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Cleaner technology through TCS partnerships
1. Cleaner Prod. Vol. 3. No. 4, pp. 229-230. 1995 Copyright @ 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. AII rights reserved G95%6526/% s10.00 + 0.00
Govem.mental Initiative Cleaner technology through TCS partnerships
For all sorts of reasons, including compliance with local authority or EC directives, companies in Britain are seeking to improve their environmental performance by cutting, for example, their generation of waste and pollutants, their expenditure of energy or their use of raw materials. By also cutting costs, the incorporation of new ‘clean’ technologies may prove highly beneficial to companies, whilst the manufacture of environmentally-friendly products frequently opens up profitable new sectors in the ‘green’ consumer marketplace. Attaining such goals may pose a problem to many companies, particularly the small- to mediumsized, who may lack employees with the right skills to efficiently conceive and carry-out changes. For such companies, the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) is an ideal vehicle for the development and implementation of vital new strategies. Operating within a proven framework for successful collaboration, participation in TCS provides companies with access to university technologies and expertise for commercial projects. Over the past 20 years, TCS has been actively encouraging such transfer of technology to strengthen the competitiveness of British industry and its popularity among UK universities and companies is growing steadily. In 1994 more than 200 industrial firms, 40 university departments and 7 higher education institutions became involved in the scheme for the first time and grants totalling 218 million were awarded to complement f9 million of direct funding by the participating companies. TCS partnerships between individual companies and university departments span diverse sectors of industry, from engineering to management and marketing and almost 2tKKl TCS partnerships are ongoing or have already taken place--often with enormous success. One well-documented example is the partnership between Merseyside company, Contract Chemicals, and the Department of Chemistry at the University of York. Their TCS programme to replace the traditional but toxic catalysts used to drive Friedels-Craft and oxidation processes with a range of environmentally-friendly catalysts has won them international recognition on the world market and two prestigious industrial awards for their contribution to improving chemical processes. Contract Chemicals were also finalists in the 1992 Prince of Wales Award
for Innovation. Another TCS partnership, between shoe manufacturers Clarks International and the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of the West of England, looked at using alternatives to solventbased substances as a means of reducing the environmental impact of the shoe-making process. By the end of 1995, the project’s success had led to a reduction in the annual use of organic solvents from 551 tons to 290 tons at ten Clarks manufacturing sites and the company are continuing to move towards solvent-free production. The changes made are already saving Clarks well over f2OO,OOOper year. The work has also won the prestigious Best Practice Award and is being used as a case-study to support the Environmental Technical Support Unit’s (ETSU) recently published general guide entitled, ‘Best Practice for Solvent Management’. TCS partnerships begin with an innovative idea central to a company’s plans for future development. In the case of environmental performance, now a major focus for new partnerships, there is enormous flexibility in what constitutes ‘an idea’ and earlier projects have ranged from the production of environmentally-friendly new cosmetics to the development of hi-tech, low-cost computerized sensors for the early detection of structural problems and decay in historic buildings. Once an idea strategic to company business has been accepted, a TCS regional consultant will help locate a suitable academic partner. The company plan is usually further developed through discussion with the academic collaborator and then implemented through the recruitment of one or more TCS Associates. TCS Associates are typically high-calibre graduates who carry out project work under the supervision of senior management and academic staff, operating within a flexible but focused framework. Apart from their on-site activities, which provide a first-class introduction to industry, Associates receive further training through TCS to develop all-round management and communication skills. TCS experience, especially for women, has frequently been cited as bridging the gap between an academic qualification and a career in industry and 63% of the 255 TCS Associates completing their contracts during 1994-1995 accepted the offer of a job with their host company. Almost
J. Cleaner Prod. Volume 3 Number
4
229
Governmental
Initiative
