Water is required particularly for bleaching processes in production, as a coolant for compressors, to produce steam and for air humidification. Despite an increase in production volume at the HARTMANN GROUP we have been able to cut water consumption or maintain it at a low level.
Raw cotton bleaching in China
With our site at Qingdao, China HARTMANN boasts a modern production facility for sterile gauze-based products
One example of successfully cutting water consumption and using less of other resources is our new production facility at our site in Qingdao, China. At this factory we manufacture gauze from raw cotton. One fundamental process stage is to bleach the cotton, which gives the material its highly absorbent quality. The process is water and energy intensive, which allows great scope for optimization.
While the facility was being extended in 2003-4, the HARTMANN GROUP in Qingdao introduced extensive measures to cut the use of resources and manufacture in an eco-friendly way. Having erected containers for temporarily storing rinsing water, the facility can reuse waste water for subsequent processes. Ion exchangers for softening the water help to reduce the use of chemicals. 75 percent of the energy used is recovered by means of heat exchangers. The old coal-fired boilers were decommissioned – instead we obtain the water steam we require much more effectively from a neighbouring combined heat and power plant. This form of process optimization allows us to make a local contribution to environment conservation as well as boosting our site’s competitive edge.
