AkzoNobel’s operational Eco-Efficiency programme turns rainwater into paint
Ingenious engineers at AkzoNobel’s factory in Prudhoe are harvesting rainwater for paint production as part of the company’s operational Eco-Efficiency programme.
The project enables AkzoNobel to harvest up to 1.7 million litres of rainwater per year, potentially cutting the factory’s annual water usage in half. The biggest improvement that the operational Eco- Efficiency programme has delivered comes from supplying the water to the production line over 20 times faster than previously. Water can now be supplied at a rate of up to 500L/min due to higher water pressure and on-site storage and this generates Batch Cycle Time savings of 50 per cent on some Cuprinol production lines.
The rainwater harvesting project costs will have been paid back in just one year through a £10,000 saving on the factory’s water bill.
Steve Hawes, the engineer who masterminded the project said: “We took the opportunity to look at harvesting rainwater while reviewing the best ways of increasing efficiency in our production process. We are delighted with the results of the programme, we have significantly reduced our production footprint and the initiative will pay for itself in just one year.”
How it works:
Two on-site holding tanks collect rainwater from sump pump units situated at the bottom of four key downpipes from the main factory roof
The tank levels are maintained by a domestic water-fed safety stock, which can be used in dry periods to ensure consistent water availability for production
When any water outlet is operated, the pumping station senses the drop in system pressure and starts the pump
The harvested rainwater is pumped through a 5 micron filter and an ultra-violet sterilization unit so that the water used has zero ‘bugs’
AkzoNobel could roll out the rainwater harvesting scheme to additional locations if rainwater capture points can be identified and achievable water volumes are viable.
SECOND SERIOUS TREE DISEASE FOUND IN COUNTRY PARK IN SCOTLAND
Phytophthora ramorum has been found in a tree in the same country park in Scotland where Phytophthora lateralis was confirmed in Lawson's cypress trees late in 2010.
It was the first time that P. lateralis had ever been identified in Britain, and now Forestry Commission plant pathologists have also confirmed the presence of its close relative, Phytophthora ramorum, in a Lawson's cypress tree and rhododendron at the same site.
The site is Balloch Castle Country Park on Loch Lomondside in West Dunbartonshire, and P. ramorum has also been confirmed in rhododendron at the park.
The park is only the second site in Scotland where P. ramorum has been found in trees, although it has previously been found in other plants in Scotland.
However, P. ramorum infection has been the cause of the emergency felling of more than 2 million Japanese larch trees in South-West England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some in the Republic of Ireland, in an effort to prevent the pathogen from spreading further afield.
The Commission's Forest Research agency was first alerted late in 2010 when about 80 Lawson's cypress trees and 27 common yew trees at the park showed signs of decline and 'dieback' and appeared to be dying. Their investigations confirmed that P. lateralis was involved in at least some of the cypress trees' condition.
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