Diversey's ReNew Air Scrubber technology and SC Johnson's sustainability program are among the winners announced in the EPA's Clean Air Excellence Awards.
The Air Scrubber, which is a pollution control program designed to reduce emissions of unwanted volatile organic compounds from rendering plants, was named as a winner in the clean air technology category.
The product uses an enzymatic technology that works in the rendering facility’s existing wet air scrubber systems, replacing harsher air scrubber treatments such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.
ReNew uses significantly less water than other conventional treatments, requires no off-line operations because it does not produce EPA-regulated pollutants in effluent water, and delivers air quality that is equal to or better than conventional systems, the EPA says. Since late 2007, ReNew has resulted in the conservation of more than 54.5 million gallons of water at US rendering facilities and has removed over five million pounds of oxidizers and mineral acids from commerce, the EPA says.
SC Johnson's sustainability program was awarded the Gregg Cooke Visionary Program Award in recognition of being, in the EPA's words, "committed to clean air for decades."
Initiatives include two cogeneration turbines at the company’s largest manufacturing facility in Waxdale, Wisc. The tubines reduce annual emissions by 52,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Since 2005, the 2.2 million-square-foot facility has been powered by waste methane and natural gas, generating the daily base load of electricity and between half and all the steam needed for the plant’s operation.
Furthermore, SC Johnson's patented Greenlist process is designed to improve ingredients and packaging used in its household products, and has eliminated nearly 48 million pounds of VOCs from SC Johnson products in the last five years.
Other winners in the awards are listed below:
Community action category:
Frazier Courtyard Homes Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity
Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Pilot Project City and County of Greenville, South Carolina
Free Zoo & Trolley Too! Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
Education outreach category:
Conservation and Climate Change Challenge for Schools Broward County Pollution Prevention, Remediation, and Air Quality Division
Tribal Air Quality Education and Outreach on "InnerTribal Beat" Spokane Tribal Air Quality Program and KYRS Thin Air Community Radio
Regulatory/policy innovations:
Rapid Response Notification System Maricopa County Air Quality Department
GHG Emission Reduction Projects Frito-Lay, Incorporated-Beloit
Transportation efficiency innovations category:
Leadership in Reducing Ocean-going Vessel Emissions Maersk Line/Maersk Agency USA
Climate Initiatives Program
Metropolitan Transportation Commission of San Francisco Bay Area
