Theinputofoursystemisthewoodenpallets
attachedwithnailsattheirjointswhicharesenttothewoodchipper.Thewoodalongwiththe
Page14


nailswillbechippedandwillfallonthemagneticconveyorbelt.Nailsbeingironwillclingto
thesidesoftheconveyorbeltwheremagnetsareplaced.Thesenailscollectintheslidingbox
attheendoftheconveyorbeltasshowninFigures3.1and3.2onthepreviouspage.The
nailswillberemovedmanuallyfromtheboxandeitherbediscardedorrecycledbackinthe
factory.Ontheothersidethewoodchipswillfalloffontheothersideofthebeltandcollectin
bagswhichcouldbeusedasmulchforlandscapingortoproduceenergyasabiofuelsource.

Costandfeasibilityanalysis
Inordertoconductacompleteandlegitimatecostanalysis,wedecidedtobreakdown
thecostsintotwoseparateentities:initialinputcostsandresultingbenefits.Asinterpretedby
ourteam,theinitialinputcostsaccountedforanyrequiredmaterialorservicethatwas
requiredbeforeanyprofitwasgained.Likewise,theresultingbenefitsquantifiedtheresultant
productandmeasuredtheprofitprojectedbyouranalysis.Thebreakdownofcosts,along
withjustificationofpurpose,isdescribedinfurtherdetailbelow.

BreakdownofCosts

Cost/Profit

NecessaryInputs{InitialCosts}:
1. Pallets&RailcarSupports

free(alreadyhave)

2. Morbark1000TubGrinder

$50,000150,000

ResultantOutputs{FinalProfits}
1. Approx.1,200bagsofmulch

3
6x8x20standardindustrialrollingdumpster=960ft

3
960/2(toaccountforunoccupieddumpsterspace)=480ft

3
480(volumeofwood)/0.4(ft
perbagofmulch)=
1,200
bags

2. @$2.50perbag

Retailers(i.e.HomeDepot,etc)sellfor$56perbagofmulch

AssumedRetailerssellforoverdoublepurchasingprice
Page15


3. Netprofitof$36,000peryear

$2.50x1,200bagsofmulch=$3,000permonth

$3,000permonthx12monthsperyear=
$36,000peryear

Lifecycleanalysis
Oursystemfollowsacradletograveaswellascradletocradlecycle.Wooden
palletsalongwithironnailsweredifficulttoreuseandrecycle.Andthuswethoughtof
chippingthewoodenpalletsandthenseparatingthewoodchipsfromthenails.This
way,boththeoutputsi.ethewoodchipsandtheironnailscouldbereusedseparately.
Thewoodchipswillbepackedinbagsandsoldasmulch.Thismulchcanbeevenly
spreadingardensandchildrenparksforbetterenhancementofthegreenery.The
woodchipscanalsobeburnttoproduceenergyperhapsasabiofuelsource.Theiron
nailscanbeeithersoldoffasscraporevenbemeltedandputbacktouseinthefactory
fortheproductionofsteelmakingitacyclicalcycleinsteadofalinearone.Thiswayour
systemfollowsacradletogravecycleincaseofthewoodchipsandcradletocradle
cycleincaseofthenails.
Therefore,takingLifeCycleAnalysisintoconsideration,wetookstepswhich
wouldhelpeitherreuseorrecyclethescrapmaterialsorbringprofitstothecompanyby
sellingthewaste.Weassessedtheenvironmentalimpactsateachstepofourprocess
makingsurethatnoharmisdonetotheecosystemandyeteveryoneisbenefittedbeit
ArcelorMittalortheircustomers.

Page16

Conclusion
Ourfinaldesignwasthe1000TubGrinderwhichhasmanyoptionsthatcanbe
includedinthemachine.Someofthefeatureswechoseweretheelectricmodel,whichwould
savemoneyandemissionscomparedtoifitranoffgasoline,andthemagnetizedconveyor
beltwhichwouldeasilyseparatethemetalfromthewood.Thisdesignwouldhelpmake
ArcelorMittal$36,000dollarseveryyearafterpayingofftheinitialpayment.Althoughinthe
longrundesignwouldmakeadecentextrasumofmoneytheinitialcostofthemachinecan
bequitecostly.
WiththisdesigninplaceArcelorMittalcandecidewhatmeanstheywouldwanttosell
thewoodchipsandwhatpricetheywillgetthemachineat.Thismachinewilllastforalong
timeandArcelorMittalwouldonlyhavetobuyonetoseeprofit.Thismachinewillhelpthe
companytransitionintoamoreecologicallysustainablecompany.

Throughoutthisprojectourgrouplearnedseveralthings.Welearnedhowtodo

constructiveresearchintoacompanytohelpunderstandtheirneedsandcreateadesignthat
suitstheircompany.Wealsolearnedtodoresearchintosolutionsthathavealreadybeen
triedaswellasoptionsthatwecouldworkoffofratherthanhavingtocreatesomething
completelynewfromscratch.Thisprojecthelpedintroduceusintotheprojectsthatwecould
bedealingwithwhenwegetoutintothefieldofourrespectiveengineeringfields.

Page17

References

Cosgrove,AndrewJ."PalletDismantler."
GoogleBooks
.N.p.,17June2014.Web.22Apr.
2015.
DeMasi,Douglas."PatentUS20070039286ElectricMagneticNailRemoverandNail
Impailer."
GoogleBooks
.N.p.,22Feb.2007.Web.22Apr.2015.
Maker,TimothyM.,ThisInstitutionIsProhibitedFromDiscriminationOnTheBasisOf,and
Race,Color,NationalOrigin,Sex,Age,OrDisability.
WoodChipHeatingSystems
(1994):n.pag.
Biomasscenter
.1994.Web.22Apr.2015.
"Morbark1000TubGrinderLandClearing,WoodWasteRecycling."
MorbarkInc
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.22Apr.2015.
Phillips,Stephen."PatentUS6755392NailExtractor."
GoogleBooks
.N.p.,29June2004.Web.
22Apr.2015.
"Sustainability."
ArcelorMittal
.N.p.,n.d.Web.22Apr.2015.

Page18

Acknowledgements

TheWoodChipperswouldliketothankProfessorRitterforherguidancethroughoutthe
durationoftheproject.Inaddition,wewouldliketothankArcelorMittalforprovidinguswitha
legitimaterealworldproblem,allowingustodevelopandshowcaseourdesignskills.

PennStateUniversity
ProfessorRitter
TheEntireEDesign100Team
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