SABIC received two awards for developing innovative and sustainable technologies at its Mt Vernon, Indiana facility.

Sabic received the 2013 Sustainable Evansville Award for the development of a new process to recover and purify Sodium Nitrite, and the 2013 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award (MVP2) from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) for advancing a safer and more efficient process for cleaning manufacturing equipment.

The two technologies significantly reduce greenhouse gas intensity, waste disposal, and energy and water usage, all of which are important factors for Sabic customers as they consider the environmental impacts of their products in the supply chain.

The two techniques developed at the Mt Vernon facility are part of Sabic’s ongoing effort to help customers reduce the total environmental lifecycle impact of their products, while improving the sustainability of its operations and contributing to the environmental well-being of the communities in which it operates.

Sabic’s Mt Vernon facility plant manager Joe Castrale says: “For Sabic, sustainability is not just a ‘nice to do’ activity, it’s a cornerstone of our strategy. We continually seek ways to spur improvements in our industrial processes so that we can efficiently produce high-quality materials, while reducing the impact on the environment. The Sodium Nitrite conversion and the new purge process have already delivered tangible sustainability benefits at the Mount Vernon site.”

Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke presented the Mt Vernon facility with the Air/Water 2013 Sustainable Evansville Award for an innovative technology.

Winnecke says: “The Evansville Sustainability Awards recognise initiatives that protect the health and welfare of Evansville citizens and the environment. The substantial benefits afforded by Sabic’s new Sodium Nitrite process are directly in line with the goals and purpose of the programme, and we are proud to honour Sabic for this impressive achievement.”

The new technology recovers and purifies sodium nitrite from a wastewater stream. The recovered compound can be reused and sold commercially, displacing the use of raw materials to manufacture virgin Sodium Nitrite. The new process delivers a number of sustainable improvements, including:

Reducing GHG emissions generated at an off-site waste processing facility by 3,800 metric tonnes (compared to 2011 baseline); and

Reducing waste sent offsite by 3 million gallons (compared to 2011 baseline).

The Evansville Sustainability Awards are granted to individuals, businesses, schools, community organisations and government agencies that are leading the way to a more sustainable future for Southwest Indiana.

Sabic was also honoured by the NPPR with a Most Valuable Pollution Prevention award for its advancement of a new compound for cleaning extruding equipment, a time-consuming and resource-heavy process that manufacturers must complete each time a different type of plastic pellets is produced.

The subject of two US patent applications, the new purge compound has led to a number of environmental and operational benefits, including reducing the amount of time to clean and set up the equipment when switching from one product to another by up to 85 per cent (compared to a 2012 baseline) and reducing electricity usage by 90,750 kWh annually.