solvay_live243_p02a04 somEdito

100638
E-BILLING TO SIMPLIFY AND SPEED THE MANUAL
INVOICE HANDLING PROCESS,
IN PERFECT COMPLIANCE WITH THE EC LAW
FASTER, LEGALLY CONFORM
AND PAPERLESS!
Reducing the time spent on invoice
handling, avoiding errors and integrating
the electronic processes: that is what the
introduction of electronic billing sets out to
achieve. And it will save around 600 000 sheets
of paper into the bargain. This project
coincides with the entry into force of the
European directive on electronic billing and
the transposal of this regulation into national
law. Based on an estimated 200 000 annual
invoices, the project claims to generate a
cost-saving of EUR 300 000. Taking into
account both the cost of the programmes
and the setting up of the new system, the
investment pays for itself in only three
months! The electronic invoice, a “pdf”
document is completed by the certified
electronic signature, according to the legal
requirements. Both are sent to the client by
e-mail. The software of Authentidate AG,
was selected in September 2005 and the
server and the software were set up during
the first quarter of 2006. The project is being
tested in Spain with the Solvay Chemicals
and SolVin clients. It will then be rolled out
in all for all the European customers and for
the 3S entity for the ‘self-billing’ to suppliers.
Solvay is thus joining the select circle of the
five chemical companies in the world to offer
such a service to its clients.
> Haimo Zekoll; Bernadette Hislaire; Chantal Liesse;
Christophe Pariset; Montserrat Paulos;
Richard Verlaque.
> CHEMICALS SECTOR
105231
MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN THE EXTRACTION
AND OPTIMIZATION OF FLUORSPAR
RECOVERY AT THE SOLVAY OKORUSU
FLUORSPAR MINE - NAMIBIA
A MINE OF GOOD
IDEAS AT OKORUSU
Since the acquisition of the Okorusu
mine (Namibia) by Solvay in 1997,
constant efforts have been made to improve
the production of fluorspar concentrates
(CaF2). The ore contains between 30 and
40% of CaF2. The mine, which carries out the
flotation of the ore on site to extract sterile
gangue, supplies its concentrates to the
Solvay plants of Bad Wimpfen (Germany)
and Porto Marghera (Italy). Production
increased gradually from 23 000 tonnes
in 1997 to 80 000 tonnes in 2003. The main
difficulties lied in producing a 97%
concentrate of CaF2 while maintaining the
presence of the other elements in line
with the required specifications. A first
breakthrough was achieved through the use
of a new reagent, which saw production
spiral to 104 000 tonnes in 2004. However,
the process developed called for specific ores
with a very low carbonate content and
consequently, thousands of tonnes of ore
with an excessive carbonate content were
building up as they were unsuitable
for production. On the initiative of Dr
Gerstenberg, the research concentrated on
treating the concentrates with an acid. Under
the supervision of Roy Verburgt, the team
made further progress by using NH4FHF
(ammonia bifluoride), which made it possible
to improve the safety and management of
the leaching process. The technology was
immediately rolled out at industrial level
in August of 2005. These improvements
restored the profitability of the mine, which
had been endangered by the appreciation
of the local currency. The possibility of
exploiting a poorer ore and obtaining a
richer concentrate considerably increased the
mine’s lifetime. It has set itself a production
goal of 127 000 tonnes in 2007.
> Rolf Gerstenberg; Mark Dawe; Willem Nependa;
Roy Verburgt.
> SBU FLUOR
Performance improvement
101361
A REVOLUTION IN HEAT TRANSFER AT HIGH
PRESSURE: THIN WALL REACTOR
ONE INNOVATION
AFTER THE OTHER
In chemical processes that require the use
of pressurized, heated or refrigerated reactors,
the heat is transferred via a double jacket
through the wall of the reactor. Generally,
the thickness of the reactor is increased
in line with the pressure and the diameter,
which, at the same time, reduces the transfer
of heat. Several technological attempts have
therefore been made to reduce the thickness
of the wall, in particular through a special,
complicated and thus costly design.
The SolVin teams thought along other lines
to break the dependency between the
internal pressure and the thickness of the
wall involved in the heat transfer. They
worked on the idea of a very thin laser
welded internal wall, formed through
hydrodeformation at high pressure. To
achieve this result, it was necessary to tackle
the process itself, by balancing the pressures
of the reactor and of the cooling water. The
thickness of the internal wall could thus be
drastically reduced (from 27 to 1.5 mm) and
the heat transfer was doubled. A first
application of the process has proven
successful in Jemeppe (Belgium) on a reactor
of 100 litres. Various modelling
and engineering studies have demonstrated
the industrial feasibility of the process.
The development prospects are quite broad,
as the process can be applied to all high
pressure heat transfer procedures.
> Jean-Paul Bindelle; Jean-Marie Blairon;
Daniel Borremans; Olivier Brulard;Thierry Cartage;
Manuel de Francisco; Stéphane Ghislain;
Maryse Granville; Philippe Guiche; Claude Laugel;
Dominique Martinez.
> SBU VINYLS
J U L Y 2 0 0 6
49