Multimillion euro upgrade at DSM plant

Materials company DSM has upgraded its polyesters facility in Emmen, The Netherlands, in the amount of several million euros. The investment includes a capture system that uses wastewater from the production plant to reduce to almost zero the emissions into the air of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Since it bought the plant in 2009, 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 percent of the water from the production process. After further purification of wastewater, residual organic components can be used to generate energy, reducing the facility’s environmental impact.

“Thanks to this major step forward, we are able to offer our customers around the globe products that are more sustainable than ever, Koen Devits, director of DSM Engineering Plastics Europe, said. “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.”