AkzoNobel wins Dutch 2012 Responsible Care Award
AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals has won this year’s Responsible Care Award. The Association of the Dutch Chemical Industry (VNCI) awarded the accolade to Industrial Chemicals for its ‘Sustainable degreasing and dewatering of animal hides’ project.
The hides of slaughtered animals are recycled for use as leather, food and fodder. Water and grease is removed from the hides in an environmentally-unfriendly way. Industrial Chemicals has developed DeMytheLDD-technology based on dimethylether (DME). The advantages of this technology are that after treatment the hides weigh less, while the process itself uses less energy, water and chemicals than traditional degreasing methods. Furthermore, far less wastewater is produced, and the grease obtained using the DME method is worth more. According to the jury, the project is a wonderful example of the type of sustainable solutions the chemical industry can offer society. The project also has huge potential. Although the factory for the new method is still not operational, the jury has awarded the Responsible Care Award to emphasize the new role the chemical industry is playing and to encourage the use of the new tanning process.
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