Company: Bochemie Bohumín Ltd.
Sector: Chemicals
Country: Czech Republic

Overview | Sector Information | Company Information | Driving Forces
Implementation | Results | The Future | Contact Information

---

Bochemie Bohumín Ltd. is the parent company of the Bochemie Group. Since it was founded, it has worked to meet health, safety and environmental requirements: for example by adhering to the chemical industry's Responsible Care programme. One of the most important steps it has taken so far to improve its environmental performance has been to introduce Cleaner Production (CP) in its chloramine production plant. Support from CP experts was available to the company through a European Union PHARE project. Company representatives participated in training at a new Cleaner Production Training Centre. Organisational and technical measures were identified with a focus on eliminating pollution of waste-water. The measure implemented so far have reduced waste-water volume by 3900 m3 per year and the level of inorganic salts (chlorides and sulphates) by 122 tonnes per year. Energy consumption has also decreased by 900 GJ per year. Total cost savings of US$ 45,000 have been realised. Other measures are under way and further savings of US$ 145,000 have been estimated. As a result of the surprisingly high cost savings, the company has decided to apply CP to other areas of its business.

Go to top

The chemical sector in the Czech Republic consists of three large domestic groups, two large foreign competitors (specialising in consumer goods) and three small chemical factories. The small factories have not yet been completely privatised. There is a trend towards concentration of ownership within the sector and domestic chemical companies are under increasing pressure from international competitors; only companies that successfully restructure will be able to survive. In the past the Czech chemical industry has neglected environmental issues and the low level of environmental awareness, coupled with the lack of clean technologies and qualified staff to deal with environmental issues, has contributed to poor environmental performance. The situation is further complicated by insufficient legislature, in particular on waste. The introduction of Cleaner Production (CP), voluntary-sector programmes such as Responsible Care and formal environmental management systems (EMSs) provides the chemical sector with tools to improve environmental performance.

Go to top

The Bochemie Group consists of 20 companies based in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic. It employs 1200 people and has a turnover of CSK 1.3 billion (US$ 39 million). Of the group's products, 35% are cleaning agents for end consumers: detergents (the "Savo" line), disinfectants (chloramine, jordonal), insecticides, impregnation materials and herbicides. In all, 65% are inorganic products for industrial use and further processing.

The headquarters of the group is situated in an industrial zone in Bohumín in the Czech-Polish-Slovakian border area. It has 480 employees and a turnover of CSK 600 million (US$ 18 million). It was originally a joint-stock company founded in 1991 following the privatisation of a subsidiary of the Lachema joint-stock company. In 1994 the company became Bochemie Bohumín Ltd. It has been particularly successful in the disinfectant market, where it has succeeded in warding off competition from two large foreign concerns. It is the most important producer of chloramine disinfectant in Central Europe. Of the 480 employees in Bohumín, 20 work in the chloramine production plant (see Figure 1). Bochemie implemented a quality system according to ISO 9001 in 1997 and is currently preparing for certification by Bureau Veritas Quality International.

Go to top

Bochemie has been implementing measures to deal with its most serious environmental problems since 1993. It adheres to the Responsible Care programme and has published an environmental policy that establishes environmental protection a company priority. A special environmental department has also been set up. The company's motto is, "Chemistry with pure intentions above and below the surface".

In 1997 Bochemie had the opportunity of participating in an interactive training course, "Cleaner Production Training in Northern Moravia and Silesia". This course was organised under the guidance of the Czech Cleaner Production Centre (CCPC) as part of a PHARE project, Cleaner Production for the Oder River. The aim of the project was to reduce industrial pollution of the Oder river basin significantly by introducing the CP methodology in selected companies. A new Cleaner Production Training Centre was established at the University of Metallurgy and Technology in Ostrava as part of the project. The manager of Bochemie's Environmental Department and the person in charge of water-flow maintenance participated in the CP training at the centre. The training was carried out with the assistance of local experts, graduates of Czech-Norwegian CP training held between 1992 and 1994.

Bochemie's owners were convinced that CP could help the company both to reduce its environmental impacts and to improve its economic performance by:

• Cutting costs
• Ensuring compliance with legislation, in particular new legislation on waste
• Enabling it to satisfy customer demand
• Improving its image with customers
• Helping it to meet relevant health and safety requirements
• Reducing the risk of accidents

Go to top

Water pollution is the most serious impact of chloramine production at Bochemie. Two waste-water treatment plants are situated at the chloramine plant. Waste-water has a high volume of inorganic salts (chlorides and sulphates) organic substances, e.g. benzene sulphide acid (which is the final chemical stage before chloramine is obtained). Ammonia and ammonia salts are boiled out of the water in waste-water treatment plant no. 2. Dechlorination and partial neutralisation are also carried out here. This pre-treated waste-water is discharged into the on-site waste-water neutralisation plant. Following this, waste-water is discharged to a small river and then to the Oder river. The waste-water treatment processes comply with regulations introduced by the Czech Environmental Inspectorate.

