Dalton, Ga.-based carpet company J+J Flooring Group has assumed full-time operational
responsibilities for its ECOCYCLE™/Aquafinity® industrial water reuse system from Knoxville,
Tenn.-based water solutions company Aqua-Chem Inc. The two companies worked together to design and
develop the first dyehouse wastewater reuse system for the carpet industry, and partnered in the
day-to-day running of the system to improve operational parameters and finished product quality.
J+J sought technology to reduce the company’s water usage by 66 percent by 2020 as part of
its 20/20 Sustainability Vision. This quest led the company to partner with Aqua-Chem to create a
solution. Features of the resulting patent-pending system include heat recovery, multiple
filtration steps and membrane technology to treat wastewater for reuse in industrial applications.
“From the beginning of this project, J+J had the objective, focus and understanding to
actively take part in the development of this technology to decrease their water and energy
consumption,” said David Gensterblum, president and CEO, Aqua-Chem. “Together, J+J Flooring Group
and Aqua-Chem have been committed to developing a process that minimizes water consumption and
offers opportunities for energy recovery.”
Approximately 68 percent of J+J’s dyehouse waste effluent is treated using Aqua-Chem’s
technology. The still-warm treated water is returned to the becks to be reused in the wet-dye
manufacturing process, providing virgin water and energy savings. According to Tom Pendley,
corporate vice president, operations and finance, J+J Flooring, the carpet company hopes to save
more than 23 million gallons of water and $200,000 annually by using the Ecocycle process, known as
Aquafinity within the carpet industry. “We are very confident that the Aqua-Chem Ecocycle/J+J
Aquafinity system will support our effort to reach our year 2020 water sustainability mandate,”
Pendley said.
“We believe our Ecocycle wastewater system is a game changer and the wave of the future in
the global water purification market,” Gensterblum said. “Clean water is an increasingly valuable
commodity everywhere and our ground-breaking process addresses clean water as a critical expense
and environmental issue for a wide range of manufacturers. Aqua-Chem’s state-of-the-art Ecocycle
water purification technology lowers operating costs dramatically by allowing reuse of wastewater
in the manufacturing process. This is a green-themed solution, both environmentally and
economically, that works for a wide range of manufacturers.”
September 3, 2013
