Hoffer Plastics, located in South Elgin, Illinois, specializes in making custom plastic injection molded items. Their products are used in retail packaging and in the automotive, medical, and appliance industries. Hoffer Plastics used a number of strategies to increase efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. They initiated a 100% facility-wide recycling program that diverted 58,000 pounds of materials from the landfill. Their energy conservation measures reduced their electricity consumption by nearly 4 million kWh. Conservation strategies included: installing high efficiency lighting; replaced chilled water pump motors with variable-frequency drive motors; installed thermal blankets on machine barrels; and implementing a compressed air efficiency initiative. Installing a cooling water filtration system that captures back-flushed water to reuse in the cooling towers has reduced the company’s water use by 1.3 million gallons.
In Race to Capture Carbon Dioxide, Remember the Need to Use It
The capture and utilization of CO2 provides a unique opportunity to create jobs and build new markets. Illinois is leading this charge, said ISTC Director Kevin O’Brien today in a presentation at the International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies (GHGT-13) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
While research on economical technologies to capture and store CO2 is a priority at the University of Illinois and around the world, it is equally important to develop new approaches to monetize and utilize the gas as a commodity, O’Brien said.
He outlined the Carbon Dioxide Utilization and Reduction (COOULR) Center being formed at the University’s Prairie Research Institute. He called this effort a model for other communities committed to creating jobs and accelerating economic engines.
The University’s openness to discovery and innovation, coupled with the U of I’s interest in becoming carbon neutral by 2050 makes for a fortunate confluence of factors. “There is a need to be able to explore a multitude of utilization approaches in order to identify a portfolio of potential utilization mechanisms,” he said. “This portfolio must be adapted based on the economy of the region.”
A research effort like the COOULR Center “is one of the key steps in the formation of a market for captured CO2,” he added. “The goal of the Center is to not only evaluate technologies, but also demonstrate at a large pilot scale how communities may be able to monetize captured CO2.”
The GHGT Conference is held every two years by the International Energy Agency‘s (IEA) Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme. The IEA consists of the U.S. and 28 other industrialized nations that work to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy supplies.
Co-authors of the paper delivered by O’Brien are: Yongqi Lu, Sallie Greenberg, Randall Locke (Illinois State Geological Survey); Vinod Patel (ISTC); Michael Larson (U of I’s Abbott Power Plant); Krish R. Krishnamurthy, Makini Byron, Joseph Naumovitz (Linde LLC); and David S. Guth, Stephen J. Bennett (Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI)). The university team and the private partners are currently involved in major research projects to test advanced carbon capture systems at the University’s power plant.
Illinois Success Story a Model for Sustainable University
Today Kimberly-Clark recognized two Big Ten Champions in the recycling of nitrile gloves – the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Purdue University.
The company highlighted success stories at the two top research universities who both use large quantities of single-use nitrile gloves. ISTC’s focus was on science laboratories and food service operations across campus. Kimberly-Clark’s successful RightCycle program has grown quickly by nurturing a supply chain for its gloves and related products so that they can be turned into eco-responsible consumer products and durable goods, such as lawn furniture, flowerpots and planters, shelving, totes and storage bins. ISTC boasts a bike rack and a park bench potentially containing from some of it’s own used gloves.
ISTC’s Zero Waste Program engineers took on the nitrile glove recycling project as a natural extension of its robust collaboration with its sustainably minded campus partners, including University Housing/Dining Services, Facilities and Services, the Institute for Society, Energy, and Environment, and the Student Sustainability Committee.
RightCycle enables the two universities, and hundreds of Kimberly-Clark’s large customers, to advance their sustainability goals by reducing their waste streams and upcycling a raw material for valuable new uses. Read more on the RightCycle Program here. The news release is also accessible here.
Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award, Illinois R&D Demonstrate Growing Commitment to Sustainable World
On Friday Nov. 4, the Paris Agreement on climate change became official. The U.S., China, and 53 other nations have ratified the treaty representing half of the world’s carbon emissions.
“The politically difficult step was Paris,” said Robert Stavins, an environmental economist at Harvard University was quoted today in The Wall Street Journal. “The technically difficult steps now remain.”
While a new administration in Washington could scuttle the U.S. commitment to the international pact, undoubtedly innovation will be essential to decarbonize the atmosphere. Action was evident Nov. 1 at the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards event in Chicago. From towns and neighborhoods to major corporations, the 25 winners for 2016 demonstrated significant ownership of the need to reduce our carbon footprint.
Also on Nov. 4, Shell, BP, and eight other oil and gas giants announced an industry collaboration creating a $1 billion investment fund to accelerate carbon capture and storage and energy efficiency over the next 10 years.
The Prairie Research Institute and its Illinois Sustainable Technology Center are also working to be impactful on a grand scale. PRI’s effort to outfit the power plant at the University of Illinois with next-generation carbon capture represents a collaboration of multinational corporations with state and university partners. Success could be a game-changer for coal- and gas-fired power plants around the world.
Another major research project at ISTC could turn wastewater treatment in America from a cost sink and carbon producer, into a profit center and a carbon sink.
“Our approach is to simultaneously work toward sustainable and renewable energy, while taking responsibility for reducing the problems caused by traditional energy sources,” said Kevin C. O’Brien, ISTC director.
Illini Gadget Garage at America Recycles Day Event, Nov. 19
Join U-Cycle and the Urbana Park District to celebrate America Recycles Day! This year’s theme is “It’s Electric!” The focus will be on the importance of electronics recycling, including resources on where to bring electronic devices to recycle in the community, and how to trouble-shoot issues with your electronic device courtesy of the Illini Gadget Garage, a collaborative project lead by ISTC involving students at the University of Illinois. Fill out a diagnostic form in advance to secure a spot with a representative of the Gadget Garage: tinyurl.com/h5y4kcx. Click here for the Facebook event.
The following items will be accepted for recycling at the event: ink jet cartridges, cell phones and household batteries.
In addition there will be eco art & craft project stations, recycling games and chances to win prizes when pledging to recycle! Enter to win the Creative Reuse Competition – Call 217/384-4062 for more information.
Illini Gadget Garage Grand Opening Sat., Nov. 12
Join us at the Illini Gadget Garage in Research Park to celebrate its Grand Opening on Saturday, November 12th. ISTC’s Joy Scrogum, graduate student coordinator Madeleine Hall, and other student volunteers will be there for “do-it-together” troubleshooting and repair of small electronics and appliances. The event takes place from 11 AM to 2 PM.
There are approximately 10 slots for one-on-one troubleshooting during the event, so registration is required. Please fill out the information on the online sign-up form to the best of your ability so the repair crew may be better prepared to assist you. If your response to this form is received and slots for this pop-up clinic are full, the Gadget Garage team will contact you regarding a time you might come into the shop on campus at a later date. Similarly, if the assigned time they provide doesn’t work with your schedule, they’ll provide options for you to visit the campus space or another pop-up instead. Click here for the Facebook event.
The Illini Gadget Garage is located at 1833 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820 (Just north of Hazelwood Drive). See http://tinyurl.com/guv4n9z for a map.
