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Chemical Technology • July 2015
DSM, the global Life Sciences & Materials Sciences company,
recently completed a five-year upgrade of its Engineering Plastics
facility in Emmen, The Netherlands. The investment, which repre-
sents several million euro, 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.
The DSM Engineering Plastics plant in Emmen, which produces
high performance polyesters, was acquired by DSM in 2009.
Since then, the company has made significant investments in the
facility, applied the latest technologies and introduced the most
advanced operating systems to continually optimize the production
processes – increasing output and making themmore sustainable.
As a result, the plant’s energy use has decreased by more than
30 % and water consumption has almost halved. The new capture
system, also known as a Scrubber, reuses 80 % of the water from
the production process.
DSM applied its in-house expertise, combined with the innova-
tion skills and know-how of local industry. For instance, after fur-
ther purification of waste-water, residual organic components can
be used to generate energy – thus further reducing the facility’s
environmental impact.
According to Koen Devits, director DSM Engineering Plastics
Europe, the company’s unique combination of know-how and in-
novation, known as ‘Bright Science’, stands at the basis of this
investment: “Thanks to this major step forward, we are able to offer
our customers around the globe products that are more sustainable
than ever. We will continue to make improvements such as these in
an ongoing effort to reduce environmental footprints, both within
our own operations and along all our value chains.”
For more information
go to
www.dsm.comz
DSM continues to invest in optimizing
environmental footprint
FOCUS ON WATER TREATMENT