Resource conservation

A more efficient handling of raw materials can be achieved in three different ways, namely reuse of materials (recycling), longer product lifecycles, or reduced material use. For the chemical industry, this means that a maximum percentage of the utilized precursor materials has to be converted into final products.

The degree of conversion is also referred to as the yield, while the rest usually becomes waste. Consequently, the amount of waste is an expedient indicator of resource efficiency. ALTANA records this volume as an environmental benchmark and establishes specific goals for improving it. The overall share of waste at ALTANA is approximately 5 percent, which means that our degree of conversion to finished products is 95 percent.

ALTANA has set itself the goal of reducing its specific waste volume by a total of five percent in the period from 2007 to 2012 and to cut landfill waste by at least ten percent. We achieved these goals already in 2010 and significantly exceeded our target for cutting down on landfill waste.

The waste stream of ALTANA is subject to one of the following processes:

  • Some 20 percent of the entire waste volume is reused or recycled.
  • 47 percent of waste is used in thermal processes. The ALTANA production uses large
  • volumes of solvents in cleaning processes, which are highly suitable for generating energy.
  • Some 34 percent of waste is brought to landfills
Influence through products

ALTANA can also influence resource efficiency by way of its products, which consist mainly of coatings and source materials for coatings. No method has yet been found to recycle coatings and none is likely to develop in the future.

Consequently, our contribution to resource efficiency has to be made through product properties:

  • Improved durability of coatings thanks to scratch resistance or UV protection
  • Anticorrosive agents increase the durability of final products, for example with the zinc pigments (for coatings and paints) made by ECKART.
  • Similar properties with less material, for example with coupling agents for cold-curing plastics, which lead to improved bonding of resins and fillers and can improve mechanical properties by up to 50 percent. This approach can save approx. 25 percent of the material used in pipes. A second BYK additive of this type was in development in 2010 and will come on the market in 2011.

Another option for resource efficiency is the use of water instead of organic solvents made from fuel oil. Since solvents evaporate from coatings after application, their volatile organic compounds (VOC) lead to so-called summer smog and also contribute to climate deterioration. In contrast, water is more environmentally friendly.

Furthermore, water transport through pipelines is significantly more energy efficient than transporting solvents by truck. 25,000 cubic meters of tap water save 1,250 truck deliveries.

Renewable resources

Renewable resources are making increasing contributions to resource efficiency and will certainly be an expedient alternative for the chemical industry in the future. Potential competition with food products always is a concern, but applies mostly to plant fruits, not residual materials, wood, and grasses.

Since ALTANA does not produce any base chemicals, we typically have to rely on the efforts of our suppliers to use renewable resources. We are currently doing in-house research for producing an important solvent, which we want to manufacture from a renewable resource without creating competition for food.