Chemical industry: Between regulations and the environment

Water, energy and waste: the chemical industry’s challenges

It is an often-forgotten fact that the chemical industry supplies all other industries. As the industry of industries, it is essential to the design of many everyday objects and products, providing active ingredients, hydrochloric acid, vitamins, plastics, polyurethanes, etc. As a consumer of resources, it must ensure that they are conserved in order to reduce its impact on the planet.

Maximizing energy efficiency

The chemical industry uses a large amount of energy. The heat and electricity needs of the sector's professionals are significant and have an impact on the environment, but also on their energy bills.

Find out more about our energy management solutions >

Water treatment and use

Water is a central element in a chemical plant. It is present from the initial solution production to facility cleaning, including installation of infrastructure cooling systems and effluent discharge into the natural environment. In order to maintain the smooth operation of the plant’s facilities and prevent environmental harm, it is necessary to treat water pollutants, both upstream and downstream.

Manage and recover waste

The chemical industry produces a lot of waste. All of it must be collected and treated, but special attention must be paid to hazardous waste. Abundant in this sector (solvents, oils, acids, etc.), they present significant risks for human health and the environment. Despite this, they can also be a real asset to be recovered and given a second life.

Water, energy and waste: our comprehensive approach to mitigate environmental impact

We are working towards improved resource management, with complete water cycle management and solutions for the treatment of both non-hazardous and hazardous waste. For example, we regenerate solvents and send them back to industry for reuse or sell them to third parties. This results in high-quality, low-cost products with a reduced environmental footprint.

We boost the energy efficiency of plants to reduce costs and comply with CO₂ emission standards. We build, renovate, operate and maintain energy facilities, including heat, steam, ventilation, air conditioning and power systems. We offer performance contracts, as well as remote control solutions in real time. In China, for example, we helped Hongda Chemical achieve 35% savings through improved energy efficiency.

We are optimizing the management of hazardous and non-hazardous waste on site, reducing the carbon impact. In France, for example, we managed 1,400 metric tons of non-hazardous waste – 60% of which was recycled – and 17,000 metric tons of hazardous waste – 30% of which was recycled into materials or energy – for an ethylene production plant.

We maximize water reuse, and meet strict environmental compliance standards for waste discharge. We provide smart water-cooling systems and optimize water and energy consumption. At the Tianjin Soda site in China, for example, we reduced the cooling system’s water consumption by 25% and are reusing 60% of the waste water as make-up water.

We provide general maintenance for industrial chemical and petrochemical plants, with multi-trade services: assembly, industrial cleaning, metallurgy, plastics, etc. For example, the Vencorex chemical plant in Pont-de-Chaix, France, for which we have optimized the use of resources and reduced downtime.