Smart Air Pollution Treatment Cuts Both Your Costs And Footprint.

Smart Air Pollution Treatment Cuts Both Your Costs And Footprint.
It’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change. Yet it is easy to understand the idea that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings and make the business environmentally friendly.
– By Isaac Rudik

With the new Obama Administration in Washington poised to push for tougher global standards for reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, and boosting energy efficiency, even Canada’s reluctant Harper government is likely to be nudged into becoming more aggressive in acting to cut the risk of climate changes.

But the fact is that even without a new Kyoto-like treaty or tougher laws and regulations, it makes more business sense than ever for companies to review their own air pollution issues because they are key factors in boosting – or cutting – the efficiency of a plant.

Indeed, everything from the handling of air inside a factory to drying, heating, cooling, process control, and combustion all are key factors that flow straight through to the bottom line of a business. Maximizing the performance of your equipment reduces energy needs which will mean both lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint.

Sustainable Means Profitable

Despite another recent round of articles and speeches downplaying the importance or impact of climate change based on “phoney science,” the fact is that more than 3,000 of the world’s best, unbiased, scientific minds stated conclusively in a series of UN reports that global warming is happening – and faster than anyone previously thought.

But it’s hard to grasp the idea of an entire planet undergoing climate change; it’s too vast a concept for most people. Yet it is easy to grapple with the notion that one factory can make simple changes that result in significant cost savings while making the business “sustainable,” in the language of green, as it reduces its environmental impact on the entire globe.

Protecting the environment saves money and hassle.

Optimizing air flow, implementing secondary heat recovery systems using heat exchangers, and improving plant heating and cooling systems together deliver environmental compliance – before an inspector shows up from the ministry – and reduces operating costs at the same time.

Easy Implementation

Thanks to advancements in old systems coupled with new, lower cost technology that makes cleaning air cheaper and more effective. For example, many industrial processes move raw material or finished products on a conveyor belt through a heater or cooker. But, typically, the heater is open on both ends, creating enormous, energy robbing, heat loss.

The smart way to protect air quality typically involves three approaches:

· Provide all sources of heat – direct, indirect, or semi-indirect – with heater boxes or plenums to satisfy process-heating needs.
· Steam or either hot or chilled water can be supplied through adding waste heat boilers or absorption chillers.
· In areas where building heat is required, water or glycol systems can be installed to capture heat from the manufacturing process and used to pre-heat building air.

Like it or not, the drive to tougher environmental protection will accelerate. Companies implementing smart air quality measures now will avoid having to do so when the costs are much higher – while avoiding the wrath of environmental inspectors now.




Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.

E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.