DIGITAL AS AN ASSET TO MANAGE WATER

CONTEXT

MICHELIN asked AQUASSAY for assistance in its proactive environmental management engaging its industrial sites and subsidiaries in a comprehensive and responsible strategy.

It seeks, among other things, to reduce the use of natural resources, including water.

METHOD

4 areas have been studied :

1) An important demineralization unit,

2) An air cooled water chiller, monitored by a supplier,

3) A production workshop, significant water consumer,

4) The entire plant to get a synthesis on quantity and quality of water involved.

 

AREAS OF OPERATION

VISITS ON SITE

Our team of engineers (process engineering and water & environment) has to come on site to :

– make a first diagnosis and get an overall vision of water uses and treatments, mapped in a process flow diagram.

– ensure an efficient collaboration with the plant’s technical and workshops teams and evaluate the relevance of parameters for which data should be collected.

Data collected are placed on a dedicated secured server, in accordance with ISO27001. They are accessible in real-time on our SaaS e-Water Efficiency.

To interpret all existing kinetics from this data and identify possible industrial performance improvement based on a iterative approach, it took, depending on the areas, nearly one year.

From diagnosis on site to restitution, this study lasted 16 months.

MONTHS OF DATA

RESULTS

Area 1 : demineralization

Sand filters can be used twice longer between to backwashes, with no impact on performance.

Result : reduction of water consumption and optimization of resins hydraulic operating

Area 2 : air chilled water cooler

New references for nominal operating settled with the provider.

Result : reduction of water and acid consumptions, leading to a security improvement and cost reduction

Area 3 : production workshop

Collective work from the client and AQUASSAY teams leads to new procedures.

Result : identification of ways of reducing water consumption.

Area 4 : entire plant

Result : potential for 10% gain on water withdrawals per year and optimizations to apply to other air chilled water coolers and workshops.

POTENTIAL GAINS :

%

SAND FILTERS BACKWASHES

%

WATER WITHDRAWALS ON SITE PER YEAR

AXES FOR VALUE CREATION

To the client, AQUASSAY’s operation on the site had several consequences :

1) Saving water

2) Saving chemicals

3) Developing collaborators skills

4) Beginning a new dialogue with providers

Objectives are achieved or even exceeded.