The circular economy at Industrias Químicas del Ebro S.A.
Industrias Químicas del Ebro S.A. (IQE) is committed to growth projects based on the circular economy, seeking to make maximum use of the natural resources needed for production processes (raw materials, water and energy). The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that guarantees sustainable growth. Its aim is to prolong the useful life of products required for human activity and to manage sub-products and waste efficiently to give them a second lease of life through reuse and recycling. This is a model that reproduces Nature and aims to reflect the behaviour that the environment has developed and selected during the course of evolution. The chemical industry, and IQE as one of its players, needs raw materials, energy and water to perform its function, but at the same time is aware that the use of these resources needs to be controlled and optimised. Our society is the chemical industry’s end customer, and it demands that, along with the end product (detergents, paints, plastics, food additives… in the case of IQE), our activity generates less impact on the environment. IQE establishes its strategy for growth and continuous improvement on these same lines. The authorities have launched strategic plans to support R+D activities, and to foster and incentivise a “green” culture; Industrias Químicas del Ebro is committed to this goal and promotes and leads numerous circular economy projects. Some examples of these are:
Call for General Shareholders’ Meeting
INDUSTRIAS QUIMICAS DEL EBRO, S.A. By resolution of the Board of Directors, the shareholders of Industrias Químicas del Ebro, S.A. are hereby summoned to the Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting to be held on June 24, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. on first call, at the Gran Hotel, located at calle Costa number 5 in Zaragoza, and if appropriate, on second call, the following day at the same time and place, all with the following Agenda for the meeting Shareholders are entitled to obtain from the Company, immediately and free of charge, the documents to be submitted for approval by the Shareholders’ Meeting, as well as the management reports and the auditor’s reports. Zaragoza, May 18, 2021 – Secretary of the Board of Directors, Jorge Villarroya Greschuhna.
IQE launches the SOS-NEUMAT project
IQE launches the SOS-NEUMAT PROJECT that investigates new uses of precipitated silica in TBR tyres on heavy vehicles. Industrias Químicas del Ebro, S.A. (IQE) with the support of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the RETOS COLABORACIÓN 2019 Programme, is researching into improvements in tyre treads for heavy vehicles within the SOS-NEUMAT project: ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR A MORE EFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE TYRE TREAD (Ref: RTC2019-006975-4). The Project is a joint collaboration between the company IQE and the ITAINNOVA Institute of Technology. The aim is to develop a formulation that allows fuel consumption to be reduced, while also improving its eco-labelling. The tread is probably the most critical part of a tyre; it is the thickest part and that which most influences its performance. It is the vehicle’s only point of contact with the ground and this means that during service it suffers the greatest wear (abrasion) and has to provide vehicle grip and traction. It is also the part that contributes most to energy loss in the vehicle’s movement through rolling resistance (the amount of energy that the tyre absorbs when it rolls under the weight of the vehicle). It is estimated that a decrease in rolling resistance of 10% represents a reduction of between 1.5-2% in fuel consumption in cars. [International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) (2012), “Influence of rolling resistance on CO2”, Series: Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (Wltp), Working Paper 2012-6, ICCT, Washington, DC]. The reinforcement filler together with the polymer and the vulcanization system are the main elements of the tread of any tyre and are those that have the greatest influence on the tyre’s behaviour.
Installation of Solar-Photovoltaic Self-consumption in SIMAL
SIMAL (Silicatos de Malpica S.L.), a company belonging to the IQE Group, focused on the production of sodium and potassium silicates, carries out the installation of industrial photovoltaic solar self-consumption on the roof of the new warehouse. An action that reaffirms the company’s environmental commitment. The result that this action will report will be an annual energy production of 453,605 kWh of 100% renewable origin, avoiding an emission into the atmosphere of 114 tons of CO2 per year, reducing the cost of electricity consumption and increasing energy savings.
Silicatos de Malpica S.L. (SIMAL) with the support of the Basque Government through the HAZITEK Program investigates the recycling of aluminum
During 2020 it was developed in Silicatos de Malpica S.L. (SIMAL) with the support of the Basque Government and the European Union, through the HAZITEK Program, a program of Aid to Support Business R&D, the FLOREAL Project (New FLOculants with loads of REcycled origin from the ALuminium industry for the paper industry and water treatment). The general objective of the project is to obtain raw materials within the aluminum chemistry that can be an alternative to some of the existing consumptions in the paper and water treatment sectors. At present and for use within the chemical sector, the main alternative to the raw materials under study are expensive processes of natural or synthetic origin (Bayer method), so the project represents a first initiative for the commercialization and incorporation of a production process of important recycled aluminum derivatives.The project aims to go a little further, so that not only a better price of the raw material used in the manufacture of coagulants and flocculants is achieved, but also a lower consumption of primary raw materials and a lower consumption of energy in the extraction and subsequent treatment of these. To start with, it is expected to achieve around a 20% improvement in process energy and, therefore, in cost to the customer. PROYECTO Nº ZL-2020/00823 – FLOREAL proiektuaAction co-financed by the Basque Government and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020 (ERDF).
IQE Agreement with ECOVADIS
In 2020 we obtained the Ecovadis Gold Seal in terms of Social Responsibility and we positioned ourselves among the 1% of the best suppliers evaluated by Ecovadis belonging to the chemical industry sector. Now, with the aim of continuing to increase our commitment to sustainable development, from IQE, and in collaboration with ECOVADIS, we will evaluate the performance of our main suppliers in terms of sustainability. These results will be one more criterion for evaluating them. With this action we wish to go one step further in our involvement with corporate social responsibility and transfer these principles to our supply network.
IQE obtains the SiOLITE Trademark Registration Certificate in Europe
IQE Group has obtained the SiOLITE® Trademark Registration Certificate in Europe. Under the umbrella of this new trademark, the company’s zeolite-based products will be grouped, which are widely used in the industrial sector such as: For further information about our zeolite-based products, click here.
IQE joins the Aragón Young Talent project
IQE participates in Aragón Young Talent 2020, a program aimed at young people in their last year of studies or recent graduates, which was created with the aim of identifying and highlighting the emerging talent of Aragón. This initiative promoted by the ESIC and Heraldo de Aragón business school and which has the participation of the main Aragonese companies, aims to prevent the brain drain and help young people to grow professionally in the most emblematic and consolidated companies of the Community. It is an innovative format due to the possibility given to young people recently graduated from Aragonese universities to train in how to face a selection process and to acquire the basic tools to function within the company. In the company, the proactivity of the candidates will be valued, as well as the desire to learn and develop in an innovative industrial environment, the ability to work as a team, the passion to face challenges with enthusiasm and the willingness to participate in the IQE project.
Activities of the IQE Chair
The IQE Chair is based at the Sciences School of the University of Zaragoza and its activity focuses on promoting research, dissemination and social projection of Science; promoting the application of technologies to the welfare of society, and whatever other activities are considered of mutual interest. Recently, the IQE Chair has presented the 2019 Activity Report, among which different dissemination activities are detailed: