Avaliação dos ganhos econômicos e ambientais da aplicação de radiação ultravioleta para o controle de contaminação microbiológica de fluido de corte: experimento no setor de usinagem

Abstract

The main advantages of using cutting fluids in machining processes are related to the lubricating and cooling functions they exert during the removal of material, which consequently generates gains in the production of parts. Concerning the negative aspects, administration costs, environmental and occupational health risks, as well as microbiological contamination have been problems of great concern to the industries that use the cutting fluid. Control of microbiological contamination can be done using biocides, but this form of control is toxic and causes serious damage to human health over time. Ultraviolet light is well known for the control of microorganisms in several areas and has laboratory tests for the microbiological control of cutting fluid, obtaining favorable results. Thus, this study aimed to contribute to the theme, making an assessment of the economic and environmental gains due to the application of ultraviolet radiation. For that, an experiment was carried out using a special prototype and installed in a machining machine in a production line of a company. Treatment with ultraviolet light reduced the microbiological contamination of the cutting fluid by 99.70%. The reduction of microbiological contamination generated an economic gain of 33.33% in six months, due to the prolonged use of the fluid, positively impacting the environment, avoiding the disposal of 190.91 kg of waste. Therefore, the application of ultraviolet radiation to the control of the contamination of the cutting fluid proved to be efficient in the manufacturing environment, allowed to realize economic gains and proved to be an environmentally friendly solution.