Sekisui Specialty Chemicals Europe has made great progress minimizing the CO2footprint of its facility in Tarragona, Spain, through reduced energy consumption. Only in February this year, the QESH Managers met in Tarragona to learn from the current medium-term environmental plan, from Japanese colleagues and from each other. They shared knowledge and found effective solutions to reduce CO2. The result is already measurable!
CO2 reduction through collaboration with a neighbor facility
The main source of Sekisui Specialty Chemicals CO2 footprint was the steam intake required to operate a natural gas boiler. A nearby company located at the same site as the facility, has steam available that they must condensate before release. This steam is a byproduct of a process that does not generate CO2. Sekisui Specialty Chemicals was aware of this and started conversations with this company to use their waste steam for operating the natural gas boiler, substituting its CO2 generated steam with the environmentally friendly steam.
After reaching an economic agreement, it was possible to connect the neighbor’s waste steam to SSC current steam input with great success. The Tarragona facility now consumes steam from this source as well as from a natural gas boiler from another site partner.
Sekisui Specialty Chemicals estimates the CO2 reduction of 4000-5000 metric tons per year
This is an example of how CO2 reduction and economic benefits are connected, making plants more sustainable while reducing energy cost and adding more value to customers.
Sekisui Specialty Chemicals’ primary product is Selvol – a line of high performance polyvinyl alcohol polymers and copolymers used in paper, adhesive, packaging, construction, personal care, and many other specialty formulations.
Here you can read how the CO2 reduction plan was created: https://newsroom.sekisui.eu/european-environmental-managers-meeting/
