Elcimaï will present its concept for an eco-friendly food processing plant at CFIA 2020
For over 25 years, the Elcimaï Group has been active in the construction, energy, and environmental sectors. Elcimaï’s expertise, history, and industrial experience enable it to approach any transition project from various angles and to have a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and issues facing manufacturers. At CFIA 2020, it will present its concept for an eco-responsible food processing plant (Hall 8, Booth C6).
The eco-responsible production unit as envisioned by Elcimaï
The design of the eco-responsible production unit incorporates solutions aimed at ensuring sustainability and optimizing interactions with its immediate environment. It is part of a sustainable approach to environmental quality in the building, processes, and utilities, which takes into account the following areas :
- eco-design and eco-construction,
- energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy,
- waste and wastewater sorting, treatment, and recovery.
This is a comprehensive approach, with the potential to obtain environmental certification that will enhance the value of the building and its operations. It serves as the guiding principle for defining the eco-responsible project and will apply to all stages of the plant’s life cycle : design, construction, operation, and end-of-life. Elcimaï proposes environmental quality and performance objectives while taking into account the project’s context and potential future developments. The project team then develops innovative solutions to help achieve the set objectives.
The topics addressed by the eco-responsibility approach include products/raw materials (inputs), processes and energy (efficiency, renewable energy), materials and construction methods, water, the use of available resources—including land, waste, transportation, and mobility—as well as biodiversity.
Processes and energy : in its projects, Elcimaï aims to leverage its expertise in designing and implementing low-energy solutions through the integration of renewable energy and the recovery of waste heat across all types of structures, particularly industrial and commercial buildings.
Materials and construction methods : The environmental and health quality of construction materials and products is being incorporated into new environmental regulations applicable to buildings through the ongoing pilot program for the E C- label. Elcimaï integrates analytical tools into its projects to reduce the environmental impact of building components throughout the building’s entire life cycle.
Wastewater and process water : Elcimaï has the expertise to offer innovative solutions to limit the environmental impact of pre- and post-process treatments (production of osmosis water, purified water, softened water, and wastewater management).
Waste : The collection, sorting, and recovery of waste—particularly industrial waste—is a key aspect of environmental responsibility. With a view to optimizing associated costs, Elcimaï can conduct a study to reduce value-added loss across an entire value chain, across all site activities, or within a specific process or part of a process. The approach is based on the Material Flow Accounting (MFCA) method and consists of two steps : – Step 1 : precisely identify and quantify all types of value-added losses, – Step 2 : define and evaluate potential improvements to reduce them.