Dalton, Ga.-based carpet company J+J Flooring Group has assumed full-time operational responsibilities for its ECOCYCLE?/Aquafinity? industrial water reuse system from Knoxville, Tenn.-based water solutions company Aqua-Chem Inc. The two companies worked together to design and develop the first dyehouse wastewater reuse system for the carpet industry, and partnered in the day-to-day running of the system to improve operational parameters and finished product quality.
J+J sought technology to reduce the company's water usage by 66 percent by 2020 as part of its 20/20 Sustainability Vision. This quest led the company to partner with Aqua-Chem to create a solution. Features of the resulting patent-pending system include heat recovery, multiple filtration steps and membrane technology to treat wastewater for reuse in industrial applications.
"From the beginning of this project, J+J had the objective, focus and understanding to actively take part in the development of this technology to decrease their water and energy consumption," said David Gensterblum, president and CEO, Aqua-Chem. "Together, J+J Flooring Group and Aqua-Chem have been committed to developing a process that minimizes water consumption and offers opportunities for energy recovery."
Approximately 68 percent of J+J's dyehouse waste effluent is treated using Aqua-Chem's technology. The still-warm treated water is returned to the becks to be reused in the wet-dye manufacturing process, providing virgin water and energy savings. According to Tom Pendley, corporate vice president, operations and finance, J+J Flooring, the carpet company hopes to save more than 23 million gallons of water and $200,000 annually by using the Ecocycle process, known as Aquafinity within the carpet industry. "We are very confident that the Aqua-Chem Ecocycle/J+J Aquafinity system will support our effort to reach our year 2020 water sustainability mandate," Pendley said.
"We believe our Ecocycle wastewater system is a game changer and the wave of the future in the global water purification market," Gensterblum said. "Clean water is an increasingly valuable commodity everywhere and our ground-breaking process addresses clean water as a critical expense and environmental issue for a wide range of manufacturers. Aqua-Chem's state-of-the-art Ecocycle water purification technology lowers operating costs dramatically by allowing reuse of wastewater in the manufacturing process. This is a green-themed solution, both environmentally and economically, that works for a wide range of manufacturers."
September 3, 2013
