Research project to reduce and reuse C&T production waste
Energy reduction rather than shrinking waste flows
L’Oréal has teamed up with the UK’s University of Newcastle and German green energy company ACS-Umwelttechnik to find ways of reducing personal care product industry energy usage associated with manufacturing waste disposal. United within the EU-funded ENERMIN project, the trio have noted in a project note that the personal care industry generates large amounts of waste residues from ingredients used in products.
The ENERMIN project will take an innovative approach – looking to reduce the energy used in dealing with this problem rather than shrinking waste flows themselves, including the development of waste-to-energy systems. It said: “Up to 10% of the energy cost of a personal care product manufacturing plant is used in residual management. Given this high cost, residual handling methods must be re-evaluated and made more energy efficient to reduce costs, but also to make these processes more environmentally friendly.”
The note said that specific technical techniques would include retrofitting aerobic systems to lower ventilation requirements; separating carbon-rich residual streams for pre-processing prior to aeration; and developing waste-to-energy technologies such as anaerobic systems.
“The broad goal here is to develop residual management systems that convert residuals into ‘resources’ that produce rather than use energy, possibly by enhanced methane generation as a biofuel,” said the note.