AZ carbon reactivation plant earns 2014 Excellence in Sustainability Award

May 27, 2014
During the Arizona Manufacturers Council's (AMC) annual Manufacturer of the Year Summit & Awards Luncheon, Calgon Carbon Corporation received the 2014 Excellence in Sustainability Award for its Gila Bend, Ariz., plant.


PITTSBURGH, PA, May 27, 2014 -- During the Arizona Manufacturers Council's (AMC) annual Manufacturer of the Year Summit & Awards Luncheon, held on Wednesday, May 14, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel in Phoenix, Ariz., Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC: NYSE) received the 2014 Excellence in Sustainability Award for its Gila Bend, Ariz., plant.

The AMC recognizes those in the manufacturing industry that have advanced the state's economy by producing superior products and providing high-quality jobs. The newly-constructed Gila Bend plant is Calgon Carbon's most modern and energy-efficient facility to recycle, or reactivate, granular activated carbon (GAC), which is used in drinking water applications. The company expects the potential for job growth over the next three years.

According to Randy Dearth, chairman, president and CEO of Calgon Carbon, GAC products from the Gila Bend plant help protect public drinking water against multiple threats. These threats include disinfection by-products and various organic contaminants, including contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), that find their way into the drinking water supply.

The facility was designed and built exclusively to provide custom reactivation of GAC. Custom reactivation means GAC used by one customer is processed separately from the GAC of all other customers and subsequently returned to the originating customer. Reactivation also avoids the need for customers to use more costly landfill or incineration options.

A growing number of Arizona water utilities are already taking advantage of the cost savings and environmental benefits provided by the Gila Bend reactivation facility, including the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale, among others. Currently, the 847,000-square-foot plant produces 15 million pounds of reactivated carbon per year for use by municipalities.

During the reactivation process, organic compounds that have been captured by GAC are destroyed by being subjected to high temperatures that, at the same time, restore the GAC to a usable state. This results in a cost savings for the customer over the use of virgin carbon. The reactivation/recycling process is also better for the environment, with a reduced CO2 footprint as compared to the manufacture of virgin activated carbon.

The custom reactivation process employed at the Gila Bend plant is a Calgon Carbon innovation that has reduced the cost of using GAC by as much as 40 percent and has also reduced the carbon footprint associated with GAC utilization by up to 80 percent. To further advance its environmental sustainability practices, all of the packaging materials at the Gila Bend plant are recycled.

See also:

"Custom Reactivation: Emerging Practices of Environmental Responsibility"

"AZ carbon reactivation facility provides new jobs, environmental responsibility"

"Calgon Carbon to provide carbon reactivation services for Phoenix drinking water facility"

About Calgon Carbon

Calgon Carbon Corporation is the world's largest producer of GAC and supplies more than 100 types of activated carbon products -- in granular, powdered, pelletized and cloth form -- for more than 700 distinct applications. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., the company employs approximately 1,100 people at more than 15 manufacturing, reactivation and equipment facilities in the U.S., Asia and Europe, where it is known as Chemviron Carbon. For more information, visit www.calgoncarbon.com.

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