Page 50 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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Cleaner Production
on the other side. Among the tools that can achieve sustainable develop-
ment is cleaner production (CP) concept and techniques covered in this chapter.
CP calls for the continuous application of an integrated preventive environ-
mental strategy to processes and products so as to reduce risks to humans and
to the environment. Cleaner production provides procedures and steps that,
if followed and applied with high commitment from top management, would
result in significant economic benefits in addition to improving the quality
of the final product, as well as conserving the environment and natural
resources. These economic advantages of cleaner production are especially
evident if compared with other environmental protection strategies such as
end-of-pipe treatment.
The following case studies will demonstrate the use of CP techniques
in different industrial sectors such as the food sector, the oil and soap sector,
the textile sector, the wood sector, and the iron and steel sector. The CP oppor-
tunities were selected carefully to cover all CP techniques with cost/benefit
analysis. Some details were given to some case studies to demonstrate not
only the methodology but also the procedure to calculate the benefits. Different
formats were given to the case studies to avoid standardizing the CP oppor-
tunities format. The main items that should be covered in all case studies
were included such as: background information regarding the company, process
description, CP opportunities, CP techniques implemented, and cost/benefit
analysis.
Some CP opportunities may require prior investigation through labora-
tory research to check the achievements on a smaller scale in a controlled
environment, and then apply the techniques in a pilot scale to guarantee the
possibility of upsizing the research findings. If the pilot project succeeds,
this will encourage implementing the prototype on a commercial scale within
the factory or any other similar factory. One case study demonstrates mov-
ing from research scale to a pilot scale with brief feasibility for actual imple-
mentation. Another case study demonstrates moving from research scale all
the way to commercial scale.
All case studies deal with CP opportunities and CP techniques. However,
different approaches of CP are presented in each case study. Hopefully the
reader will learn something new from each case study.

Food sector: Conservation of water and energy in
preserved food companies
The following case study elaborates how cleaner production techniques can
be applied in a food sector industry. The project was implemented with the
contribution of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) through
the SEAM “Support for Environmental Assessment and Management” pro-
gram in Edfina and Kaha Companies for preserved food to reduce the amount
of energy and water consumption (SEAM 1999b). Edfina Company is one of
the largest producers of preserved food in Alexandria, Egypt. It was built in