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.