Slivers of silver add up for engineers
12/14/2006 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- Silver. For thousands of years, it's been highly valued as a ductile and malleable metal for making the coin of the realm, jewelry, tableware and for processing photography. It's also an integral component in the Air Force's newest weapon system - the F-22A Raptor.
The shiny element also has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal, and that is why it is important in the overall mission effectiveness of the Raptor.
"It is part of the conductive coating in both the solid and liquid component on the gap filler for the panels on the F-22," said Master Sgt. Nova Dubovik, 1st Equipment Maintenance Squadron Low Observable Composite Repair Facility section chief.
The LO/CRF is where maintenance to the outside of the Raptor is performed, to ensure it maintains the important stealth characteristics of the aircraft.
When panels on the aircraft are removed to perform maintenance, so is the gap filler that contains silver. This material cannot be re-applied, so it's collected for recycling and new gap filler is installed.
The standard procedure for the re-use of materials within the Department of Defense is to send the material to the Norfolk Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office.
Through continued negotiations to set up accounts and develop processes for the recovery of the silver-bearing material, it was determined that DRMO did not have the capability to provide Langley with this service.
"The starting point of the silver recovery process was during the initial beddown of the LO/CRF," said Ken Parker, 1st Civil Engineer Squadron hazardous waste program manager.
The amount of silver on the Material Safety Data Sheet was determined to be 60 to 80 percent. Since DRMO wouldn't take the silver, Mr. Parker asked the Air Combat Command hazardous waste program manager for approval to go outside of DRMO to find a recycler of the silver.
The refinery firm of Gannon and Scott was already doing this for Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. They have provided refining solutions to leading precious metals manufacturers since 1919.
"The silver-bearing material from the low-observable coating process is melted down in environmentally-friendly electric induction furnaces for resale to other industrial manufacturing processes," said Kathi Hailey, 1st CES Environmental Restoration manager.
Each month, Langley generates about 45 pounds of silver-bearing material. The current price of silver is $72 per pound. Through recycling efforts, the environmental flight estimates they will generate more than $35,000 a year, which will be used to support a myriad of environmental projects on the base.
Recycling the silver also helps protect the environment here on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.
Source:
http://www.langley.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123035279
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