BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands
SABIC Innovative Plastics was named the national ENERGY GLOBE Award overall winner for The Netherlands in recognition of its Brine Recovery project in Bergen op Zoom. Yesterday, at the EU Parliament in Brussels, the company was honored for its efforts in achieving significant environmental benefits made possible by an innovative brine recovery process, which purifies and re-uses salt in polycarbonate production. This sustainable process reduces sodium chloride use, waste water generation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The project was subsidized by the EU Commission’s Life environment program with a grant of 1.2 million euros. Investment in eco-responsible solutions enables SABIC Innovative Plastics to provide customers with state-of-the-art products while minimizing the impact of manufacturing processes on the environment.
The ENERGY GLOBE awards, the most prestigious in the world, recognize extraordinary environmental projects. Projects from all over the world that conserve and protect the Earth’s resources or employ renewable energy are showcased. The national awards are determined from entries submitted by country; five projects were submitted in the Netherlands. Full details can be found at the Energy Globe website www.energyglobe.com.
In 2003, SABIC Innovative Plastics opened a pilot facility to recover and purify sodium chloride that previously had to be mined, transported, and ultimately flushed out to sea as waste water. This facility in Bergen op Zoom went into production in 2007. By recovering and reusing 72,000 tons of sodium chloride from this “brine stream,” the company is projecting a 73 percent reduction in sodium chloride consumption, eliminating 8,900 tons/year of CO2 emissions, and a 10 percent reduction in waste water discharged to sea. The emission reductions stem from lower energy requirements to mine and transport the virgin “vacuum” salt.
“We take environmental responsibility very seriously and constantly look for ways to take a leaderhship role,” said Heiner Markhoff, president, EMEA, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “The Brine Recovery project is an outstanding example of how technological creativity combined with government partnership can make a major difference in several environmental areas – conservation of natural resources, reduction of energy use and emissions, and less waste water discharge into the ocean. We are grateful to the EU Life program for crucial support of this successful project.”
Multiple Benefits from a New Process
High-purity salt (NaCl) is a basic raw material used in the production of polycarbonate. Implementation of the Brine Recovery project enables the re-use of about 73 percent of the salt, significantly reducing the amount of virgin material required. The energy savings and the resulting CO2 reductions are primarily achieved through a reduced need for salt volume (mined via energy-intensive processes) and related transportation by boat and truck to the site.
For more information on SABIC Innovative Plastics’ polycarbonate resins, please visit the company’s website at www.sabic-ip.com.