Greentech Lead America: GE has announced that Nestle
USA’s Pizza Division factory in Little Chute, Wis., has deployed GE’s advanced
water treatment technology to drive water efficiency and has earned GE’s Return
on Environment Award.
The company has implemented GE’s GenGard water-treatment
chemistry with stress tolerant polymer (STP) and
state-of-the-art TrueSense controls for the plant’s four main ammonia
condensers.
Following this implementation, the Little Chute plant has
reduced its water usage by 7.4 million gallons per year by increasing the
performance and efficiency of its cooling towers with help from GE’s (NYSE: GE)
advanced water-treatment chemical technology.
Industrial cooling water must meet tight specifications,
but Little Chute’s city water is challenging because of its hardness and
alkalinity. Standard chemical treatments were unable to treat it adequately because
high concentrations produced scaling in the cooling towers, which decreased
cooling efficiency and required additional maintenance. Also, an older control
system made consistent control of the cooling operation difficult, and it
couldn’t be integrated with plant data systems.
GE’s GenGard provides precise control of cooling water
and enable more cycles where the water-treatment chemicals are in the high
concentrations needed for optimum results. As a result, the cooling water at
Little Chute is reused to a much greater degree than before, saving 7.4 million
gallons of water and reducing sewer discharges by the same amount. This
translates into nearly $50,000 in cost savings from avoided water purchase
costs and discharge fees.
“One of our sustainability goals here at Nestlé is to
continuously improve water efficiency across our operations and reduce water
withdrawals,” said Louis Miller, utilities supervisor at Nestlé Pizza Division
Little Chute. “Improving the efficiency of the cooling towers is a big step
towards achieving that goal.”
Kevin Cassidy, chemical and monitoring solutions (CMS)
general manager- water and process technologies for GE Power & Water, said,
“Nestlé USA’s commitment shows that, increasingly, what’s good for the
environment also can be good for business. They’ve proven that being
environmentally conscious can improve operating efficiency, conserve scarce
natural resources and lead to improved capacity and healthier profit margins.
Nestlé’s leadership has set an example for others to aspire to and follow.”