Two years ago, a severe drought hit the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality on the southern coast of South Africa. Reservoirs were nearly empty, pushing the population of 1.3 million close to “day zero” when water stops flowing from the taps.
The region is home to an Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) facility that produces carbon black – an essential material for the country’s tire industry. The crisis inspired Orion to find a solution that would help the municipality conserve its precious water supply.
Despite significant engineering challenges, Orion built a water treatment system at its facility. The technology recycles treated effluent water from a nearby municipal sewage plant so that the water can be used in Orion’s production process.
“The potable water we once used to make our products is saved for the community,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said. “The treated effluent water that once got pumped into the ocean is now repurposed for an industry that makes carbon black, which enables car tires to last longer and perform better. Recycling the water will also lead to substantial cost savings.”
The South Africa case study is featured in Orion’s “Sustainability Report 2023,” which the company released today with the theme: “Driving innovation, enabling the every day.” The report covers a variety of highlights, including:
- Achieving an EcoVadis Platinum Medal, positioning the company in the 99th percentile of companies evaluated.
- Opening a Battery Innovation Center to develop new products and formulations for lithium-ion batteries driving the shift to electrification.
- Investing €12.8 million – including €6.4 million in grant funding from the German government and European Union — to further develop and demonstrate a climate-neutral process for producing carbon black from alternative carbon sources.
- Leading the carbon black industry in the number of production sites with ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) PLUS certification.
- Reaching the goal of having 80% of employees receive 40 or more training hours – double the average training hours in 2022.
In a Q&A section with Painter, the CEO describes how the company developed a reputation for being a leader in developing sustainable products in its industry.
“Our history of innovation and sustainability makes us the perfect disruptor,” Painter said. “We won’t overtake our bigger competitors by playing the same game. Making sustainable products is not only the right thing to do, it is also what customers want.”
In the report, the company unveiled its water-recycling project in South Africa. Orion is the only global company in the carbon black industry that has a site in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The project began in early 2023 and involved installing a 65-meter-long pipeline from the Orion site to the municipal water treatment plant. A horizontal-boring process was used to run the pipeline 5 meters under a road.
A 7-meter-deep sump had to be built for the system. This was a major excavation challenge because the sandy soil did not provide much solid ground. It was like digging a hole in a sand dune. But the team used sandbags to stabilize the ground and keep the hole from being filled with water.
Orion now has the capacity to recover 3 million liters a day from the municipal plant and treat the effluent water so that it meets the quality level for the site’s production process.
“With this project, we’re demonstrating our commitment to our company’s core values: accountability, innovation and building enduring relationships,” Painter said. “Finding an innovative solution to conserving water is one of the best ways we can strengthen our relationship with the community and improve supply security for our customers.”
