Sustainable water management

EPIC, Enzymatic Process Innovation by Christeyns, is based on enzyme technology that allows laundries to reduce their wastewater costs by 25%. 

Challenges in water management

Alain Bostoen, CEO of Christeyns: "Industrial laundries are facing several water challenges: the cost and availability of water, the cost of discharging wastewater and ever-stricter environmental regulations concerning its discharge. With EPIC, we can help laundries meet discharge standards and reduce wastewater costs. Currently, the technology is already being used in more than ten European laundries." 

Reducing pollution units

It is surfactants that give a detergent its cleaning properties. However, these components have a negative impact on wastewater quality. Thanks to the EPIC detergent system, these surfactants are reduced by 50 percent and supplemented by biological enzymes. This reduces the wastewater load by twenty to thirty per cent, providing substantial savings for laundries.  

Tailored to the stain

Enzymes have been used in textile care for many years. Their catalytic properties act as an accelerator on certain chemical reactions. So, what makes EPIC so innovative?

Olivier Mareau, application manager and EPIC project manager, explains: "EPIC is a flexible detergent system in which the enzyme mixtures are created and dosed according to the stain. These unique mixtures are dosed in the washing process separately from the adapted, enzyme-compatible detergent. So, it is not a standard all-in-one detergent. 

Because we target stains, only a low dose of the mixture is needed for the desired effect. In a standard laundry process for hotel linen, two to four grams of detergent are dosed per kilogram of linen. With EPIC, this quantity is reduced to less than 0.9 grams.” 

Ecological footprint

Working with enzymes requires expertise. In early 2019, Christeyns' R&D department and Corporate Application team started developing the EPIC detergent system. These EPIC mixtures are produced on site at the customer's premises to be dosed very precisely and safely, directly into the wash process. This is done by means of a high-tech, in-house developed unit, EPIX, that doses from 0.05 grams per kilogram of textile. 

Because enzymes are biological in origin and due to the low dosages, the carbon footprint is up to 20% lower compared to a standard washing process.  This is further reduced as both transport and storage requirements are minimized.

“Polluting water as little as possible and reusing it as much as possible are the key objectives in our sustainable water management goals,“ states Justin Kerslake, Commercial Director Christeyns UK.“ We are excited to offer our customers in the UK this revolutionary new technology, to take them one step further in meeting their sustainable targets.”

This follows the launch last year of HydRO for laundries a joint venture with the Belgian company Veride to help laundries reduce fresh water consumption.

For more information visit christeyns.com