Dealing with a volatile situation

Sustainable fitness check

• Finnish play and fitness set producer makes the case for sustainable wood
• Wood is CO2 neutral since it absorbs the same amount while growing as emisions generated end of life 

Lappset is a Lapland-based family business founded in 1970. The company has nearly 50 years’ experience in the play and fitness markets. Its factories are located in Finland, Sweden and Estonia, and the distributor network covers almost every country in the world.

Industrial symbiosis is an industrial ecosystem where the unused or residual resources of one company are used by another. This results in mutual economic, social and environmental benefits. It is a process involving several companies – firms that complement one another provide mutual added value through efficient use of raw materials, technology, services, energy, and know-how.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international forest certification system promoting ecologically, socially and economically sustainable forestry. Around 10 % of the world’s forests are certified and, of these, two-thirds – some 300 million hectares – to PEFC standards. PEFC-certified forests are found in over 40 countries.

A good 'rap' for waste reduction

• Food producer extracts further waste and costs-savings thanks to lean supply chain discipline
• 1 680 tonnes of waste reduction targeted through 17 projects and 110 tonnes diverted from landfill

Convenience food manufacturer Greencore and supermarket Sainsbury’s have strived to drive out waste in their sandwich supply chain, through a collaborative approach following WRAP's W.A.S.T.E. Problem Solving Discipline (see reference).

Packaging tech tackles fresh food waste

• Successful trial of gas permeable packaging solution leads to full roll-out
• Solution has potential to cut product waste by up to 50 % throughout the supply chain and at home

The fruit and vegetable sector has been identified as the second biggest sector in the food, drink and tobacco industry in terms of waste. It accounts for 13 % of waste, second only to meat and poultry at 25 %. This represents a significant business opportunity for organisations throughout the supply chain.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. This high pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air, a trait known as 'volatility'. For example, formaldehyde, which evaporates from paint and releases from materials like quartz, has a boiling point of only -19 °C (-2 °F).

Automation technology is driving energy efficiency trends in the process industry. A feature of this is continuous process control, which holds the operating points as close to the optimum as possible. Thereby, processes can be kept at their individual limit.

An increase in energy efficiency due to process control can be achieved by continuous energy monitoring and implementation of energy-optimised process control measures.

The following tips can help companies planning to optimise process control systems:

Distillation is a process where a mixture of different chemicals is separated using different chemical boiling temperatures. Purification of products is the main application of distillation processes.

Phase separation (e.g. distillation) is responsible for up to 50 % of the total energy demand in process-based industries. Configuring heat exchangers to minimise heat losses is one way to cut back on consumption; another is to increase the energy efficiency of the distillation plant.

Measures to achieve this include: