Corporate Responsibility

Styron Reduces Water Effluent by 90 percent at Allyn’s Point Latex Plant

Styron’s latex manufacturing plant at Allyn’s Point, Connecticut, USA, is a leading supplier of emulsions to the paper industry. In February 2010, a team led by Jim LaBrake guided the installation of new boiler water treatment equipment to significantly reduce the plant’s water discharge.

Ted Kietzman, Allyn’s Point site leader, initiated the project to improve how the water effluent stream was being handled, and to include the improvements in the water discharge permit. Prior to this sustainability project, the boiler operation generated approximately two million gallons of water discharge per year. The purification equipment has since reduced water discharge by 90 percent and is saving roughly $100,000 in energy costs annually.

The new equipment reduces water discharge by purifying the boiler feed water to such a high level that a majority of the blow-down steam is eliminated. Less fuel is burned during the purification process, which leads to a more efficient manufacturing process. As a result of the significant reduction in energy consumption at the site, the project received a federal grant to subsidize the capital cost of installing the equipment.

The improvements made at Allyn’s Point demonstrate Styron’s commitment to operating responsibly with respect to the environment, health and safety, using resources more efficiently and adhering to the principles of Responsible Care®. According to Kietzman, “This project is a great example of sustainability in action at Styron. We operate to a tighter environmental permit, we have less water effluent and less carbon emissions and we operate more cost effectively – everyone wins!”

® Responsible Care is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council