COMINES, France - Holliday Pigments has invested EUR 2 million in an effluent treatment plant (ETP) at its main manufacturing site in Comines, France.

 

Following the EUR 7.5 million implementation of a flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) plant in 2004, the site is now the world’s largest ultramarine manufacturing plant complying with all European environmental laws. This latest initiative further supports the company’s goal to achieve ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard certification by year-end 2010 and has been funded, in part, by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Artois-Picardie. The European Union body has pledged a 10-year loan of EUR 1.19 million and converted EUR 225,000 of this amount into a grant as part of an ongoing technical and financial partnership. Additional funding was provided by Holliday Pigments’ parent company, Rockwood Pigments.

 

Providing the technical insight to complete the project, Belgium company ENPROTECH harnessed the technology used in the ETP, based on a formula comprising ferric chloride, oxygenated water, a precipitant and coagulant. The resulting system is capable of treating up to 800m3 of water per day and is believed to be the most advanced solution for heavy industries, such as chemical engineering.