AF&PA Thanks Congress for Clarifying Federal Regulatory Policy on Biomass Carbon Neutrality

Solenis LLC is proud to announce that a BASF site located in White Stone, South Carolina, is among the winners of a 2023 Solenis Sustainability Award. The White Stone operation, which produces surfactants for the personal care and cleaning industries, is being recognized for a boiler tuning effort that led to annual savings of $27,002 (makeup water savings of $3,911; wastewater savings of $7,821; and fuel savings of $15,270). The BASF White Stone facility is a typical batch process chemical plant that uses steam from its three boilers in several critical processes. The boilers started experiencing carryover problems, which occurs when solids and other contaminants leave the boilers with the steam. Solids carried in the steam can form deposits in non-return and other control valves, affecting system efficiency. The escaping solids can also enter process streams, leading to product quality issues. As the carryover problem worsened, the White Stone facility was unable to sustain good boiler cycles. Solenis team members worked closely with the White Stone maintenance staff to resolve the issue. This involved weekly interventions to diagnose likely causes, implement system tweaks, and analyze the results.

Convenience store chain Circle K has released its first sustainability report, and PEFC-certified packaging plays a critical role as they look to reduce their environmental footprint, use resources efficiently and help protect our planet. Using certified paper was an important requirement in the tender process for Circle K’s new range of holistic food packaging within all stores across Europe. “Food is a crucial part of our business, and with food comes packaging. As we serve our great food in all European markets, this means we use large volumes of paper within in our food packaging,” explains Vibeke Veiseth, Senior Concept Development at Circle K Europe.

A number of global companies have replaced or are doing trials to replace the material in their gift cards – from plastic to paperboard. Sweden’s largest cinema chain, SF Bio, has taken the plunge and is now replacing all its cards. “When our card supplier, Megacard, suggested we could make our gift cards from paperboard and thereby drastically reduce their environmental impact, it was self-evident to us to switch,” explains Anna Marcusson, product manager for gift cards at SF Bio. “In plain language, it means we’re phasing out the use of 10 tonnes of PVC a year by phasing out the plastic and replacing it with cards made of Invercote from Iggesund Paperboard,” she continues.