Newsletter No. 3
ENERGY AUDIT PASSED SUCCESSFULLY
The Montan wax plant in Gersthofen is the first to receive the coveted certificate
Clariant has made a commitment to reducing energy consumption in the Group by 30 percent by 2020 compared to 2005. With the certification in accordance with DIN ISO 50001, the Group is introducing an energy management system in order to analyze all energy consumption systematically and to identify possibilities for improving its energy efficiency.
As a particularly energy-intensive plant, the Montan wax operation in Gersthofen was the pioneer and pilot plant for this project. In 2013 the entire site is to be certified. Plant manager Dr. Karl Gaa supports the project because: “With the certification, the Montan wax plant wants to contribute to protecting resources and to reduce both consumption and costs.”
Starting in the spring of 2012, preparations were made in the Montan wax plant to introduce an energy management system (EMS) with the goal of achieving certification in accordance with DIN ISO 50001.
The certification was carried out (like the assessment according to ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS) by SQS (Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems). On three audit days –August 2, 2012, and October 11 and 12, 2012 – the Montan wax plant and its energy supply, energy planning, procurement and documentation were subjected to rigorous testing. In all of the areas audited, the high requirements of ISO 50001 were met, and so at the end of the three audit days the coveted certificate was handed over.
Energy manager Dr. Jan-Peter Piesold and the energy team of the Montan wax plant have done excellent work, and certification has been achieved!
“With the certification, the Gersthofen site has reached a milestone. I congratulate the team and thank all of those responsible very warmly for the work they have done,” praised site manager Dr. Leonhard Unverdorben. “Nevertheless, the operations in Gersthofen still have a lot of work to do if the whole site is to be certified next year. But now we have good basis that we can build on.” For the time being, though, the Montan wax plant team can say: we did it!
For your information
The most important advantages of an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 are:
- Heightening of energy efficiency
- More transparent energy streams
- Minimization of risks due to a consideration of end-to-end energy management process
- Improvement of the CO2 balance
- A demonstrable contribution to climate and resource protection
SPOTLIGHT ON COATINGS:
Superior surface modification with montan waxes
Montan waxes are well known in the coating industry for many years. Especially micronized ester waxes like Ceridust® 5551 show outstanding and unique properties in wood- and powder-coating applications. Ceridust® 5551 is used in wood coatings to improve scratch resistance, give satin matt finishes and pleasant touch to the coated product. Typical dosage levels are between 2 - 4 % added directly into the lacquer, ready to use and easy to disperse by high sheer force stirring equipment, Ceridust® 5551 offers a wide range of properties. It is suitable to perform equally well in solvent and in water based coating formulations fulfilling the growing demand of coatings with improved environmental profile for indoor applications. Because Montan wax is a fossil hard wax which stems from the flora of the Tertiary system and is already million of years old it is very stable against outdoor challenges of sunlight, weather and water exposure.
Also in powder coatings Ceridust® 5551 is well known to work as a dispersing agent and lubricant during extrusion. Due to its unique chemical structure it has good affinity to the surfaces of organic pigment, and filler particles as well as good compatibility with the resins commonly used in powder coatings. It is therefore ideally suited as an additive to facilitate the wetting and dispersion of organic pigments that would otherwise be difficult to disperse.
Using small amounts of Ceridust® 5551 (typically 0,5 - 2,0 %) will improve your dispersion quality of fillers and pigments by up to 30%. Ceridust® 5551 is well known as an external lubricant during extrusion for many years. Adding it to your powder coating will reduce the energy consumption by up to 20 %.
Montan waxes used for many years in a variety of different applications still outperform and show potential for further developments and modifications to add new and additional properties to give our customers the edge that makes the differences.
INVESTMENT INTO NEW CAPACITIES FOR STRONG GROWING CERIDUST PRODUCT RANGE:
Gersthofen installs new micronisation equipment, output again expanded by 15%
Only 3 years after the last capacity expansion, the Business Line Waxes invests again into state of the art wax micronisation equipment at the Gersthofen site. Fast growing demand from plastics, coatings and ink industries require the addition of 15 % milling capacity.
The addition of the new Equipment makes Clariant’s Production Plant for the Ceridust product line one of the largest wax micronization unit worldwide.
Ceridust® – the well known brand name for Clariants micronized waxes is today the benchmark for performance surface modifiers and dispersing aids of choice for customers around the globe. With constant innovation, unmatched quality and worldwide availability Ceridust® continues to spur double digit growth from yearto year.
Today, the Ceridust® product range comprises of numerous products based on Clariants unique wax technology platforms of Montan-, Amide-, traditional Ziegler-Natta Polyolefin waxes and the truly innovative Metallocene Performance Polymer raw materials. The backward integration into these raw material sources and the recent addition of renewable sources to the portfolio makes Clariant a true value adding partner for its customers.
Especially the recent launch of Clariants renewable wax product platform has added a wide area of new opportunities to formulate innovative and sustainable high performance micronized waxes to the Ceridust product line.
