What Is Green Cast Iron?

Being environmentally responsible is everybody’s motto these days. Businesses as diverse as paper companies and carpet cleaners are all claiming to be green. Car companies and coffee companies claim to be green. Pipe foundries are no exception. Most pipe manufacturers have come a long way toward adopting production methods that keep the air and water clean. Some foundries, on the other hand,
claim to be “green” when, in fact, they are polluting the environment at an alarming rate. So, what does it mean for a foundry to be green?  First, truly green foundries (such as AB&I and Tyler Pipe) use 100% recycled, post consumer scrap iron as their raw material  By using recycled iron, these foundries eliminate the energy needed to mine iron ore and to convert it into a usable form. Offending foundries, most notably those in China, use pig iron as their raw material, requiring the mining, transporting of ore, production of pig (very energy intensive), then the transporting of that pig to the foundry many hundreds or thousands of miles away, melting the pig, then casting the product. Moreover, Chinese
foundries must then ship their products via ocean freight many thousands of miles, then ship their goods a second time via truck or train to their final destination. The energy consumed in this process creates a
tremendous negative impact on the environment, worldwide. Green foundries use efficient and
environmentally friendly furnaces to melt the scrap into liquid iron, suitable for molding. And, green foundries use the best available environmental systems to capture smoke and particulates and to clean the water. Many offshore foundries use old fashioned, open furnaces to melt their iron, without capturing any soot and other combustion products. Waste is often dumped into rivers or into the ground. These offshore foundries contribute to dramatically polluted air, water, and land.China may be a long way away, but we all breathe the same air!  When making buying decisions, customers are encouraged to consider products’ environmental impact. To buy Green, buy American.