Recycle-Reuse Thinking: Dow’s Water Optimization Efforts
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Hydrogen and oxygen: an elemental bond as vital to life as air is itself; and yet more then one billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Each day the global population continues to grow, economic development accelerates demand for most resources, freshwater is becoming scarcer, and the true value of water is becoming increasingly apparent.
One of The Dow Chemical Company’s primary objectives is to eliminate wastewater production at the source, but to also focus on technologies which allow for the reuse of water. Therefore, the industry must responsibly and proactively manage its water use while creating economic growth to ensure the sustainability of this vital resource. New technologies to cost-effectively drive water reuse will be a critical enabler of industrial growth.
“Recognizing and addressing opportunities to use water more efficiently and effectively makes good business sense,” said Neil Hawkins, Dow’s vice president of Sustainability. “We work to incorporate conservation design principles, recycle-reuse thinking and by-product synergies into the plants we build up front. Innovative design can help Dow reduce both capital outlays and long-term operational costs.” Most of Dow’s capital projects involve assets that are expected to run for the next 20 to 30 years. Plants in Belgium, the Netherlands and Texas are three examples of how Dow is optimizing its operating water efforts.
Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp is home to the world’s largest commercial-scale propylene oxide (PO) plant and the first based on the innovative hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) technology and is located at BASF’s site in Belgium. Developed by BASF and Dow, the new HPPO technology provides economies of scale, a reduction of wastewater and lower energy usage. New plants using this technology are more economical – needing less land, reduced plant infrastructure and 25 percent less capital to build. HPPO technology results in a more than 70 percent reduction in wastewater and a 35 percent reduction of energy usage compared with typical PO technologies currently in use.
Terneuzen, the Netherlands
Dow’s second largest manufacturing site is located in Terneuzen. Here, Dow partnered with the government in Terneuzen and a local provider to turn community wastewater into energy. Dow’s Benelux site is taking the local community’s treated wastewater, which is discharged directly into the river, and reusing it twice – first in manufacturing plans and then again in cooling towers – before releasing it into the atmosphere. As a result every liter of water is used three times instead of once, reducing energy use for water purification by 65 percent. This is the equivalent of lowering carbon dioxide emissions by 5,000 tons per year. Dow has won four awards for this project, including the Most Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility Project in the 2008 International Conference on Information Systems Innovation Awards.
Freeport, Texas
At Dow’s largest manufacturing site globally in Freeport, a power plant has been designed to use seawater, instead of freshwater, for cooling. The use of seawater saves $600,000 per year in avoided treatment, energy and water costs. Additionally, the project has resulted in 1,200 gallons per minute reduction in freshwater demand resulting in 1,200 gallons per minute reduction for the life of the facility.
Water conservation programs have enabled Dow to become more efficient, reduce energy use and helped to reduce its global footprint. Since 1995, Dow has reduced the amount of water used per pound of product by more than 35 percent, representing a reduction of 183 million pounds, equal to the water use of 170,000 people in one year. Dow will focus its history of enterprise, experimentation and innovation toward becoming a global leader in water efficiency, conservation and treatment process – striving to incorporate zero liquid discharge design philosophy into new design and construction of plants, minimizing water impact and continuously improving the efficient use of water resources.
To find out more about what Dow is doing to help overcome the world’s water crisis, visit these stories:
Dow: A Global Advocate for Clean, Drinkable Water
Dow Technologies Make Undrinkable Water Drinkable
