Article Top Ad

Intel's Hudson Plant Stays In the Loop With Water Recycling

Intel Corporation's "two Toms" talk about the company's efforts to conserve water at its Hudson, Mass., plant -- not only to reduce environmental impact but also to maintain good relations with surrounding community. By Emily Rabin Read More

All of Intel’s manufacturing plants use ultrapure water to clean microprocessors to avoid the risk of leaving behind minerals that can damage the tiny circuitry. Since 1998, Intel’s plant in Hudson, Mass., has been recycling this ultrapure water so it can be used on the microprocessors a second time. GreenBiz.com talked to Tom Sullivan, EH&S manager for the Hudson plant, and Tom Cooper, worldwide wastewater program manager for Intel, about the plant’s efforts to conserve water — not only to reduce environmental impact but also to maintain good relations with the small town of Hudson.


Emily Rabin: Exactly how much water are we talking about here?

Tom Sullivan: Intel’s Hudson site used an average of 740,000 gallons per day in 2002 — about 60% to 70% for our manufacturing operation, and the rest for utilities such as cooling towers, scrubbers, and chillers

ER: And how much of this water is recycled?

TS: First, to be clear, the term recycle means from Process A to Process A. The other word used in the industry is reclaim. This is water that is used in Process A and is sent as feed water to Process B. Both terms are considered reuse.

Hudson is the only plant at Intel doing UPW recycling. You take water from the local utility, you scrub it until it’s extremely clean, you use it to rinse the wafers, and then you’re left with rinse water. Other non-Intel plants might send that water straight to the sewer. The standard practice at Intel facilities is to reclaim this manufacturing rinse water for cooling towers and scrubbers. At Hudson, some of this rinse water is also separated out to be repurified and recycled back to the manufacturing process. We use standard UPW technology to clean the water that has already been used to clean chips.

We estimate that the water recycling and other reclaiming processes at our Hudson plant keep water consumption nearly 40% less than it would be without them.

Tom Cooper: Last year we saved 3.3 billion gallons of water with our water-reuse programs companywide. Throughout the corporation roughly 35% of our water needs were supplied through these reuse programs. We’ve calculated our programs have saved more than 12 billion gallons since we started keeping track in 1998. That’s roughly enough water to meet the needs of 200,000 people for one year.

ER: What challenges did the Hudson plant overcome in implementing its water reuse and recycling initiatives?

TS: The system has been in place since the early 1990’s when Digital Equipment Corporation built the Hudson site. Intel acquired the site in 1998. Since then, the main challenge has been to constantly manage the system to ensure that reused water meets the stringent standards required in semiconductor manufacturing.

ER: Are there any plans to install similar systems at other Intel manufacturing plants?

TC: Intel is always investigating new water-conservation approaches. In this regard, our manufacturing plants have help from Intel’s Corporate Industrial Water Management Group, which essentially pools all of Intel’s BKM’s (best-known methods) to drive a comprehensive water-management plan. It’s made up of representatives from Intel plants across the world, primarily fabrication plants. The group documents water technologies used at all of our plants, so if another plant wants to try it, it’s already been tested and we know how it works, as well as what some of the challenges are. It’s also a good focus area for all of our water-conservation efforts. It seems we’re one of the few companies that has a program this comprehensive. Most have a small water-management team for a given site or project, but there isn’t necessarily a global body to hold it all together.

Intel’s water-management group is watching the Hudson UPW recycling program with particular interest. The Hudson site has been successfully manufacturing Intel products in volume for more than a year now. It’s too soon to say whether Intel will replicate this system elsewhere, but our water-management team has been impressed by what we’ve seen so far.

ER: Hudson is a small town with a relatively small-scale water-treatment plant. How has Intel worked with the local community to lessen its impact on available community resources?

TS: The Hudson site has worked hard to maintain a constructive relationship with the town of Hudson to ensure that the town has the resources to meet the needs of its residents as well as those of a major semiconductor-manufacturing site. For example, Intel recently donated $250,000 to help upgrade the town’s water-treatment plant. The donation to the town allowed better management of the wastewater-treatment system to reduce phosphorus discharge into the nearby Assabet River. Phosphorus, used in detergents, fertilizers, and household and industrial cleaning processes, stimulates excessive growth of vegetation and green algae, which floats on much of the river’s surface.

In addition, the company invested $1.3 million to remove phosphorus from the Hudson site’s process water before discharging it to the town’s water-treatment facility. We now remove 90% of phosphorus.

ER: What do you consider to be the return on your investment in donating $250,000 to Hudson’s water-treatment plant?

TS: We don’t see this in terms of a “return on investment.” It’s just good environmental stewardship, recognizing that the Hudson site contributed to the amount of phosphorus in the town’s wastewater stream. It’s the overall right thing to do, and Intel recognized that. Intel is very serious about environmental stewardship, and within that context, a good corporate citizen and a “neighbor of choice.” We want to support the town’s efforts to develop the infrastructure to serve the residents of Hudson as well as the industrial sector. If we’re a good neighbor and are cost-competitive, we’re successful.

——-
March 2003

Trellis Briefing

Subscribe to Trellis Briefing

Get real case studies, expert action steps and the latest sustainability trends in a concise morning email.
Article Sidebar 1 Ad
Article Sidebar 2 Ad