DSM has completed a five-year upgrade of its high performance engineering plastics plant at Emmen, the Netherlands, as part of its drive to make sustainability a core element of its corporate strategy.
The investment, which the Dutch chemical and life sciences group puts at “several million euros,” includes a capture system that uses waste water from the production plant to reduce emissions to the air of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to almost zero.
DSM has made significant investments since acquiring the facility in 2009, applying state-of-the-art technologies and introducing advanced operating systems to continually optimize the production processes. As a result, it says the plant’s energy use has decreased by more than 30% and water consumption almost halved. About 80% of the water from the production process is claimed to be reused.
To achieve its targets, the Dutch group said it applied its in-house expertise, combined with the innovation skills and know-how of local industry. After further purification of waste-water, residual organic components can be used to generate energy, for instance, thus further reducing the facility’s environmental impact.