Page 13 - New Cloth Market November 2022 Digital Edition

Eco-Power: Chemical Companies and their Eco-compatibility

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When we are talking about eco-compatibility when it
comes to companies dealing with chemicals, detergents
and washing methods, we are talking about an eco-
friendly and sustainable working system that in the vir-
tue of process and product innovation is able to develop
its own SYSTEM with a strong focus on green. Innova-
tion is also about reducing the consumption of natural
resources, but also the use of energy sources. The tran-
sition towards the goal of creating a more eco-sustain-
able environment - in the current times when Europe
and the West are drowning because of the conflict in the
Eastern Europe but also as a result of the speculations
on the various markets - has objectively become more
complicated and will definitely slow down. But there is
no way back. This is why for some years now the chemi-
EXECUTIVE P
cal companies have been undergoing a metamorphosis in the direction of sustainability, which is above all
an epochal change in terms of mentality. Companies have defined different policies related to the ecologi-
cal goal. More concentrated products for cutting transport costs, a significant saving of detergent for the
processed linen, the minimisation of emissions, discharges and waste, but also more accurate washing
processes with suitable devices allowing significant savings, not just economically. The balance between
hygiene, disinfection of textiles and protection of garments is crucial, for all action fields, especially for
the hospital and nursing homes sector. We are giving now the floor to the operators in the sector, who are
always in the front line facing the challenge of quality while respecting the environment.

Chemistry is one of the main aspects on which the laundry service bases its quality on, keeping the
textiles in a proper condition, and the so much needed hygiene guarantee (and not only in pandemic times
like the ones we have been experiencing for the past two years). We are talking about it with Ruggero
Sammarco, the Technical and Business Development Supervisor of Christeyns Italia. "The eco-sustainability
of the laundry chemistry is focused on the implementation of increasingly greener compounds designed
for better integrating into a circular economy logic without compromising the expected quality. There are
various solutions for lower impact on the environment and for adding value to the useful life of the product
and they interpenetrate in different application fields: Ecolabel and/or similar ISO 14024 certification,
packaging reduction, water consumption reduction, energy consumption reduction. Concerning the devel-
opment of the chemical products, the central piece of the provided service, with less impact on the
environment and on the global disposal system, we cannot miss to mention all the possibilities offered by
the lists of components banned by the various ISO 14024 labels. Almost all of these labels include
important raw material limitations, like the ones mentioned in the requirements for the Nordic Swan deter-
gents. Christeyns has been offering a wide range of products and systems certified according to these
labels (Puresan EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan labelled products, etc.) for at least ten years now, placing itself
at the forefront in this context.
On the logistics front, the packaging reduction Is achieved through the possibility of delivery in tanks, that
reduce the amount of packaging to be disposed or through the possibility of reusing the empty packaging.
Being products conceived with more concentrated formulas, they are reducing the delivery loads, as the
washing cycles require lower dosages. All this is driving to the second power step of the reduction system
designed by Christeyns, the reduction of water consumption. These products, therefore, combined with
the most advanced applied knowledge, have led to the development of washing and processing systems,
like Puresan or Compact, achieving significant water reductions of up to 2 l/kg of fresh water for the
continuous batch washer or less than 10 l/kg in a washer extractor.
Last but not least, even for the particular applications where it is still impossible to apply the Ecolabel
certifications, there are major investments for bringing the chemicals industry into the future and Christeyns
is proposing a whole range of opportunities. The systems/products proposed by Christeyns are designed
to work at low temperatures (30-55°C) reducing waste and fuel consumption. For each cubic metre of
water heated one degree less, 0.12 ncm of methane is saved. The chemical part is completed by the
efficient Energo tube heat exchangers that reduce the further fuel consumption by recovering as much
heat as possible from the waste water and transmitting it to the feed water with high outputs (90%)”,

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