ISTC’s latest case study features an Illinois cannery that received an Economy, Energy, and Environment (E3) assessment. The parent company operates six manufacturing facilities. Their corporate headquarters has its own facility. Its products include both company branded and private labels with a wide variety of recipes. The Illinois site’s footprint is over 300,000 square feet and operates on a 24/4 schedule. The E3 assessment evaluated the value stream from raw ingredient receiving through processing, canning, and labeling.
The assessment recommended nearly fifty best management practices that the company could use to save money and improve their efficiency. These included:
- combined heat and power
- renewable energy
- controls and commissioning of electrical equipment
- lighting upgrades to LED
- variable frequency drives on process motors
- compressed air system and steam distribution efficiencies
- investigate aqueous ozone for sanitation
- repair process water leaks
- rainwater capture
- installation of low flow devices in restrooms
- recover recyclable materials
If the company implemented all of the recommendations, they could:
- reduce electricity use by 7 million kWh and natural gas use by over 500,000 therms
- conserve nearly 42 million gallons of water
- reduce CO2 emissions by over 10,000 metric ton equivalents
- save up to $1.2 million
The company has already fixed air leaks, which will reduce their yearly energy use by 168,000 kWh and save them over $15,000 annually. The site’s management team and corporate office are investigating other opportunities as well.
ISTC’s technical assistance program engineers have been awarded a $338,549 pollution prevention (P2) grant from U.S. EPA Region 5 to provide on-site pollution prevention technical assistance, including Economy, Energy and Environment (E3), to Illinois food and beverage manufacturers and processors. This assistance will result in reduced water and energy usage, hazardous materials generation, and reduce business costs.