DOW TEXAS OPERATIONS TOUTS WATER CONSERVATION The Facts : February 11, 2010 The Facts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dow Texas Operations touts water conservation By Nathaniel Lukefahr The Facts Published February 11, 2010 FREEPORT — Dow Chemical Co. has saved more than 1 billion gallons of freshwater at Texas Operations by implementing a technology that greatly reduces water needed to run the site’s cooling systems. The savings, enough to supply water to almost 40,00 people for one year, amounted to about $4 million at the 5,000-acre site, Dow officials said. Dow is teaming with Nalco Co. on the technology, dubbed 3D TRASAR, which uses a Six Sigma-influenced effort to classify 80 cooling tower systems in a way that optimizes operations. Nalco is a water treatment and process improvement company. “Dow provides some of the basic building blocks for the chemistry the 3D TRASAR system uses to achieve these water savings at Freeport and other Nalco customer locations around the world,” Dow Vice President and Freeport site leader Gary Hockstra said in a statement. The technology could be used to conserve water responsibly, Dow Vice President of Sustainability Neil Hawkins said. “Responsible operations are a pillar of our commitment to sustainability,” Hawkins said in a statement. “Dow’s commitment to addressing the global water crisis includes game-changing technologies, partnerships in strategic regions and collaboration with industry leaders like Nalco to reduce our own environmental footprint.” The technology automatically maintains optimal chemistry of the water used in cooling systems, reducing the amount of water needed, maximizing the efficiency of the processes and reducing energy necessary to run them. Texas Operations achieved the cost savings by reducing maintenance costs, decreasing energy cost, reducing water use and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Nalco is installing the process at other sites worldwide, according to its site. So far, the company has installed about 10,000 units globally, helping save an estimated 75 billion gallons of water. “Working with our customers is a key part of our product innovation and improvement process,” Nalco Chairman and CEO J. Erik Fyrwald said in a statement. “Developing the innovative solutions that help our customers save water and energy and protect the air can’t happen without key customers like Dow allowing us to refine our technologies in real-world situations at their sites.” Nathaniel Lukefahr covers industry for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0151. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------