A groundbreaking partnership between two forward-thinking
companies has contributed to cleaner air for a challenged region
— the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The results of this partnership
have earned it the Texas Environmental Excellence Award, the
state's highest environmental honor. The partnership of Texas
Instruments and Matros Technologies Incorporated is one of 12
winners statewide to be recognized with an award, to be presented
by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on April 30 in
Austin at its annual banquet.
Texas Instruments in Dallas and Matros Technologies found new
ways to reduce air emissions from volatile organic compounds while
also reducing fuel use and the resulting emissions of nitrogen
oxides. VOCs and nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of
ground-level ozone, an air pollutant with potentially harmful
respiratory effects.
In 2005, TI asked St. Louis-based Matros Technologies to help
solve a problem that has plagued the industry since regenerative
thermal oxidizers went into use to reduce air pollution — the
formation of silica. The silica plugs up the oxidizers. When that
happens, the oxidizers can't perform the critical task of reducing
VOCs. Engineers from Matros and TI devised an industry-specific
catalyst that solved the problem. Since the Dallas-Fort Worth area
is not in attainment with national ambient air quality standards,
innovative measures like this one are welcome.
Installation of this new catalyst makes it possible to oxidize
VOCs at lower temperatures, reducing TI's fuel costs by almost
$900,000 a year. More importantly, the new, efficient process cut
nitrogen oxides emissions by 45 percent and eliminated the disposal
of 136 tons of packing material every four years. Reduced
maintenance downtime also reduces VOC emissions.
The solution has been such a success that TI recently reported
its findings at the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative
with the hope that similar facilities around the world will turn to
this technology. The performance to date drives home the point that
environmental stewardship is not only good for the planet; its good
for the bottom line as well.
The TCEQ annually presents the Texas Environmental Excellence
Awards to environmental projects across the state that demonstrate
excellence in resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution
prevention. The award-winning programs reflect the goals of the
TCEQ: to protect Texas human and natural resources and ensure clean
air, clean water and the safe management of waste. For more
information, or to submit an application for next year's awards,
visit www.teea.org.
