Social responsibility has long been at the heart of the UK-based resin and polymer manufacturer Scott Bader’s business strategy.

To this end the company has ambitious energy consumption reduction targets. Helping the company to meet these is the Fuel+ fuel pre-treatment system from Maxsys, which is delivering gas savings in excess of 5.7percent on Scott Bader’s steam raising boiler plant (Fig.1). That’s a return of investment of 14 months.

Maxsys first started work in the Fuel+ system after the Rio earth summit in 1992. Early research focused on methods to reduce carbon emissions. The use of magnetic fields to improve fuel efficiency with a commensurate reduction in carbon emissions followed soon after. Over the next 10 years numerous case studies with commercial customers were carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Brunel and Birmingham in England.

Fuel+ is a magnetic fuel treatment system that improves combustion by applying a finely calibrated magnetic field directly on the fuel. The unit is installed directly into gas or oil fuel lines and can be fitted either horizontally or vertically into the existing pipework. The system has no moving parts, requires no electrical supply and is CE certified to conform to both Atex and Pedex regulations.

In the UK, Scott Bader has signed up to the chemical industries' sector agreement, part of an umbrella agreement with the Chemical Industries Association, for the climate change levy (CCL). This aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere through energy wastage and energy usage.

Figures have been submitted to the UK Department of the Environment estimating energy usage up to and including 2010, and Scott Bader has committed to reducing energy consumption per tonne of product produced by 13.4percent over a 10-year period from 2000.

Progress against set targets for the CCL is auditable by the Department of Environment and HM Customs and Excise. With this in mind the company is continuously examining ways to reduce its energy consumption.

However, demand for its polyester and alkyd resins, gelcoats and conventional and inverse water-based polymers has increased, leading to an expansion in 2002 when Scott Bader built a new production facility at its Wollaston site near Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.

“To reduce consumption per tonne of product produced by 13.4percent is a tough target,” says the company's facilities manager Bob Savage. “While we were on target initially, the expansion set us back and we needed to consider methods of getting the company back on track. Over the next couple of years we implemented various improvements to boiler efficiency involving better control and plant process changes, but further gains were needed.”

A timely telephone call from Maxsys set Savage thinking about the potential of Fuel+ and its patented fuel treatment system that improves combustion by applying a finely calibrated magnetic field directly to the fuel.

“Maxsys guaranteed a saving of five per cent in energy consumption, which would be independently verified,” says Savage. “This is despite the fact that our boiler was relatively new (1999). A five per cent saving was obviously very attractive as it would be justifiable over an 18month period in terms of payback.”

Maxsys was invited to Scott Bader for further discussions, from which the company decided to work in partnership with Maxsys and commission a project to install Fuel+ to the company’s 5000kg Robey Yorkshireman steam raising boiler with Saacke combustion system.

Maxsys arranged for leading energy management company ABB to produce a protocol that described the proposed method of measurement to quantify any change in the performance of the Scott Bader plant after the Fuel+ system was installed. ABB would then compare the performance of the plant pre and post installation and produce a concise, independent report documenting and quantifying the change in performance.

The Robey boiler at Scott Bader’s Wollaston site is in use 24/5 with reduced loading during weekends. It was agreed that data would be collected three times every 24hours with two reading per day at the weekends, over a 30-day period starting in October 2006. Following the completion of pre-data collection, Maxsys installed Fuel+ on 1st December 2006. ABB analysis of post data for 2007 has found that average gas consumption was 5.73percent lower following installation of Fuel+.

“It has been calculated that Fuel+ will save us 8413ft3 of gas per day,” says Savage. “This is better than initially thought and has helped us reduce estimated ROI from 18 months to 14 months.”

Employing 280 people across its 45-acre site at Wollaston, Scott Bader has grown considerably from its origins in 1921 as an agent for a Swiss celluloid manufacturer. Today it produces from five manufacturing sites across the world and its products can be found in every home in the UK.

As the company has evolved it has taken the fundamental values of participation through employee engagement and social and environmental care into every country where it operates. Scott Bader’s commitment to the protection of the environment comes from the principles laid down in its 1951 Constitution, which was written following Mr Bader’s decision to give the company to its employees.

Today the organisation upholds this agreement and is run by corporate governance as a ‘commonwealth’ – without owners or external shareholders.

The Maxsys Fuel+ system is helping the company fulfil the objectives listed as part of Scott Bader’s UK Environmental Management Programme, which is based on four factors: achievement of the Environmental Authorisations and Licences; BSENISO14001; the Climate Change Levy; and MACC2.

Scott Bader’s Environmental Management Programme gained accreditation to BS EN IS014001 in January 2001. This recognises, understands and addresses all significant environmental impacts of the company’s activities and products.

Through the implementation of ISO14001, the company has made a clear statement that environmental management is an integral part of the company agenda. Each year a management programme is set and approved focusing on particular areas for improvement.