We've worked with dozens of chemical manufacturers since our launch, helping them to reduce their waste costs and improve their environmental performance.  It is an industry that is constantly under pressure to improve its image and to contain costs as more and more production migrates to developing economies such as India and China. 

Packaging improvements lead to substantial waste savings

A chemical manufacturing company in Lancashire produced a sticky, liquid product in tighthead 205L drums that was then applied in the field by contractors.

Once "empty" the drums were returned to the manufacturer who then took responsibility for disposing of them.  The viscous residues they contained were both corrosive and toxic, and discarding them cost an average of £5.00 per drum. 

Remsol helped the client to entirely overhaul this system of packaging, moving to the use of removable-head steel 205L drums fitted with disposable liners.  When the contractors returned the drums to the site of manufacture, the lightweight contaminated liners were removed for disposal and the drums, once inspected and determined fit for reuse, were fitted with new liners and re-filled to begin the cycle again.

This simple change led to significant annual cost reductions.  Drum prpcurement costs fell by more than 60% and disposal costs were reduced from over £20,000 annually to less than £2,000.

Acid recycling saves North West chemical company money - and jobs

A company situated in Cheshire had over 400 tonnes of Hydrochloric Acid that had become contaminated with a chlorinated organic chemical contained in product storage tanks. 

Ordinarily, a neighbouring chemical company would take this by-product acid away for onward use, but the presence of the contaminant meant that this was not an option on this occasion.

Production had to continue unabated and, as it did so, more and more by-product HCl containing the problem compound was generated, leading to a very difficult situation - the sites' parent company had made it clear that the site management either needed to overcome the problem or face closure after repeated difficulties. 

Remsol was contacted on Friday morning to lend a hand.  After ruling out the conventional acid/alkali waste treatment options around the UK, either because they were too expensive or because they were unable to cope with the large volume of waste requiring treatment, Remsol instead turned its attention to sourcing another recovery route. 

By 6pm that same day, a fleet of specialist road tankers was mobilised and during the course of the weekend, all 400 tonnes of problem acid was removed to another chemical manufacturing site elsewhere in the region.  The presence of the chlorinated contaminant posed no problem for their use.

This last-minute victory was a huge achievement for the client and the Remsol team.  Instead of paying between £40,000 and £100,000 for disposal alone, the client was able to discard the HCl for less than £10,000 - and the factory gates remained open for business too!

Turning unwanted chemical waste into fertiliser

A manufacturing company located in Greater Manchester had for many years produced a regular quantity of liquid waste that required disposal. This had historically been sent for direct landfill, but the advent of the Landfill Regulations soon put paid to this and so the client was forced to find an alternative means of dealing with the waste.

This liquor was comprised of ammonia and sulphuric acid, reacted together to produce Ammonium Sulphate.  Unfortunately, this composition meant that treatment at traditional physico-chemical treatment plants around the UK was both limited and expensive.

As is often the case, the Remsol team felt that such traditional thinking had meant that other, more novel options had been overlooked.

It didn't take long to establish that the waste had an inherent value in the manufacture of liquid fertiliser and soon afterwards Remsol had secured access for the waste to a specialist recovery operation in Shropshire that used it for exactly that - and turned what had earlier been a problem wastestream into a commercial opportunity.