Performance Chemical Plant Saves More Than 3.6 Million Gallons of Water Annually

OMNOVA Solutions’ Performance Chemicals and GE Technology (USA) have implemented a sustainable water solution in a greater Green Bay (Village of Howard), Wis., facility to save 3.6 million gallons of water per year, lessening the stress on fresh water sources, thus reducing environmental impact. The approach to OMNOVA Solutions’ water treatment challenges included a new GE reverse osmosis (RO) system and a cooling water treatment chemistry program that allowed the company to reuse water by sending the RO concentrate into the cooling tower system instead of the sewer.

Previously, OMNOVA Solutions used a deionized water system to treat the incoming city water to be used in the plant’s manufacturing processes. OMNOVA decided to upgrade to new technology due to the high cost of maintaining the old system as well as reliability issues that threatened to affect plant production and product quality. Environmental, health and safety concerns related to the use of caustic and sulfuric acid for regeneration of the old system also were key considerations.

The implementation of two of GE’s Pro-50 RO systems, along with GE’s Continuum AEC Alkaline treatment program, resulted in a substantial reduction in fresh water usage and a yearly net savings for OMNOVA of $120,000. The new system also is much safer for employees and the environment since there is no more acid or caustic usage. Recognizing OMNOVA’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, the Green Bay project received today a GE ecomagination Leadership Award.

“Innovation and a commitment to reducing our environmental footprint are both hallmarks of the way we do business at OMNOVA Solutions,” said James Hohman, president of OMNOVA’s Performance Chemicals business unit. “Partnering with GE on this important project for our Green Bay area plant provided an excellent opportunity to apply a novel approach to the treatment of our process water, and in doing so, to significantly reduce our water usage. This has had a major positive impact for OMNOVA and for the surrounding community. We are delighted that GE has chosen to honor these efforts with their ecomagination Leadership Award.”

Ecomagination is GE’s corporate-wide sustainable business strategy to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundance sources of clean water. The GE ecomagination Leadership Award is given to the top one percentile of GE’s customers who demonstrate significant environmental and economical performance improvements, striking a balance between today’s environmental, industrial and sustainability challenges.

“We are pleased to present OMNOVA Solutions with an ecomagination Leadership award in recognition of their significant efforts in reducing water usage and improving the environment while maintaining safety,” said Adrian Peace, North American business leader, GE Power & Water. “Our ecomagination leadership awards are given to the best of the best. This project with OMNOVA Solutions is a great example of working together to deliver positive economic and environmental impact with quantifiable results.”