Focus #3: Water

Responsible water management at the heart of our industrial performance

Water is an essential and increasingly valuable natural resource. As a committed industrial player, the Humens Group places sustainable water management and the reduction of water withdrawals at the core of its environmental strategy.

Water is a key component in the production process of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Our responsibility is therefore clear: to ensure industrial performance while preserving this resource and minimizing our impact on the natural environment.

Extraction and replenishment: responsible resource use

Novacarb is an industrial water user, but not a net consumer in the strict sense: almost all of the water withdrawn is returned to the natural environment after use and treatment, in full compliance with regulatory thresholds.

Water withdrawn from the Meurthe River is used for:

• The production of brine at Lenoncourt, which serves as a raw material in the industrial process
• Cooling process fluids and washing gases

After use, the water is returned to the river, with strict monitoring of physicochemical parameters through regular sampling and continuous monitoring systems.

Water withdrawn from the Marne–Rhine Canal is used for:

• The production of demineralized water to generate steam supplying industrial boilers (Novacarb, Novawood, Novacogé and Novasteam)
• Cooling installations

Part of this water is already recycled in a closed-loop system using cooling towers, thereby reducing the need for additional withdrawals.