Waterford, New York - Momentive's newly issued annual sustainability report has detailed a number of interesting environmental projects and initiatives at its operations around the world In the US, the group's Waterford, New York site, which is the largest consumer of steam in Momentive, implemented a project to address operator behaviour related to energy use in manufacturing process areas.
The site installed a visible electronic display with all steam related parameters and trained operators on best practices related to steam utilisation.
Training included chemistry/physics of binary separation and understanding of all process variables that can impact steam consumption, Momentive reported.
As a result, the site saved 6,000Megajoule/kg of steam usage and highlighted the importance of energy-saving activities at the front line of production operations.
Other initiatives to reduce the company's energy footprint include: installing a co-generation facility at its Ohta, Japan site; transitioning to LED lighting at a number of sites; and process-related energy-efficiency projects throughout its plants.
Meanwhile, a new shipping policy at the group's Termoli, Italy site has been recognised for saving 592 tonnes of carbon emissions compared to conventional logistics.
The 56% saving, said Momentive, was achieved primarily by switching from truck to rail shipping – the equivalent of preventing the burning of more than 60,000 gallons of gasoline.
Packaging was the focus of another efficiency project, which delivered greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of more than 30,000 tonnes of CO2e and 800,000 pounds of reduced plastics usage per year.
Momentive went on to highlight the role of its materials in the on-going drive to more sustainable mobility, particularly via vehicle electrification.
The group cited, for example, how its NXT and NXT Z 45 silanes are helping in tire makers to improve the sustainability of their products.
The use of some renewable raw materials in the silanes reduces energy-use and waste-generation during tire production, according to Momentive.
These ingredients, it noted,"also substantially lower and/or virtually eliminates ethanol released during the manufacture of silica tires."
Elsewhere, it said, materials such as liquid silicone rubbers (LSR) and heat cured rubber (HCR) technologies are driving sustainability improvements in terms of part design, longevity, functionality and performance.
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