Manecreator and producer of fragrances and aromatic solutions, called on the expertise of the BWT for the replacement of an osmosis plant designed to treat water supplements to steam boilers and cooling towers, resulting in significant savings in water, gas and chemicals, with a return on investment in less than six months.
Based in the Alpes Maritimes, near Grasse, for 150 years, the Mane family group (1,800 employees in France, 7,500 worldwide) is one of the five world leaders in the perfume and aroma industry.
An independent company with an international reach, the company has built its growth and reputation on technological innovation, particularly in natural extractions, encapsulation and flavoring and fragrance solutions for complex formulations.
Located in Le Bar-sur-Loup, the company's headquarters centralize research, creation and extraction of natural raw materials, as well as industrial production.
Towards a 40 % reduction in site water consumption
Producing continuously (24/7), apart from a three-week summer period of technical monitoring and plant maintenance, the site has a total of seven cooling towers and three boilers, consuming some 45,000 m³ of osmosed and/or softened water per year.
In 2019, to meet the challenges of water abstraction from the Bar-sur-Loup watershed, but also and above all with a view to optimizing the environmental footprint of its industrial processes, Mane has launched a project to replace the 14 m³/h osmosis station, which has been in place for 10 years, in order to maintain the quality of make-up water for steam and cooling circuits, and optimize their industrial performance.
In addition to overly frequent and costly osmosis membrane cleaning (every three months) and a limited downgrading mode due to the existing installation (a single osmosis station supplied with raw water with sequestering agent, and two softeners as finishing units), the conversion rate of 70/30 with a conductivity of 30 µS/cm was insufficient to reduce raw water consumption.
Against this backdrop, the target conversion rate for the new plant was set at 90/10, with a conductivity of 10 µS/cm: a concentration level that would considerably reduce water consumption.
An installation that guarantees production continuity
"Among the bids submitted to Mane at the beginning of 2021, and despite the limited space and volume of the technical room, BWT was bold enough to propose a more complete system than initially requested in the specifications, with a system incorporating a reverse osmosis plant (2 x 8 m³/h) and three softeners".says Mane.
This dual osmosis system guarantees Mane 24/7 production continuity, even in the event of maintenance on one of the osmosis units. As for the softeners installed upstream of the water loop, three in number, again with a view to business continuity (relay mode as required), they limit osmosis membrane clogging, while avoiding the need for sequestering agents. "The originality of the BWT solution and, above all, the fact that it took into account our very tight business continuity constraints were particularly decisive".recalls the Mane utility manager.
In order to avoid any suspension of industrial activity, the dismantling of the existing osmosis plant, the installation of the new BWT osmosis units and the recommissioning of the whole plant will be carried out in August 2021, during the annual technical shutdown.
In practice, one week was enough to dismantle the existing equipment and install the new ones, before the 15-day recommissioning and fine-tuning operations. " Everything was ready on schedule, thanks to the availability, commitment and responsiveness of the BWT teams in charge of installation, in conjunction with the VMF teams.says Mane.
Stable results over time, rapid ROI
BWT was already present on the site, Mane having chosen the BWT Eco-MX solution, for the generation of in situ of fresh biocide solution by salt electrolysis, all connected to BWT Bluwell for remote, real-time monitoring of installations. The seven BWT Eco-MX units (one per RTA) enable Mane to control bacteriological risk.
The osmosis plant renewal project was an opportunity for BWT to confirm to Mane its technical expertise in industrial water treatment and its ability to offer high-performance solutions for complex industrial processes. End-to-end support is also offered, both during the project phase and throughout the plant's life cycle. "The proximity of the BWT South-East branch and the responsiveness of its teams are also real assets for frequent inspection visits".stresses the utility maintenance manager.
Eighteen months after commissioning, the osmosis system achieved higher concentration levels in the cooling circuits than initially estimated, resulting in annual water savings of over 13,200 m³. On the steam boilers, a reduction of 400 MWh per year in gas consumption was measured, as well as a reduction in chlorine reducer requirements (from 1,325 to 350 l/year) and the total elimination of sequestrant use (415 l/year).
By way of example, the supervision provided by the BWT Bluwell solution, and above all its alert systems enabling operators to react more quickly, have enabled a reduction of 6,449 m3 in water top-ups between 2018 and 2019, representing a saving of €47,000 excluding VAT.
These minimized costs, combined with the fact that 65 % of the project was covered by the French energy saving certificate scheme (CEE), gave Mane a return on investment in less than six months. These concrete operational and financial results are now leading the company to pursue its efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its industrial processes, both in terms of water savings and energy and chemical product reduction, notably through the future use of BWT innovations in their green chemistry strategy.
BWT France is one of the largest subsidiaries of the Austrian group Best Water Technology (BWT), a European specialist in water treatment.
