Wilmington, DE – DuPont was awarded an American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Energy Efficiency Award and the Industrial Energy Technology Conference Energy Award for improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacture of DuPont™ Nomex at the company’s Spruance plant in Richmond, Va.
Nomex is a flame resistant fiber produced by DuPont for use in a wide variety of industries from firefighter turnout gear to transformer insulation. The award is for innovation in the DuPont™ Nomex manufacturing process and was led through collaboration between DuPont Engineering and DuPont Protection Technologies. The team designed and installed equipment at the company’s Spruance plant to economically recover energy that was previously unused and ultimately wasted. This new equipment reduced energy use by 54 percent in this portion of the process.
“This project is an example of how DuPont Protection Technologies is committed to protecting people and critical processes, as well as the environment. Our products provide exceptional protection, and we are constantly challenging ourselves to do more to protect the environments in which we live and work,” said Marc Doyle, president of DuPont Protection Technologies.
The improvements that DuPont made to its Nomex® manufacturing facility reduced the amount of steam the company needed to purchase, which allowed the steam provider to burn less coal and save more than 200 tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions. In addition to energy savings, the process improvements lowered the amount of waste water produced from this operation by approximately 2 million gallons per year.
“Every day, DuPont engineers help the company translate science into innovative products in a way that reflects our commitment to environmental stewardship. The team of engineers awarded today used their deep understanding of heat, energy and the manufacturing process to deliver a solution that is not only good for our Nomex® manufacturing process, but also good for the environment,” said Karen Fletcher, chief engineer for DuPont.
For additional information, visit http://www.dupont.com