invariably TCS Associates benefit career-wise from their experience at the sharp end of industry. Several British companies are using TCS to advance commercial projects based on environmental concerns. Stavely Chemicals, a Chesterfield-based chemical company and subsidiary of the giant French group RhonePoulenc has recently completed an innovative project to treat industrial effluent with reed beds. Stavely Chemicals, manufacturers of sulphuric acid and cyclohexane and chloralkali products, formed a two year TCS partnership with the Department of Chemistry at Sheffield Hallam University to assess alternative methods of dealing with their chemical wastes. Microbiology graduate David Phipps was recruited as TCS Associate to carry out the research. The reed beds proved very effective in removing suspended solids and stabilizing pH, as well as breaking down organic pollutants trapped by the plant roots. Management at Stavely Chemicals believes that using the reed beds to remove pollutants is cheaper, as well as greener, than running its existing sludge plant and David has been employed for a further year as an Environmental Chemist to continue developing the reed beds for treating ammonia. Another TCS partnership involving industrial water treatment is that between Abacus Water Treatment Ltd and microbiologists from Wolverhampton University. Abacus specializes in providing engineering services and equipment to industries that rely on supplies of clean water, such as pharmaceutical and food processing companies. Faced with increasing competition, company management quickly realized the need for microbiological expertise to find a more efficient and cost-effective way of producing ultra-pure water. Through their TCS partnership, Abacus are developing new technologies to produce water free from pyrogens-bacterial endotoxins that can cause severe illness-to replace the current methods of filtration and ultra-violet heat treatment. A TCS partnership generating impressive results is
230
J. Cleaner Prod. Volume 3 Number 4
currently ongoing between the School of Pharmacy at Liverpool John Moores University and WRc plc. The data generated is likely to radically change the way new chemicals are developed and tested for registration prior to marketing. Through the ideas of Chris Watts of WRc and Professor Dearden and the exceptional work of TCS Associate Alistair Boxall, the partnership has succeeded in developing a system of predictive analysis to assess the environmental impact of new chemicals prior to manufacture. With continued development this predictive system may one day replace traditional methods of direct experimentation, costly in terms of time, finances and animal lives. Companies involved in TCS partnerships clearly benefit from their close associations with university departments and the on-site development of highcalibre graduates as future employees and potential leaders of industry. Academic staff participating in TCS also benefit by applying knowledge generated from research and through long-term, close links to industry. TCS programmes have a definite goal and provide focus, whilst frequently leading to material for publication or coursework and spin-off areas for future collaborative research. The cost of participation by academics, including their release from some normal duties, is met through a government grant complemented by payments from the industrial partner. TCS is currently focusing attention on companies who wish to improve their environmental performance. To obtain further information on TCS contact Sarah Goodyer at: TCD, Hillside House, 79 London Street, Faringdon, Oxon SN7 8AA, UK. Tel: 01367-242822; Fax: 01367-242831; E-mail: [email protected] Jane D. Stirling Stirling Word Tiger Mansions Longhill Lane Hankelow Crewe Cheshire CW3 OJQ, UK
Govem.mental Initiative Cleaner technology through TCS partnerships
For all sorts of reasons, including compliance with local authority or EC directives, companies in Britain are seeking to improve their environmental performance by cutting, for example, their generation of waste and pollutants, their expenditure of energy or their use of raw materials. By also cutting costs, the incorporation of new ‘clean’ technologies may prove highly beneficial to companies, whilst the manufacture of environmentally-friendly products frequently opens up profitable new sectors in the ‘green’ consumer marketplace. Attaining such goals may pose a problem to many companies, particularly the small- to mediumsized, who may lack employees with the right skills to efficiently conceive and carry-out changes. For such companies, the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) is an ideal vehicle for the development and implementation of vital new strategies. Operating within a proven framework for successful collaboration, participation in TCS provides companies with access to university technologies and expertise for commercial projects. Over the past 20 years, TCS has been actively encouraging such transfer of technology to strengthen the competitiveness of British industry and its popularity among UK universities and companies is growing steadily. In 1994 more than 200 industrial firms, 40 university departments and 7 higher education institutions became involved in the scheme for the first time and grants totalling 218 million were awarded to complement f9 million of direct funding by the participating companies. TCS partnerships between individual companies and university departments span diverse sectors of industry, from engineering to management and marketing and almost 2tKKl TCS partnerships are ongoing or have already taken place--often with enormous success. One well-documented example is the partnership between Merseyside company, Contract Chemicals, and the Department of Chemistry at the University of York. Their TCS programme to replace the traditional but toxic catalysts used to drive Friedels-Craft and oxidation processes with a range of environmentally-friendly catalysts has won them international recognition on the world market and two prestigious industrial awards for their contribution to improving chemical processes. Contract Chemicals were also finalists in the 1992 Prince of Wales Award
