Purdue University Receives Two Environmental Awards from GE
General Electric (GE) helped Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., enhance the safety of its campus community by reducing the use of acid and caustic chemicals in the university’s utility plant.
GE provided Purdue with a
mobile reverse osmosis (RO) trailer to give the university a cleaner source of water for its demineralizer units, which was more economical than a permanent RO installation. Through the use of GE technology, Purdue University reduced the number of regenerations from 455 to 56, and the time between regenerations improved from every 18 hours to every two weeks. In addition to reducing the amount of chemicals used on campus, Purdue also saved almost 2,000 hours of time that can be applied to other plant duties. Over the initial 11 months, Purdue University consumed 161 fewer tons of acid and 171 fewer tons of caustic. This reduction of chemicals resulted in 22 fewer bulk truck deliveries to campus.
For Purdue University’s savings, GE honored Purdue with both the Return on Environment (ROE) award and the Proof Not Promises Award (PNP). GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt presented the award to the campus community earlier this month.
The ROE award recognizes customers for significantly surpassing and improving environmental and industrial operational goals and balancing industrial demands. During the ROE three-tier selection process, set-goals, as well as the achieved environmental, operational and financial benefits are examined. The ROE is a prestigious award given to honor a significant environmental (water, energy, resource) component.
The PNP award recognizes customers for significantly improving industrial operational performance. GE works with customers to design and meet strategic business goals that result in proof, not promises.