The following targets have been set by Bochemie:

1. Reduce sodium hydroxide (NaOH) consumption for boiling ammonia waters (by means of reducing the absolute volume of water and decreasing the volume boiled)
   
   
2. Reduce energy consumption during the boiling of ammonia waters (by decreasing the volume of water needed for boiling by 20 per cent, i.e. to 56 m3/day);
   
   
3. Reduce the volume of solubles in the waste-water to 8,500 mg/l, i.e. by 360 tonnes/year;
   
   
4. Reduce Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentration in waste-water by 300 mg/l, i.e. by 70 tonnes/year;
   
   
5. Reduce waste-water generation by 10,000 m3/year, and;
   
   
6. Increase amount of chloramine obtained from benzene sulphide acid by 25 tonnes/year.

At the beginning of CP implementation the company established a steering committee and a working group. The steering committee consisted of the technical director, who is also one of the owners of the company, and the manager of the Environmental Department, who co-ordinates CP implementation in the company. The working group consisted of six employees lead by the manager of the Environmental Department and the person in charge of water-flow maintenance. Other members of the group were the technical director, a technician, and consultants from CCPC and the consulting company Hydroprojekt. The working group was responsible for:

• Introducing the CP methodology
• Gathering information on material and energy flows
• Analysing and identifying critical aspects of the chloramine production process
• Selecting CP measures
• Conducting feasibility studies
• Preparing an action plan

The group collected data on material flows (inputs: raw and semi-finished materials; outputs: substances and pollutants) and measured energy consumption. The data collection method is recorded in Bochemie's operational documentation.

The following waste-water indicators were chosen in order to make the process as transparent as possible:

1. Consumption of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for boiling out ammonia and ammonia salts at waste-water treatment plant no. 2
   
   
2. Level of waste-water pollution in terms of level of inorganic salts and biological oxygen demand (BOD)
   
   
3. Total volume of waste-water discharged
   
   
4. Volume of waste-water discharged to the waste-water treatment plant no. 2 (which influences energy consumption, the dosage of sodium hydroxide and costs)

The next task of the working group was to propose possible measures for minimising the negative impact of chloramine production. Organisational, technical and technological measures were identified according to stages in the production cycle. The measures cover all areas of chloramine production with a focus on waste-water. The organisational measures introduced include:

1. Revision of working instructions for the production area and elaboration of working instructions for the boiling of ammonia waters and for liquid-decanting.
   
   
2. Revision of technical norms (norms for consumer goods)
   
   
3. Elaboration of new guidelines on technology and related procedures for employees

A number of the measures identified were incorporated into a proposal for investment in renovating the chloramine production plant. Due to resource limitations, technical and technological measures were narrowed down from the whole range of processes within chloramine production to benzene sulphide acid production and the accompanying process of boiling ammonia waters. The measures chosen following evaluation are presented in Table 1.

The renovation of the chloramine production plant was planned for 1998 -1999. Bochemie hoped to obtain a low-interest loan (5%-7%) for this purpose from the State Environmental Fund within the scope of CCPC's project for the Oder river basin.

The most important factor for the success of CP at Bochemie is the commitment of the company's owners. The financial support for participation in the CP course through the PHARE project was also very important. Bochemie has succeeded in convincing employees that CP will create benefits for the company, and in motivating them despite various organisational and technical difficulties. The position of some members of the CP working group was a difficult one, as they also had other tasks as part of the team for implementing the international quality standard ISO 9001. Members of the working group were happy with the way the CP methodology was introduced (training, establishment of steering committee and working groups, and external support, especially from the CCPC consultants). The company found the comments and suggestions from employees to be very useful. Bochemie is also open to co-operation on environmental issues. It has already co-operated with the Czech Chemical Industry Association and with municipalities.

Go to top

One of most important results of this project is that Bochemie now understands the CP approach and has been able to develop specific CP capacities within the company that are specific to its activities. This has already created economic and environmental benefits for the company (see Table 2), and further benefits are expected (see Table 3).

Similar projects were carried out by CCPC under the PHARE project with other companies in the Oder river basin. These projects have been successful and have confirmed the considerable potential for CP in different industrial sectors in the region. In addition, specialised CP capacities have been built up in different sectors with a view to further disseminating CP in the region.

Go to top

Because of its success Bochemie has decided to implement CP in other areas of chloramine production and in other plants. It plans to apply the CP methodology to its zinc chloride production process with the aim of reducing the volume of hazardous waste generated by this process, and of stabilising zinc levels in the waste-water. The introduction of CP in other plants will depend on a variety of factors, such as the type of production, demand, and the types of raw materials used. The potential to reduce both consumption and pollution of water through good housekeeping in many of these plants is high. The company has already identified some measures in this area. CP has proven to be one of the most successful and effective means of improving environmental and economic performance.

Bochemie will continue its adherence to the Responsible Care programme. It does not aim to set up separate systems for health and safety and for environmental issues. Its aim is to establish one management system to deal with these issues by integrating them into its quality system.

Go to top

Company

Ing. Ladislav Kraus, General Manager
Ing. Emil Pastucha, Manager of the Environment Department
Bochemie s.r.o. Bohumín
Lidická 326
735 95 Bohumín
Czech Republic

Tel.: +420-69-6091-111
Fax: +420-69-601-2870

Case study author

Ing. Vladimir Dobes
Executive Director
Czech Cleaner Production Centre (CCPC)
Boticska 4
12800 Prague 2
Czech Republic

Tel.: +420-2-2492-0265
Fax: +420-2-2492-0128
Email: dobes@cpc.cz

Go to top

This case study is taken from the INEM casebook, Case Studies in Environmental Management in Central & Eastern Europe.

---