Improving Mother Nature at Tire Plant

By installing a reverse osmosis (RO) system and with the proper chemical treatment program, the BFGoodrich tire manufacturing plant in Woodburn, Ind. was able to turn hard water into the quality necessary to run the boiler system at optimal levels.

Using a system from GE, the improved quality of the boiler make-up water allowed for an increase in total boiler cycles, leading to fuel cost savings.

In turn the plant now conserves 9.9 million gallons of water annually.

Other benefits include fewer mechanical issues and less chemical handling by the operators, according to said Paul Cagle, plant manager at BFGoodrich's Woodburn facility. "This is a significant improvement, especially from an EHS standpoint, because it reduces the chances for accidents or injury to our operators."

And BF received an award to boot -- the GE ecomagination Leadership Award.