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Case Study: Transforming Hazardous Semiconductor Waste
The Challenge
The semiconductor industry is a vital driver of technological innovation but generates significant hazardous waste, including hydrofluoric waste such as sludges and acids. Traditionally, these waste types are neutralized and landfilled, a process fraught with challenges:
• Environmental Risks: The potential for leakage from landfills poses threats to ecosystems and public health.
• Infrastructure Concerns: Accumulated waste exerts pressure on landfill capacity, increasing long-term management risks.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Environmental Solutions Asia (ESA) collaborated with STMicroelectronics Singapore, a leading global semiconductor company, to pioneer a groundbreaking approach to waste management.
Through intensive research and development, ESA applied its proprietary, patent-registered technology to treat and regenerate hydrofluoric waste into a synthetic material called NEWSPAR.
The Results
The outcome of this collaboration is a transformative solution that addresses environmental and industrial challenges:
1. NEWSPAR: A synthetic fluorspar with a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to traditionally mined fluorspar.
2. Applications in Construction: NEWSPAR is now being utilized in the manufacturing of construction materials, such as bricks and road infrastructure components.
3. Environmental Impact: Supporting sustainable practices in two critical industries: semiconductors and construction.
Key Takeaways
This case study demonstrates how innovative partnerships and proprietary technology can transform waste management practices. By regenerating hazardous waste into valuable resources, ESA and STMicroelectronics are not only addressing pressing environmental concerns but also contributing to the global shift toward a circular economy.
Case Study: Closing the Loop For waste plastics
The Challenge
Pharmaceutical companies often produce unused high-quality eyedrop containers during stringent quality control processes. These containers, while unused and intact, require secure destruction to prevent brand security breaches or product misuse. The traditional method—incineration—ensures security but offers no environmental benefits, contributing to waste and emissions.
The Solution
ESA partnered with a leading pharmaceutical company to transform this challenge into an opportunity. Through an advanced thermal decomposition process, ESA securely recycled these containers into ISCC-certified pyrolysis oil, branded as NEWOIL. This oil is a regenerated form of plastic chemicals, ready to be utilized in the production of new plastic products. This innovative approach ensures both brand security and environmental responsibility, through sustainable waste management solutions
The Results
The pyrolysis oil produced was passed on to a plastic chemicals manufacturer, where it was reprocessed into recycled plastics. This successful initiative closed the circular economy loop for plastics in Singapore, demonstrating ESA’s commitment to sustainability and innovation.
Key Takeaways
ESA’s innovative partnership with a pharmaceutical company showcases how secure destruction of unused high-quality containers can be transformed into a sustainable solution. By converting the waste into ISCC-certified pyrolysis oil and recycling it back into plastics, ESA not only ensured brand security but also closed the circular economy loop, setting a benchmark for sustainable waste management in Singapore.
Case Study: Waste Transformed: Road to Sustainability
The Challenge
Kaolin, a crucial mineral in the manufacture of carriers for catalysts, plays an essential role in catalytic cracking in the petrochemical industry. Its refractory properties make it ideal for applications involving high temperatures and pressures. However, once spent, these materials often end up in landfills, compounding pressure on already limited landfill space and contributing to environmental concerns.
The Solution
Recognizing the environmental impact of discarded kaolin, ESA partnered with a leading petrochemical company to innovate a sustainable solution. Together, they developed a process to recover spent kaolin and blend it with other materials, transforming it into a valuable aggregate. This aggregate is then repurposed for road construction, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional disposal methods.
The Results
The most significant benefit of this initiative is the complete avoidance of landfilling spent kaolin. By redirecting waste from landfills to infrastructure projects, ESA not only reduces environmental impact but also contributes to the circular economy by giving industrial waste a new lease on life.
Key Takeaways
ESA addressed the challenge of spent kaolin, a key material in catalysts that is often landfilled, by partnering with a petrochemical company to innovate a sustainable solution. Together, they developed a process to recover spent kaolin and blend it with other materials to create aggregate for road construction. This initiative not only diverts waste from landfills but also promotes sustainability by giving industrial by-products a new purpose, contributing to a circular economy.
Case Study: Reducing Carbon Emissions in Nickel Recycling
The Challenge
The production of circuit boards generates nickel waste solutions as part of the manufacturing process. Traditionally, this waste is transported as a liquid solution for recycling. However, this practice is carbon-intensive due to the weight of the water content in the solution, which significantly adds to the transportation footprint.
The Solution
ESA collaborated with one of the world’s leading PCB manufacturers specializing in high-end, complex PCBs to address this issue. By leveraging ESA’s proprietary process, the nickel solution was converted into a solid concentrate. This innovation drastically reduced the carbon intensity across the value chain by minimizing the deadweight during transportation, delivering sustainable waste management solutions.
The Results
• Carbon Avoidance: Reduced emissions associated with transporting liquid nickel solutions.
• Mining Avoidance: By recovering nickel from waste, the process minimizes reliance on virgin mining, contributing to sustainability goals and resource conservation.
Key Takeaways
ESA’s innovative solution to managing nickel waste in PCB production has significantly reduced carbon emissions and environmental impact. By partnering with a leading PCB manufacturer, ESA transformed liquid nickel waste into a solid concentrate using a proprietary process, reducing the carbon-intensive transportation burden. This approach not only avoids carbon emissions but also eliminates the need for mining virgin nickel, demonstrating ESA’s commitment to sustainable resource management and circular economy practices.