Renault banking on Zero Discharge in Tangiers

The car manufacturer, Renault, has succeeded in the challenge of building a non-polluting production plant in Tangiers, in the North of Morocco.

The site is said to be the largest in the region and also the cleanest, a venture led by the international corporation, Veolia. They have been involved since the initial conception of the unit, which is to avoid all pollution and make Renault Melloussa a “zero discharge” factory.

One of the key components of the factory is the biomass boiler which uses natural biofuels – wood or agricultural waste, such as olive or argan pits. It was presented by Veolia as being a technical advance in the field of creating thermic energy from natural resources.

The process is a scientific pilot to find a means of achieving efficient production with the minimum discharge and residue. This boiler really makes it possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 98%, or the equivalent of 135,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year. The few remaining tonnes will be compensated by the purchase of carbon credits or by the production of renewable energy in situ.

The factory also regulates its water consumption (reduced to 70%), which it uses in closed systems. This entails a veritable mini water-treatment plant with filtering using an osmosis procedure with industrial quality purified water. This water supplies a number of essential processes in the factory, including surface treatment of the cars and painting. The project received the Sustainable Energy prize from the European Commission in April 2011, in the Production category.

Ali Abjiou

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