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Rising cost of waste drives interest
in sustainable solvent recovery, says Air Products
12th February 2004 — With landfill costs due
to rise from the start of April 2004, the UK chemical and
pharmaceutical industries are turning to the latest cryogenic
methods of emissions control, capable of enhanced sustainability,
in order to drive efficiency, according to Air Products.
In the past many chemicals and pharmaceutical businesses
have relied on traditional emission abatement technologies,
which work by a process of adsorption onto activated carbon,
in order to manage the recovery of harmful solvents or volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). However, one significant drawback
of such systems is the need to dispose of the VOC contaminated
carbon materials at designated landfill sites.
From 1st April 2004 the cost of 'active waste' disposal
is rising from £11 per tonne to £15 per tonne
- an increase of 36% and are expected to rise further by
2010. According to Air Products, this increase in costs,
is prompting many businesses to review their emissions control
systems.
Diana Raine, business manager for cryogenic applications
at Air Products, said:
"This hike in Landfill tax costs represents another
cost burden for the UK chemicals and pharmaceutical industries,
which will impact on their competitiveness.
"In readiness, many businesses are reviewing emissions
control systems and where possible are adopting more sustainable
solutions, such as cryogenic systems, capable of reusing
recovered solvents."
Cryogenic solvent recovery technology is suitable for use
across a range of manufacturing processes and such systems
are now more compact and capable of recovering even the
most complex VOCs at low gas flow rates. The systems can
also be adapted quickly and easily on site to allow for
changes in gas flows.
However, to date, only relatively few companies have found
ways of reusing recovered solvents. Diana Raine explains:
"Pharmaceuticals and chemicals businesses are often
required to go into production as quickly as possible -
for example, as soon as a new drug has been sponsored. At
this stage little thought is given to how waste substances
may be reused. However, where the reuse of recovered solvent
has gone ahead some companies have been able to achieve
major savings, significantly reducing their solvent consumption.
"In terms of sustainability, cryogenic solvent recovery
systems are an ideal solution. Not only can manufacturers
reuse the recovered solvent as part of their own processes,
they can also choose to sell the recovered solvent elsewhere
if they prefer. In addition, the liquid nitrogen used as
part of the cryogenic freezing process can itself be recovered
and reused elsewhere on site to ensure an inert process
environment."
For more information about cryogenic condensation technology,
contact Air Products on 0800 3890202, visit www.airproducts.com/epm
or email: contact.
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