SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2013-15

People Overview Self Managed Teams Mechanisation Safety Overview The Parivartan     Journey Progress on     Roadmap Incident Statistics Robust Governance Standardised     Processes Enhanced Awareness Capability Building Safety Infrastructure Safety Audits Quality Overview Top-down    Accountability Quality by Design Quality Culture     Transformation Quality Assurance Quality     Best Practices All Time Audit     Readiness Availability Overview Strategic Sourcing Risk Management Product    Rationalisation Success stories Environment Overview Roadmap Energy Management Emissions Water Waste Case Study KPIs Community Overview Focus Areas Education Livelihoods Healthcare Infrastructure     Initiatives Creating Change     Makers Productivity Overview Productivity Streams Case Study PACE Update Initiatives Engineering Excellence Overview Digitisation Automation Mechanisation Lean Manufacturing Capital Equipment Strategy Predictive Maintenance Continuous Improvement Overview Continuous     Improvement     at Work Best Practices Annexures GRI Index Acronyms Assurance Statement   Summary Report     ENVIRONMENT PERFORMANCE WATER Overview    |    Water Requirment Matrix    |    Water Consumption    |    Water Conservation Initiatives    |    Wastewater Discharge Initiatives Water Conservation Initiatives Rainwater Harvesting  > Fresh Water Conservation  > Case Study  >   Water Conservation at API Manufacturing Unit-5 Reduction of fresh water usage ranks high on our sustainability list and an alert was raised when the groundwater utilisation of API Manufacturing Unit-5 touched a high of 1,290 kl per day in FY12. We rolled up our sleeves and undertook a target to reduce the fresh water consumption by 50% i.e. 650 kld by FY15. Extensive studies were conducted and multiple options evaluated. Among them were retrofitting the existing system, use of innovative technologies like electro coagulation, a high efficiency RO system and harvesting storm water. The following areas were identified as potential sources for fresh water conservation.   Focus Areas   Proposed Solution   Expected Reduction in Fresh Water Usage Boiler feed water   Treat the RO permeate and make it suitable for use as boiler feed makeup water   450 kld Steam condensate   Segregate the steam condensate from the major steam consumers and reuse for cooling tower makeup   65 kld Domestic wastewater treatment   Treat the domestic wastewater in an STP and reuse for gardening   40 kld Storm water   Collect and treat storm water and increase the efficiency of existing membrane filtration systems   70 kld   The potential was translated into outcomes by investing talent, capital and requisite infrastructure. Treatment of Wastewater to meet Boiler Feed Water Specifications For the consistent performance of the wastewater recycling plant, it was essential to maintain consistency in influent parameters like TDS, BOD, COD, turbidity, hardness etc. Wastewater pre-treatment was strengthened by replacing the coarse bubble aeration with Trion process mixers in neutralisation and equalisation tanks, providing dosing systems and mixing agitators.   Fresh water usage reduction by 450 kl per day   Steam Condensate Segregation and Reuse The Thermo Vapor Re-compressor (TVR) was removed from the existing MEE-1, and an equivalent HT body was added to recover the steam condensate. This resulted in saving 15 kld of freshwater. A 200-kld MEE without TVR was installed to process Sodium Sulphate effluent. The steam condensate was recovered, and we could conserve 50 kld of fresh water.   Fresh water usage reduction by 65 kl per day   Fresh Water Conservation by Recovering Water from New utility RO system: A fully automatic PLC-based 3-stage RO system was installed to produce boiler feed water and the recovery achieved was around 85%. Sewage Treatment Plant: A new STP was installed which treated 40 kld of water. A significant portion of the gardening needs were catered to by this treated water. Storm water collection treatment and reuse: During FY14, 26,000 kl of storm water was recycled which is an average of 70 kld.. The graph below represents the trend of reduction in the fresh water consumption year by year from 2012-2015. We are committed to sustain this trend and are exploring reduction possibilities in other areas as well in the next phase.   Fresh Water Consumption Trend for the Past 3 Years Freshwater intake Reduction Trend in kld   These measures successfully reduced the drawdown of groundwater by nearly 50%.