JEDDAH — Cristal, the world's second largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide, will unveil for the first time in Saudi Arabia during Yanbu's first environment conference the company's leading edge titanium dioxide technologies that are helping address the most fundamental needs of populations worldwide: waste management and depollution. The two-day conference on “Best Environmental Techniques for Industrial Waste Management” and technical exhibition that will start today (Nov. 20), will be inaugurated by Prince Abdulaziz Bin Majed, Governor of Madina, alongside Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, and Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Thunayyan Al-Saud, Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. The event will bring together government, energy providers, EPC contractors and waste management suppliers to examine issues of how to safely and sustainably deal with waste, and discuss policies, legislation, monitoring and control of waste management across all industries in the Kingdom. As principal sponsor of the conference, Cristal will present in particular how its research collaboration on waste management with King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh has led to an environmentally friendly innovation that has already found commercial application in the Saudi construction sector and opened up new business opportunities for nationals. “CristalACTiV”, the patented and award-winning invention, which won a gold medal at the 39th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva and an award at the Malaysia Technology Expo in 2011, uses solid byproduct from titanium dioxide manufacturing as partial replacement for cement and cement-based products. Cement manufacturing releases huge volumes of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, into the atmosphere. Cristal was also able to invent a process that re-uses the silica sand waste from its facility in Yanbu with a rate of 60 tons per day and divert this material from the landfill. This process was developed based on a research program at Cristal Yanbu R&D center and was successful commercialized for the production of ultra-pure sodium silicate and dry silica. All feed materials for this plant is used from on-site units with a current capacity of 20,000 tons/year of sodium silicate and dry silica products. Since 1989, when Cristal was established in Yanbu with a path-breaking technology transfer agreement for bringing the rights to manufacture titanium dioxide to Saudi Arabia using the ‘cleaner' chloride process, the company has gone the extra mile in assuming its corporate social responsibility by not only continually training and employing Saudi youth but also creating downstream business opportunities for them. Today, as a global company leading the way with a sterling record of innovation for environmental sustainability, Cristal still remains steadfast in its endeavor to transfer its vast knowledge base in the titanium dioxide industry to Saudi Arabia. An example of this commitment is Cristal's partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Industry Collaboration Program (KICP) to expand opportunities and convert discoveries into practical applications for the benefit of the people of Saudi Arabia, the region and the world. Additionally, Cristal has launched this year the Cristal Academy, which will leverage the company's global expertise and enable individual, team and organizational success through the development and maintenance of its critical skills base and the systematic transfer of knowledge. Dr. Talal Al-Shair, Chairman and CEO of Cristal, said “social commitment is the bedrock of the company's unique business model based on the exceptional properties and characteristics of titanium. Our research success over the past two decades has led to titanium dioxide being widely used as depollution catalysts in electricity producing power plants and in diesel vehicles.” “Titanium-based materials are finding use in desalination plants, construction materials, and the energy industries. The world is only beginning to experience how our titanium science is revolutionizing environmental engineering for a cleaner and brighter planet. Our sustainable technologies help improve air quality, potentially reducing state health care costs.” — SG
