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 DRUM RECONDITIONING

Apex Drum is one of the only fully DOT certified, Insured, and permitted industrial container company in the Western US. We are also on of the only facilities in the US to have plastic, steel, fiber, and tote reconditioning in house in one location. This allows us to manage all your industrial container reconditioning and proper disposal services in one place. We do not outsource our work - so you can be comfortable knowing that all your liability is contained and managed properly.

We pride ourselves in the quality of our work and we test our containers to a higher pressure and for a longer period than required by the DOT - so you can be assured that our UN rated drums will stand up to the certification levels each and every time.

Call or contact Apex Drum in Commerce, CA to create a specialized program for your company. Instead of buying expensive new drums - recondition and return (R&R) programs can be designed to maximize your current container fleet investment - saving you both money, time, and helping to "green" your company - REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE.

Steel Drums
Steel Drum

Poly Drums
Fiber Drum
Totes
Poly Drum

APEX DRUM RECONDITIONING PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Container Receiving - Used, empty containers are received from suppliers and customers. Shipping may be arranged by the supplier or by Apex Drum, and containers may be transported using Apex Drum-owned equipment, supplier-owned equipment, common carrier or contract carrier. As required by USEPA and USDOT regulations, shipments of empty containers are received with all closures in place. Closures remain in place until the containers enter the cleaning process.

Open Head Steel Drum Cleaning - Empty open head steel drums are cleaned by processing in a Drum Reclamation Furnace. After the heads are removed, drums are placed on a conveyor that moves through the primary chamber of the furnace. Fired with natural, the furnace primary chamber operates at a temperature of 1200 to 1500 ºF. Any residual material on the interior of the drum is combusted within the primary chamber. Protective coatings on the exterior and interior surfaces of the drum are burned to a friable condition so that they may be easily removed through shot blasting.

Combustion gases generated within the primary furnace chamber are ducted to a thermal oxidizer chamber for air pollution control. The "after burner" thermal oxidizer is fired with natural gas and typically operates at 1500 to 1800 ºF.  The steam generated from the "after burner" then travels through a "scrubber" which removes any and all solids releasing only SCAQMD monitored clean steam.

The Drum Reclamation Furnace generates a non-hazardous solid waste stream in the form of ash. This material is transported for offsite disposal at an approved and properly permitted commercially operated landfill.

Steel Drum Surface Preparation and Repair - After open head steel drums are cleaned either through a Drum Reclamation Furnace they are shot blasted to prepare the metal surface for repainting. The enclosed, automated blasting machines operate with recirculated steel shot, supplemented with a makeup supply of fresh steel shot. This process generates a non-hazardous solid waste stream in the form of dust. The dust consists of spent shot along with the pulverized coatings removed from the drum surface. This material may be transported offsite for recycling as scrap steel, or for disposal at a municipal or commercially operated landfill.

After shot blasting, steel drums are reshaped and repaired using a variety of specialized metal working machines. These unit processes are designed to restore the physical condition of the drum to meet its original specifications, or to change the physical configuration to a different design type. Steel drums offered for packaging hazardous materials must meet USDOT and UN regulatory requirements.

Steel Drum Surface Coating and Assembly - Before painting, the drum body is assembled with the appropriate lid, ring and/or bung and plug fittings as required by the customer.  After surface preparation and repair, steel drums are painted according to customer specifications. A protective coating is applied to the drum exterior, and if required a chemically resistant or food grade lining may be applied to the drum interior. USDOT and UN required labels and/or stencils are applied, and the drums are staged for shipping.

Closed Head Steel Drum, Plastic Drum and IBC Cleaning - Empty closed head steel drums, plastic drums and IBCs are cleaned with hot water and/or a caustic (sodium hydroxide) solution in a staged, conveyorized wash process. Wash water from this process is reused to the greatest extent possible to minimize wastewater generation. Wastewater may be discharged to a local Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW), transported offsite to a commercial disposal facility.  Drums and IBC/Totes are tested to appropriate levels per the certification and marked with UN stickers when appropriate.

Container Shipping - Reconditioned containers, as well as new containers distributed by Apex Drum facilities, are shipped to customers. Shipping may be arranged by the supplier or by Apex Drum, and containers may be transported using Apex Drum-owned equipment, supplier-owned equipment, common carrier or contract carrier.