ECOVE SRC’s Waste Isopropanol Recovery Business and Carbon-Neutral Plant: A CTCI Milestone in Circular Economy

— Hsiu-Yu Kuo, President of ECOVE Waste Management Corp., Group Resource Cycling Business, CTCI

Being the key driving force for Taiwan's exports, the electronic components industry uses a lot of chemical agents and solvents in the manufacturing process, such as photoresist, developer, etching solution, acetone, and isopropanol. Traditionally, these chemical agents and solvents are regarded as waste and are burned in incinerators. With an eye towards recovering these waste solvents, CTCI Group established ECOVE Solvent Recycling Corporation (ECOVE SRC) in 2018, whose primary business focus lies in waste treatment for the high-tech industries. Due to considerations on the division of labor and the overall efficiency of human resources, the front-end waste solution removal and transportation, as well as the operation planning of the entire ECOVE SRC plant, are entrusted to ECOVE Waste Management Corp. (ECOVE WMC), which is also a part of CTCI Group. With ECOVE WMC’s deep understanding of waste characteristics and its ability to integrate advanced technologies for reuse, we can expect to bring out the best benefits and continuous optimization of processes.

This article will briefly talk about how ECOVE SRC helps semiconductor manufacturers recycle and recover the waste isopropanol (IPA) solvents generated during the manufacturing process, keep increasing their concentration, and boost product value by effectively cutting the carbon emissions generated in the treatment process, which is a successful achievement in terms of the circular economy. The article will also touch on ECOVE SRC’s carbon-neutral plant, a milestone in its net zero effort in support for the global cause for net zero emissions. ECOVE SRC is now the first enterprise in Taiwan to receive dual certificates for circular economy and carbon neutrality.

With over two decades of experience in waste management, CTCI Group has thorough understanding on waste and its characteristics, knows how to properly handle waste, and draws on smart technologies and big data management to aid treatment. This makes CTCI Group an expert in waste management and incineration, green energy, recycling and recovery, as well as electrical and mechanical maintenance. With advanced integrative technologies, ECOVE SRC is capable of optimizing the distillation separation facilities to increase the recycling and recovery efficiency of waste solvents. Customers can be reassured by ECOVE SRC’s process transparency in solvent removal, transportation, and final treatment.

Reliable Realized

Energy-Saving Process that Minimizes Emissions; One-Stop Service for Low-Carbon and Sustainability

Below we offer further details on how ECOVE SRC boosts resource cycling efficiency, saves energy, and cuts process-related emissions through integrative technologies, as well as ECOVE SRC’s one-stop service. 

1.ECOVE SRC helps customers reduce carbon emissions by replacing the heavy oil used in the manufacturing process for fuel to liquefied natural gas (LNG). To save power, a frequency converter has been added to the transfer pump of the detention tank at the wastewater treatment plant. To save fuel cost and reduce carbon emissions, the heat exchanger for raw material preheating is scaled up, which helps improve the efficiency of raw materials. These active measures allow ECOVE SRC to gradually achieve low-carbon and sustainable management.

2.ECOVE SRC offers customers a low-carbon and sustainable one-stop service that covers the production, removal, transportation, recovery, and disposal of IPA. A mechanism is in place to ensure strict controls of the quality and entry of waste IPA. Waste IPA tests are carried out either in-house or outsourced. Waste IPA removal and transportation is carried out by another CTCI company, ECOVE WMC. A sound sales channel, along with a tracking and inspection mechanism, allows ECOVE SRC to track the whereabouts and subsequent uses of recovered products. All recovered products are tested before they leave the plant to ensure they meet customers’ quality requirements.

One of the services that ECOVE Waste Management Corp. offers is the removal and transportation of waste solvents.

Project Highlights

Accredited and Award-Winning Company Thanks to Smart and Green Technology

ECOVE SRC applies smart and green technology in its low-carbon recycling and recovery services. It is not only an ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001, and ISO 14064-1 certified company, but also the first company in Taiwan with accredited achievement in international circular economy and carbon neutrality, thanks to its verified carbon-neutral production plant that saw improvement in its processes and the use of green electricity. Committed to sustainability, ECOVE SRC continues to improve its technologies and the efficiency of resource recovery. Since its establishment, the company has fulfilled the spirit of circular economy through its actions, and has been commended with various awards, including the highest honor two-star Taiwan Circular Economy Outstanding Enterprise Award and the National Enterprise Environmental Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Administration, Taiwan.

Smarter Engineering

Raising Product Value through Vapor Permeation

ECOVE SRC seeks to extract value from waste IPA through endless study and application of waste IPA recovery technologies. The company can raise the waste isopropanol concentration from 5% to 85% through distillation separation technology, before raising the concentration further to 99.5% through extraction distillation technology, which greatly enhances the value of the product. Details are as follows:
1.Vapor permeation (see figure below), a type of membrane separation method, is far superior than the conventional distillation, extraction, and adsorption methods, as it helps overcome the technical challenges in the past. Vapor permeation is particularly advantageous when it comes to small or trace amount of water removal.

2.The permeation process simply works with vacuum pressure and post-membrane pressure, without the need of a third component. The derived high-value product and the low environmental load make vapor permeation a "clean technology." Compared with conventional distillation, extraction and adsorption technologies, vapor permeation can help save more than 75% energy and drive the waste IPA recovery rate up to 99%.

3.The recovered high-concentrate IPA can have its concentration readjusted to tailor different market demands and broaden its applications. That way, resources can be better utilized. By turning waste back into a product, not only does this extend the lifecycle of the original product, the waste also becomes more valuable economically.

Message from the Owner

With its expertise, forward-looking thinking, and innovative technology, CTCI Group has created a circular economy model in terms of waste solvent recovery for our semiconductor fabs. From removal, transporting, to recovery, at every step they show professionalism and excellent coordination. Moreover, they never stop innovating and improving efficiency. In my view, CTCI Group is a reliable upstream partner.

                                                                           
--Chia-Chen Yin, Director of Risk Management, Safety, and Environment Department, UMC