New facilities benefit environment and community

Today, DSM Resins has inaugurated new facilities in Schoonebeek (Netherlands) that will enable the Schoonebeek plants to cut their overall consumption of natural gas by nearly 1 million m3 per year, reduce their CO2 emissions by 15% and greatly reduce the emission of NOx, dust and organic components. The new facility will moreover result in a trouble-free process, eliminating the risk of odor nuisance and leading to a further increase in security of supply.

DSM Resins’ Schoonebeek unit produces powder coating resins that are used in paints and coatings for the automotive and construction industries, among others. In the old situation, the plant that produces these resins included an incinerator that had three functions: supplying heat to the reactors, incinerating waste water and burning waste gases. The new facility replaces this system and provides an optimum route for all three functions.

In the new system, heat is supplied to the reactors by a thermal oil furnace with a capacity of more than 6 megawatts. This furnace is much more efficient than the previously used incinerator, resulting in major energy savings. Waste water incineration had already been abandoned in early 2008, being replaced by biological purification. And waste gases are treated in the new facility with a so-called regenerative thermal oxidizer, which removes more than 99% of all organic components. The two new units, in combination with the biological treatment of waste water, together result in natural-gas savings totaling close to 1 million m3 per year. This is equivalent to the total annual gas consumption of about 300 households (the average consumption per household being 3,000 m3/yr).

Eward Hofstede, site manager at DSM Resins in Schoonebeek, is proud of the new facility: “This new facility enables us to achieve several important environmental and energy-saving targets for the plant in one go and make a solid contribution to DSM’s sustainability policy. The new facility is yet another proof that economic gain (resulting from energy savings) and environmental benefits can go hand in hand. And since the new facility has eliminated the risk of odor nuisance, we are also investing in our community relations.”

DSM – the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company

Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM’s products and services are used globally in a wide range of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing. DSM has annual sales of almost EUR 8.8 billion and employs some 23,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information: www.dsm.com.

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. The statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore DSM does not guarantee that its expectations will be realized. Furthermore, DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release. The Dutch language version of this press release is leading.