House & Home
Fri, February 3, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Nalco, an Ecolab company (NYSE:ECL), has helped Freescale Semiconductoras Oak Hill fabrication plant in Austin, Texas, respond to severe drought conditions by enabling a substantial reduction in the use of municipal fresh water and increasing water reuse and recycling.
Headquartered in Austin, Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. Freescaleas home state of Texas is facing punishing drought conditions, recently recording the stateas driest 12-month period on record. The U.S. Department of Agriculture drought monitor shows 80 percent of the state in either extreme or exceptional drought.
Semiconductor manufacturing requires substantial amounts of water, including large chiller systems that regulate temperature and humidity within the manufacturing process to ensure chip quality. Freescale Semiconductor has made a commitment to reduce its manufacturing operationsa water consumption by 50 percent by 2015.
To help achieve this commitment, an alternative to municipal fresh water was considered for use in the Oak Hill facilityas cooling system a" the water used in the manufacturing process to wash the surface of the silicon wafers after polishing. However, contaminants from the wash process could cause numerous problems in the cooling system, including corrosion or microbio fouling and scale buildup that can reduce cooling efficiency.
By implementing Nalcoas Green Chemistry award-winning 3D TRASAR Technology for Cooling Water, Freescale is safely using the reclaimed manufacturing process water. Using fluorescent molecules tagged to water treatment chemicals and a fluorescent bio-reporter molecule, the 3D TRASAR system can continuously monitor and adjust Nalcoas patented chemistry to the appropriate level to protect Freescaleas cooling system.
In addition, Freescaleas Oak Hill site is now using Nalcoas PORTA-FEED Delivery System, which provides ahands-offa chemical handling through a variety of returnable chemical containers. These units replace the need for traditional 55-gallon drums, improving employee safety and reducing the likelihood of spills or leaks and eliminating waste.
About Ecolab
With 2011 annualized sales of $11 billion and more than 38,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services tothe food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more than 160 countries.
Nalco, an Ecolab company, specializes in industrial water, energy and air applications, helping customers reduce natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity.
For more news and information, visit [ www.ecolab.com ].
For more information about 3D TRASAR technology visit [ www.nalco.com/3DTRASAR ].
(ECL-C)
