FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company that manufactures crop protection tools, is undertaking initiatives to reduce water and energy use at its operating sites.
FMC's Manati site in Puerto Rico consumes a lot of energy – about 31,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually – and relies heavily on grid electricity. Frequent hurricanes in the area leave the facility vulnerable to power outages. To address these challenges, the Manati site sought to implement sustainability initiatives that reduce the site’s reliance on electricity from the grid and allow it to benefit from extreme rain events.
In 2023, the FMC Manati team initiated a multi-stage cooling tower optimization project that included installing a variable frequency drive (VFD) to optimize fan speeds and a rainwater harvesting system that has the capacity to collect up to 22,000 gallons of rainwater monthly. As a result of the VFD and using rainwater as a water source for the cooling tower, FMC found that the site improved energy efficiency by 75 percent, reduced well water consumption by 25 percent, and reduced wastewater by 21 percent.
The reduced energy demand and use of stormwater runoff improved the site’s resiliency during climate-related events like hurricanes. The project also reduced blowdown—a process that involves removing some water from a cooling tower and replacing it with fresh water—due to lower mineral content of rainwater, stormwater runoff, and volume to the on-site wastewater treatment plant. The Manati site plans to implement additional rainwater harvesting projects and install a second VFD. The success of the project has inspired replication of rainwater harvesting at other FMC sites around the world.
According to FMC, the cooling tower optimization project contributes to the company’s broader sustainability strategy by continuing to drive progress toward its 2035 Environmental Commitments, including:
- 100% waste to beneficial reuse
- Net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- The implementation of sustainable water practices at every FMC site
The project also contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs): 6. Clean water, 12. Responsible consumption and production, and 13. Climate action.
