This section compiles a database of more than 200 resource efficiency measures that were identified using the TEST methodology and successfully implemented within several industries across many sectors. The measures are classified by sector and subsector, type (good housekeeping, process control/modification, technology change, etc.), category of resource savings (water, energy and/or materials), scope and applicability (process or utilities). The database enables the use of predefined filters including the possibility to use keywords for an advanced search.
Each measure in the database includes a description of the problem, a technical description of the solution, the economic and environmental benefits quantified for the specific company case, the costs and the expected return on investment, suppliers of equipment as well as other aspects related to safety, maintenance, productivity and technical implementation.
An example of savings associated to setting Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is illustrated through this case from a meat processing company. Setting different condensing temperature, and different defrosting conditions for different seasons of the year (Summer setting, and winter setting), resulted in over 16% savings from the baseline chiller consumption.
Investigations and measurments revealed that the steam system within a pastry was of low efficiency, mainly due to poor maintenance practices. Adopting periodic maintenance to the steam network, including insulation of steam pipes, insulation of the boiler, among other actions achieved 60% savings of the boiler consumption.
Mapping the water used in a milk and beverage production company showed that all the water is subject to reverse osmosis, while some water uses don’t need that costly treatment. Installing a second water network dedicated for low quality water needs, and bypassing the RO for these needs although having high initial cost, savings in water and energy well justify those costs.
A pastry suffered from product loss which was attributed to the irregular edges of baked products, that had to be trimmed by workers. Enhancing the workers' capacity through training, providing them with adequate cutting tools attributed to reducing the losses from trimmed products. Moreover, changing the shape of the baking plate to match the desired shape of the final product further reduced the product losses.
Although the slurry reactor is cleaned once a week, it was noted that significant fouling occurs after 2 days of operation, resulting is loss of production. Changing the configuration of the reactor, and the cleaning water setup eliminated the fouling, providing a gain in production.
A beverage company has three Reverse Osmosis water treatment stations running in parallel and treating the process water. Rejects (permeate) of those RO stations was sent to drain. Mixing the permeate of the first RO station with the feedwater to the third RO allows partial reuse of that permeate, decreasing the fresh water demand, and decreasing the wastewater generated.
A vegetable processing company noted loss of material between the soaking line and blancher due to the falling out of vegetables. savings on material was achieved through introducing barriers around the conveyor belt, that kept the material within the process line.
Manual handling of end products before dispatch cause piercing to the bags, resulting in market return. Automating the handling process through installing a converyor will reduce those losses, nevertheless reduces one handling operation
Oil released during cooking of Tuna was drained to the wastewater network, increasing the load on the wastewater treatment plant, and decreased it performance. Installation of recovery bins under each tuna cooker facilitated recovery of the oil, which with some further processing can be sold in the form of fish oil.
In producing a specific product in a chocolate production company, a portion of chocolate falls underneath the feeding belt. That portion was not re-used and ended up as solid waste. Installing a stainless steel tray underneath the feeding belt to collect the falling cholcolate, allowed for recycling, reducing the solid waste generated by 15%, and increasing the productivity by 0.5%.