Process Modification
Process modifications look at the processing area to identify opportunities where improvements can be made. Three key areas exist for process modifications; these include housekeeping options, new materials and technology
Good Housekeeping
Good housekeeping measures are procedural, administrative or institutional measures that a company can adopt with a view to preventing waste and emissions. They are mainly based on the human effort in the production process and can often be introduced with little cost and effort. Options can include shutting off valves or electrical components when not in use.
New Materials
Waste and emission prevention is achieved by making changes to the input materials in such a way that substances leading to the formation of waste and generation of emissions are either not used at all or used to lesser degree. Raw material changes include material purification or material substitution.
Technological Changes
Technological changes are orientated towards production process and installation changes to reduce waste and emissions. They range from minor changes that can be implemented in the short term and at low cost to the complete changeover to other production processes involving large investments.
Level 2: Internal Recycling
Internal recycling looks at recovering existing waste streams and reintroducing these streams back into the originating process. Examples of this include recovery and reuse of waste water, recycling or rework of spillages and out of specification product.
Level 3: External Recycling
External recycling is the lowest level of CP and should only be considered once all higher options have been exhausted. This option looks at reusing a waste stream as a raw feed material for an alternate offsite process. Examples of this could include use of slag materials as aggregate in road building or brick manufacturing, biogenous cycles such as composting or methane generation for electricity generation.
Typically: Effective Cleaner Production is most easily achieved by preventing the generation of unnecessary waste in the first place.
The following projected savings were calculated for the 4 companies assessed so far: |
