NAPERVILLE, Ill., Dec. 9, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Industry must play a more engaged role in protecting water availability and quality, said J. Erik Fyrwald, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nalco Company (NYSE:NLC) in a presentation to business leaders.
Speaking at the Global Energy and Materials Forum in Dubai, sponsored by McKinsey & Company, Fyrwald pointed to the worldwide challenge of limited access to clean water. Five million lives are lost each year to water-related diseases. More than 20 percent of the world's population lacks access to safe drinking water, and more than 40 percent of people live in water-stressed regions of the world. He pointed out that while economic development can increase water challenges, it can also help provide solutions.
"As countries develop, industrial water use competes with domestic and agricultural water uses," according to Fyrwald. "Governments often respond by placing controls on industrial water use and water release. Fortunately, industry typically has substantial opportunity to reduce water use through reuse and recycling and to improve the quality of the water it releases."
Fyrwald said sharing and adopting best practices in water-intensive industries is a means to drive water use improvements. "In the key water cooling and boiler system processes, we usually are able to see rapid water use reductions of more than 20 percent and energy use reductions of more than 10 percent as companies adopt leading practices in existing facilities," Fyrwald said.
"A systematic approach to industrial water management includes auditing water use to adopt a holistic approach that integrates utility systems, process operations and waste treatment," he explained. "That provides industry the opportunity to use the best available practices to achieve these significant water and energy use savings."
Nalco is the global leader in industrial water, energy, air and process technologies and services that deliver savings for customers and improve the environment. Fyrwald discussed a variety of innovative Nalco technologies to improve water and energy management:
* 3D TRASAR(r) Technology for cooling water, which precisely
measures key system parameters, detects problems and takes
appropriate action in the system. This technology saved more than
40 billion gallons of water last year in Europe and North America
alone.
* NexGuard(r) boiler control technology increases boiler operating
efficiency and reduces energy use. It is estimated NexGuard
technology eliminated the equivalent of 4.4 metric tons of
greenhouse gas emissions last year. That capability will be
increased when Nalco's next generation of boiler treatment, 3D
TRASAR Technology for boiler water systems, is introduced in
early 2009.
* Enhanced oil recovery programs from TIORCO, Nalco's joint venture
with Stepan Company, increase oil produced by existing wells and
can reduce the amount of produced water pumped from the wells per
barrel of crude oil produced. In just one U.S. formation,
produced water was reduced by 50 million barrels by TIORCO.
Nalco's new BrightWater(r) oil recovery technology further
increases oil production at the same or lower water use rates.
A wide range of technologies already exist that can contribute to natural resource preservation and more are being developed every year, Fyrwald concluded. Adopting best practices and best available technologies can drive substantial reductions in industrial water and energy use and improve water discharge quality.
About Nalco
Nalco is the world's leading water treatment and process improvement company, delivering significant environmental, social and economic performance benefits to our customers. We help our customers reduce energy, water and other natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity and end products while boosting the bottom line. Together our comprehensive solutions contribute to the sustainable development of customer operations. Nalco is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. More than 11,500 Nalco employees operate in 130 countries supported by a comprehensive network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and research centers to serve a broad range of end markets. In 2007, Nalco achieved sales of more than $3.9 billion. For more information visit www.nalco.com.
The Nalco Company logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1135