ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Nalco, an Ecolab company (NYSE:ECL), has helped Freescale
Semiconductor's 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. Freescale's
home state of Texas is facing punishing drought conditions, recently
recording the state's 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
operations' 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 facility's cooling system — 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 Nalco's 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 Nalco's patented
chemistry to the appropriate level to protect Freescale's cooling system.
In addition, Freescale's Oak Hill site is now using Nalco's PORTA-FEED®
Delivery System, which provides "hands-off" 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 to the
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)
Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-293-4385
MediaRelations@Ecolab.com
Source: Ecolab Inc.
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