Omya unveils new tailing facility
|
|
Omya employees take Vermont officials, including Gov. James Douglas, on a tour of the new expansion project at the Florence plant. Vyto Starinskas / Rutland Herald |
Toolbox
By Gordon Dritschilo Staff Writer - Published: October 9, 2009
PITTSFORD — All Omya needs now is a use for its tailings.
Gov. James Douglas cut the ribbon at the official opening at the company's tailing dewatering facility, a $10 million addition to its Florence plant that a company official said opens the door for it to find a use for the plant's chief waste product.
Company officials said the plant came online in June.
Tailings are residue from a chemical process used to remove impurities from the calcium carbonate refined at the plant. Michael Laurent, the company's environmental manager, said the tailings are roughly half calcium carbonate and half "impurities."
The process that removes them leaves the tiny particles mixed with water. Omya has historically disposed of them in pits on the site.
The company is seeking a permit to build a lined landfill, but Laurent said it is also looking for ways to use the resulting materials — something it couldn't do without a way of separating the tailings from the water.
Laurent said the company has sent samples of tailings to asphalt and concrete companies as well as companies that make decorative brick and flooring. He said the residue could also have agricultural uses.
"We have a team of not only sales guys, but engineers, scientists," Laurent said. "Obviously, this facility coming on line is what's opened the door to finding end uses."
The automated facility first drains water from the tailings through a large tank and then through an accordion-like filter press. A blast of compressed air completes the process, with a resulting mixture of 90 percent solids. The water is recycled within the Omya plant.
The tailings, and how Omya disposes of them, have been a point of contention between the company and neighbors concerned about the effects chemicals in the waste might have on the local water supply.
"This is real progress," said activist Annette Smith, who has acted as a watchdog of Omya. "It's nice to be here. I'm not treated like the enemy and this reflects the efforts to build a good relationship between the company and the community."
Gov. Douglas spoke of the importance of removing tax and regulatory barriers in order to help businesses prosper.
"Omya is a crucial employer in the Rutland region," he said. "Ensuring companies like Omya are successful is important … to the economic well-being of the area."
gordon.dritschilo@rutlandherald.com
10