Intel's Successful Water Conservation Program
at Ocotillo
Costs and Benefits of
Water Recycling
Costs
Intel's
corporate-wide
costs: over
$100 million.
Ocotillo facility:
more than $20
million.*
Cost of
installing and
operating the
reverse-osmosis
treatment
plant.
Installing the
grey water
intake system.
Minimal cost of
process changes
to optimize
water use;
fixing leaks and
reducing waste.
Extra
equipment
and effort to
collect waste
rinse water
for internal
recycling.
*approximate
amount spent
between 1998
and 2006.
Savings and
Other Benefits
Builds a valuable network
of collaboration with local
government and community.
Uses waste water, reducing
cost in the long run.
Reduces the amount of
industrial wastewater
requiring treatment.
Eliminates system shutdowns
due to feed-water quality
and supply issues, enabling
Intel to maintain leadership
in a fast-moving industry.
Protects natural systems and
public health.
Marketable improvements
in corporate environmental
performance.
National
Environmental
PerformanceTrack
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
PERFORMANCE TRACK FACILITY
Intel Arizona—Ocotillo Campus,
Chandler, Arizona
GOAL CATEGORY
Water Use
RELATED INDICATORS
Quantity of Water Used (gallons)
OVERVIEW
The reduction, reuse, and recycling of water has become a critical area of improvement
for facilities across the United States. Water should be sourced carefully, and it also
requires immense quantities of energy to treat and transport. To effectively manage this
critical resource, Performance Track facilities have developed leading-edge practices in
water conservation through improvements made in the Water Use goal category.
Intel's manufacturing and development facility at Ocotillo has had an extensive water
conservation and recycling program since the facility broke ground in the mid-1990s.
Located just outside Chandler, Arizona, Ocotillo requires up to 4 million gallons of
water a day to supply three "fabs" (semiconductor factories) located on the 700-acre
site. Before the fabs were built, Intel and the municipality of Chandler partnered to
install a reverse-osmosis facility that treats and recharges drinking water quality water
back to the underground aquifer.
Over the course of its water management partnership, Intel and the City of Chandler
have recharged approximately 1 billion gallons of municipal water back into the aquifer,
and, after more than a decade of strategic infrastructure development and conservation
measures, the Ocotillo facility treats or recycles for internal or external use up to 75
percent of the water used during manufacturing. Careful planning and collaboration
with the local municipality gave Intel room to expand while ensuring that the area's
water resources would be managed sustainably for the future.
HOW THE WATER RECYCLING SYSTEM WORKS
Recycling water at a semiconductor facility like Ocotillo involves the reuse of water
used in wafer processing. The stage where most of the water is consumed occurs
during the rinsing process. Ocotillo's water conservation system is part of a corporate-
wide environmental strategy based on Design for the Environment principles, which
emphasize continuous improvement through innovation and aggressive waste and
resource management. Intel's four-tiered approach to water management on the
Ocotillo campus has been a driving force behind this program's success, as well as a
cornerstone of its Performance Track goals. The approach covers four areas:
* Aquifer recharge in partnership with the City of Chandler
* Internal water reuse in mechanical systems
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* Reuse of treated effluent (grey water) from external sources
in mechanical systems and landscaping
* Implementation of new process technologies that use
less water
To recharge the local aquifer, Intel partnered with the local
municipal government to build a reverse-osmosis treatment
plant. Intel reached out to the community of Chandler early on,
identifying the needs of the city and investing in infrastructure
improvements accordingly. By being proactive and planning for
increased water consumption, Intel avoided the extra costs of
retrofitting to offset its growing demand for incoming city water.
Internal water reuse in the facility's mechanical systems is a
second water reduction strategy currently underway at Ocotillo.
This approach involves the reuse of water in areas where the
quality of water is not a primary concern. Rejected water from
the reverse osmosis process, along with spent rinse water, are
good candidates for this type of reuse. When reusing water
internally, water that contains corrosive ions that could damage
equipment components should be avoided. Additional treatment
may be necessary prior to reuse, such as alkalinity adjustments.
Intel Ocotillo also uses treated effluent, or grey water, in its
industrial systems (scrubbers and cooling towers) and for
site-wide irrigation. This practice minimizes industrial demand
on potable fresh incoming city water, a scarce and expensive
resource in the Desert Southwest.
New process technologies at Ocotillo that optimize water use
efficiency are specific to the wafer-production process and involve
shifting the proportions of reclaimed water/fresh water blends
in the cooling towers. The previous configuration for the cooling
towers used a blend of internal reuse water, reclaimed water, and
municipal water. To offset increased demand for internal reuse
water in scrubbers, the facility increased the amount of reclaimed
water used in cooling tower makeup to 73 percent.
IMPLEMENTATION
Facilities such as Ocotillo share a common challenge in their
water management strategies: developing higher product
performance and reliability can involve manufacturing processes
that are more complex and water-intensive. This means facility
managers will need to work harder to implement long-term
commitments to water conservation and efficiency. It is critical
that water use improvements are measured and calculated, an
area that can be facilitated by an Environmental Management
System (EMS) and participation in Performance Track.
At Ocotillo, flows that are sent to the City of Chandler's reverse
osmosis plant for recharge are monitored using continuous flow
totalizer meters. Incoming city water and reclaimed water are
measured via flow totalizer meters that are installed on-site,
and internal water reuse is tracked using flow meters. Monthly
readings are taken on the meters and these data are compiled
and aggregated through the facility EMS. The data can then
be used for internal and Performance Track reports. Having the
right instruments and the right monitoring processes in place
are critical to any effective water management plan—a facility
cannot improve what it cannot measure.
An illustrated diagram of Intel Ocotillo's Water Conservation Strategy.
BENEFITS OF WATER RECYCLING
Intel corporate has invested more than $100 million over the
past decade in water conservation programs globally. As a result
of its water recycling efforts, the Ocotillo campus took back
848 million gallons of treated wastewater from the city plant,
internally reused 559 million gallons of water, and treated 676
million gallons of water to drinking water standards to return to
the local underwater aquifer.
By conserving water, Ocotillo has been able to increase production
while mitigating the risks of disruptions associated with water
shortages and quality issues. Benefits include direct cost savings on
water bills; cost savings through reduced energy requirements for
heating, pumping, and treating water; and increased productivity
and process efficiency through optimized production cycles.
Furthermore, facilities can leverage their water conservation
efforts to improve relationships with stakeholders and as a way to
network and collaborate on new and better ways of continuous
improvement. Ocotillo provides a clear road map for water use
improvement and more examples can be found throughout the
network of National Performance Track facilities.
RESOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
* EPA's WaterSense Program [http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-
efficiency/index.htm] presents sector-specific suggestions
for water conservation measures, guidelines for developing
water conservation plans, and information on specific water
conservation measures. See WaterSense publications on water
efficiency for Industry [http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/
industry508.pdf] and Commercial Businesses [http://www.
epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/commercial508.pdf].
* The Global Reporting Initiative Water Protocol (PDF, 1 MB,
48 pp) [http://www.aeca.es/comisiones/rsc/documentos_
fundamentales_rsc/gri/technical_protocols/gri_water_protocol.
pdf] includes comprehensive measurement guidelines for a
variety of water indicators, including total water use. Annexes
1, 2, and 3 provide a worksheet for estimating water balance,
conversion factors, and a step-by-step guide to conducting a
water audit.
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