2008
Mission accomplished! A benefit for the environment.
Environmental steps towards fulfilling the objectives of the ISO 14001 certification
As you read this edition, our new fume treatment equipment will already be in service. These fumes produced by our ovens required special attention.
This is now being done thanks to the Electrostatic precipitator! Beyond the obvious environmental benefits, this step falls under the requirements of our recently acquired ISO 14001 certification. In addition the glassmaking industry must respect the European standards created to limit its impact on the environment.
Let's give the floor to our Environmental Safety Manager: Stéphane Bonne explains precisely how the Electrostatic precipitator works!
"Our action concerns the dust and sulphur oxides found in the fumes of oven #1 and #2. Hot fumes are brought into an engine, mixed with a reagent, found in lime, then diffused in an electrostatic field equipped with plates and electrodes: the dust is then captured in a screw and propulsion system towards a storage bin.
Half of the dust thus recovered is introduced in the composition of the glass in oven #2 and the other half specially disposed of."
What does this really represent, for the company as well as the environment?
"The hot fumes released into the chimneys and then the atmosphere have ten times less dust and half the sulphur oxide! A more than effective purification!
The regulations for French glassworks effective at the end of 2008 have thus been applied in June of the very same year.
For the compnay it is an investment of 4 million euros which concerns the perpetuation of our activity in Albi and falls wthin the desire for sustainable development. A sizable investment yet without commercial consequences as the the cost is integrated into the company's costs."
