SABIC Innovative Plastics Wins 2007 National ENERGY GLOBE Award for Brine Recovery Project

SABIC Innovative Plastics Wins 2007 National ENERGY GLOBE Award for Brine Recovery Project at Bergen op Zoom Facility

BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – May 27, 2008 – SABIC Innovative Plastics was named the national ENERGY GLOBE Award overall winner for The Netherlands in recognition of its Brine Recovery project in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands. Yesterday, at the EU Parliament in Brussels, the company was honored for its efforts in achieving significant environmental benefits made possible by an innovative brine recovery process, which purifies and re-uses salt in polycarbonate (PC) production. This sustainable process reduces sodium chloride use, waste water generation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The project was subsidized by the EU Commission’s Life environment program with a grant of 1.2 million euros. Investment in eco-responsible solutions enables SABIC Innovative Plastics to provide customers with state-of-the-art products while minimizing the impact of manufacturing processes on the environment.

The ENERGY GLOBE awards, the most prestigious in the world, recognize extraordinary environmental efforts. Projects from all over the world that conserve and protect the Earth’s resources or employ renewable energy are showcased. The national awards are determined from entries submitted by country; five projects were submitted from the Netherlands. Full details can be found at the ENERGY GLOBE website www.energyglobe.com.

In 2003, SABIC Innovative Plastics opened a pilot facility in Bergen op Zoom to recover and purify sodium chloride that previously had to be mined, transported, and ultimately flushed out to sea as waste water. This facility went into production in 2007. By recovering and reusing 72,000 tons of sodium chloride from this “brine stream,” the company is projecting a 73 percent reduction in sodium chloride consumption, elimination of 8,900 tons/year of CO2 emissions, and a 10 percent reduction in waste water discharged into sea. The emission reductions stem from lower energy requirements to mine and transport the virgin “vacuum” salt.

“We take environmental responsibility very seriously and constantly look for ways to take a leadership role,” said Heiner Markhoff, president, EMEA, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “The Brine Recovery project is an outstanding example of how technological creativity combined with government partnership can make a major difference in several environmental areas – conservation of natural resources, reduction of energy use and emissions, and less waste water discharge into the ocean. We are grateful to the EU Life program for the crucial support of this successful project.”

Multiple Benefits from a New Process

High-purity salt (NaCl) is a basic raw material used in the production of PC. Implementation of the Brine Recovery project enables the re-use of about 73 percent of the salt, significantly reducing the amount of virgin material required.

The energy savings and the resulting CO2 reductions are primarily achieved through a reduced need for salt volume (mined via energy-intensive processes) and related transportation by boat and truck to the site.

For more information on SABIC Innovative Plastics’ polycarbonate resins, please visit the company’s website at www.sabic-ip.com.

SABIC Innovative Plastics Media Contacts
The Americas
Christine Hartter
SABIC Innovative Plastics, Pittsfield, Mass.
Tel: +1 413 822 5916
E-Mail: christine.hartter@sabic-ip.com

Europe
Helen Vandebovenkamp
SABIC Innovative Plastics, Bergen op Zoom,
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 164 292 097
E-Mail: helen.vandebovenkamp@sabic-ip.com

Asia
Cecilia Siu
SABIC Innovative Plastics, Shanghai, China
Tel: +86 213 222 4500 Ext. 216
E-Mail: cecilia.siu@sabic-ip.com

Agency Media Contacts
The Americas
Jim Allison
AH&M Marketing Communications,
Pittsfield, Mass.
Tel: +1 413 448 2260, Ext. 25
E-Mail: jallison@ahminc.com

Brazil
Gabriela Bruschi
Edelman Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tel: 55 11 3017-5300, x221
E-Mail: gabriela.bruschi@edelman.com

Europe
Tessa Vroegop
Marketing Solutions, Bergen op Zoom,
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 164 317 013
E-Mail: tvroegop@marketingsolutions.be

Japan
Mitsu Sugino
Tokyo PR Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 332 732 731
E-Mail: sugino@tokyopr.co.jp

China
Shona Liu
Edelman, Shanghai, China
Tel: +86 21 6289 2929 x470
E-Mail: shona.liu@edelman.com

About SABIC Innovative Plastics

SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 25 countries and over 10,500 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare.

The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world’s top five petrochemicals manufacturers.

Media Note: The proper name of the company is SABIC Innovative Plastics, and excludes any abbreviations or variations when referring to the company. As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.

This release was published on openPR.