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Ross Products,
a division of Abbott Laboratories and a leading manufacturer
of adult and pediatric nutritionals, including infant
formula, has reduced costs and risk at several facilities
by eliminating non-value-added water use
and pursuing water reuse and recycling opportunities.
At its Michigan plant, the installation of a new cooling
tower enabled Ross Products to shut down three groundwater
wells, reducing water use by over a million gallons
per day. At other facilities, before discharge, boiler
blowdown water is circulated through a heat recovery
exchanger system to preheat water. Heat recovery projects
save each facility over $30,000 per year. Water from
process cooling is used for irrigation and cooling tower
make-up water. Recovered water systems save some Ross
Products facilities over $100,000 per year.
Ross Products Arizona and Michigan
facilities have taken creative steps to minimize potential
wastewater discharge impacts to local surfacewaters
from its nutritional operations. Wastewater with high
biological oxygen demand (BOD) concentrations is applied
to local fields used to produce straw grass for livestock
feed. The recycled wastewater serves as a fertilizer
while also reducing agricultural watering needs.

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