for Innovation. Another TCS partnership, between shoe manufacturers Clarks International and the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of the West of England, looked at using alternatives to solventbased substances as a means of reducing the environmental impact of the shoe-making process. By the end of 1995, the project’s success had led to a reduction in the annual use of organic solvents from 551 tons to 290 tons at ten Clarks manufacturing sites and the company are continuing to move towards solvent-free production. The changes made are already saving Clarks well over f2OO,OOOper year. The work has also won the prestigious Best Practice Award and is being used as a case-study to support the Environmental Technical Support Unit’s (ETSU) recently published general guide entitled, ‘Best Practice for Solvent Management’. TCS partnerships begin with an innovative idea central to a company’s plans for future development. In the case of environmental performance, now a major focus for new partnerships, there is enormous flexibility in what constitutes ‘an idea’ and earlier projects have ranged from the production of environmentally-friendly new cosmetics to the development of hi-tech, low-cost computerized sensors for the early detection of structural problems and decay in historic buildings. Once an idea strategic to company business has been accepted, a TCS regional consultant will help locate a suitable academic partner. The company plan is usually further developed through discussion with the academic collaborator and then implemented through the recruitment of one or more TCS Associates. TCS Associates are typically high-calibre graduates who carry out project work under the supervision of senior management and academic staff, operating within a flexible but focused framework. Apart from their on-site activities, which provide a first-class introduction to industry, Associates receive further training through TCS to develop all-round management and communication skills. TCS experience, especially for women, has frequently been cited as bridging the gap between an academic qualification and a career in industry and 63% of the 255 TCS Associates completing their contracts during 1994-1995 accepted the offer of a job with their host company. Almost
J. Cleaner Prod. Volume 3 Number
4
229
Governmental
Initiative
invariably TCS Associates benefit career-wise from their experience at the sharp end of industry. Several British companies are using TCS to advance commercial projects based on environmental concerns. Stavely Chemicals, a Chesterfield-based chemical company and subsidiary of the giant French group RhonePoulenc has recently completed an innovative project to treat industrial effluent with reed beds. Stavely Chemicals, manufacturers of sulphuric acid and cyclohexane and chloralkali products, formed a two year TCS partnership with the Department of Chemistry at Sheffield Hallam University to assess alternative methods of dealing with their chemical wastes. Microbiology graduate David Phipps was recruited as TCS Associate to carry out the research. The reed beds proved very effective in removing suspended solids and stabilizing pH, as well as breaking down organic pollutants trapped by the plant roots. Management at Stavely Chemicals believes that using the reed beds to remove pollutants is cheaper, as well as greener, than running its existing sludge plant and David has been employed for a further year as an Environmental Chemist to continue developing the reed beds for treating ammonia. Another TCS partnership involving industrial water treatment is that between Abacus Water Treatment Ltd and microbiologists from Wolverhampton University. Abacus specializes in providing engineering services and equipment to industries that rely on supplies of clean water, such as pharmaceutical and food processing companies. Faced with increasing competition, company management quickly realized the need for microbiological expertise to find a more efficient and cost-effective way of producing ultra-pure water. Through their TCS partnership, Abacus are developing new technologies to produce water free from pyrogens-bacterial endotoxins that can cause severe illness-to replace the current methods of filtration and ultra-violet heat treatment. A TCS partnership generating impressive results is
230
J. Cleaner Prod. Volume 3 Number 4
currently ongoing between the School of Pharmacy at Liverpool John Moores University and WRc plc. The data generated is likely to radically change the way new chemicals are developed and tested for registration prior to marketing. Through the ideas of Chris Watts of WRc and Professor Dearden and the exceptional work of TCS Associate Alistair Boxall, the partnership has succeeded in developing a system of predictive analysis to assess the environmental impact of new chemicals prior to manufacture. With continued development this predictive system may one day replace traditional methods of direct experimentation, costly in terms of time, finances and animal lives. Companies involved in TCS partnerships clearly benefit from their close associations with university departments and the on-site development of highcalibre graduates as future employees and potential leaders of industry. Academic staff participating in TCS also benefit by applying knowledge generated from research and through long-term, close links to industry. TCS programmes have a definite goal and provide focus, whilst frequently leading to material for publication or coursework and spin-off areas for future collaborative research. The cost of participation by academics, including their release from some normal duties, is met through a government grant complemented by payments from the industrial partner. TCS is currently focusing attention on companies who wish to improve their environmental performance. To obtain further information on TCS contact Sarah Goodyer at: TCD, Hillside House, 79 London Street, Faringdon, Oxon SN7 8AA, UK. Tel: 01367-242822; Fax: 01367-242831; E-mail: [email protected] Jane D. Stirling Stirling Word Tiger Mansions Longhill Lane Hankelow Crewe Cheshire CW3 OJQ, UK