Energy savings at Trevira

Following the introduction of an energy management system in July, polyester fibre manufacturer Trevira has been successful in gaining certification to DIN EN ISO 50001:2011.

“For years now saving energy has been of great importance to us,” says CEO Robert Gregan. “It has been an element of our management process, within the context of the environmental standard requirements. Now we have also integrated the demands of the international standard for energy management systems into our processes.”

Compared with cotton, Trevira says its fibre also takes the lead in ecological terms also in the manufacture of fibres and yarns – an eco-balance drawn up in 2011 shows better results for the polyester in 8 out of 11 categories.

Since the manufacture of man-made fibres is an energy-intensive process, it is necessary to establish specific methods to increase efficiency and energy management is now certified for the whole company.

Trevira is therefore in a position to continually exploit the potential resulting from improvements in processes or from technical progress, and increase the efficiency of energy it uses.

“Trevira has set itself the ambitious goal of once more cutting the specific input of energy by 10% of current values by 2020,” says Gregan. “Savings cannot be done for nothing, however, but require considerable effort and investment.”

A modification in production structure has provided shorter distances, and resulted in an improvement in energy requirements for logistics. In addition, roof surfaces at the Bobingen and Guben sites were placed at the disposal of operators of solar power systems. The Bobingen installation has been supplying the system with energy since 2011 – at peak times as much as 10% of the needs of the entire Bobingen industrial zone. The Guben site will go into operation shortly.