Encina Development Group, LLC (Encina), a producer of ISCC+ circular chemicals from end-of-life plastics, announced an agreement with global water treatment expert Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, which will engineer, deliver, operate and maintain a world-class water treatment system for the Encina Point Township Circular Manufacturing Facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania.
Encina manufactures drop-in circular chemicals using an integrated single-stage catalytic conversion process that takes hard-to-recycle plastics and transforms them into their base building blocks that can be used to make new products. Through Encina’s process to convert previously unrecyclable plastics, every year, this facility can divert up to 450,000 tons of post-consumer materials from landfills, incinerators, and the environment.
“Encina brings practical, real-world solutions to help address our plastic waste crisis and pave the way for a more sustainable environment,” said Shirley Hammond, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Encina. “Our commitment to a more sustainable future begins with diverting end-of-life plastics from landfills and incineration and continues with world-class partners like Veolia, who we are partnering with to engineer, deliver, operate, and maintain a facility that aligns with our shared vision of protecting our environmental resources.”
Veolia has extensive experience designing and demonstrating operational compliance with permit requirements and water treatment plans for water resources across the globe, including the Susquehanna River. Encina will partner with Veolia to build a water treatment system in compliance with a water management plan that will be reviewed and approved by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Permits will be filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Veolia’s scope includes a state-of-the-art process water system and a wastewater treatment plant. The process water system includes a demineralization step and reverse osmosis membrane filtration and will also use clarification and filtration steps for the raw water intake. The wastewater system includes a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) with the Veolia ZeeWeed* 500 membranes providing superior effluent quality.
“Complex water challenges require innovative solutions, which our team has brought to our clients for decades,” said Gregory Brickett, Vice President, Global ZeeWeed Business Line at Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions. “This treatment facility will use world-class technology to deliver water to Encina’s manufacturing plant. Creating a sustainable solution is always our priority and partnering with a company that shares those values makes this project more meaningful.”
The Susquehanna River is a cherished resource for recreation, tourism, and the health of the regional ecosystem and environment. Water withdrawn from the river will be pretreated before going into Encina’s manufacturing process and treated again after the process. In addition, constant monitoring systems will ensure water quality stays within permissible limits. Other mechanisms, such as retention ponds, will help ensure contaminants are removed and that the temperature is appropriate for reintegration. These are all investments Encina is making to do business in ways that help protect and, in some cases, improve this treasured ecosystem.