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Water consumption
Shell chemicals companies are committed to using materials and energy efficiently to provide products and services.
Water consumption performance
In 2006, Shell chemicals companies used approximately 75 million cubic metres of water from all sources. This is a slight increase on 2005 when consumption was approximately 70 million cubic metres.
The great majority of water used in our manufacturing processes comes from surface water sources. Usually, this water is used as once-through cooling water and does not come into contact with any of the process streams before being returned to source.
How are we reducing our water consumption?
Various projects are underway across the Shell chemicals companies to reduce water consumption. The most successful of these has been the development of a process to deal with the waste water generated in the manufacture of styrene and propylene oxide. As this process allows waste water to be recycled back into the production process, fresh water usage is reduced significantly.