Cadbury Adams
Rockford, Illinois
Intern: Dawn Brady
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Cadbury Adams manufactures a variety of chewing gums at its Rockford facility,
including Bubblicious, Cinn-a-Burst, Dentyne Ice, and Trident. The company
also exports its gum base and encapsulated sweetener ingredients globally to Canada,
Europe, and South America. The intern student worked on several projects
at the facility.
Results:
- The first project focused on erosion at the facility’s 60-inch storm
drain. Storm water runoff from both the facility and an adjacent
subdivision are discharge into the storm drain. Non-contact cooling water
is also discharged into the drain. The student contacted a landscaping
contractor to install riprap and plant crown vetch to prevent further loss of
topsoil from erosion. Riprap at the storm drain exit will aerate the non-contact
water and protect the apron of the storm water drain exit.
- The intern identified several areas of the facility that could benefit from
the installation of occupancy sensors and other lighting modifications. This
could result in energy savings of over $1,400 a year.
- The intern conducted a survey to update the facility’s chemical use database,
along with the material safety data sheets for each chemical. The student
identified less hazardous substitutes for nine chemicals used at the facility.
- A dust survey was conducted with an instantaneous handheld monitor, confirming
that airborne dust levels in the facility complied with workplace safety standards. However,
it was determined that the dust may affect the operation of the heating, ventilation
and cooling system. The intern made several suggestions to further reduce
dust emissions from the material conveyance equipment.
- The intern investigated the reuse of non-contact cooling water, which totals
7.3 million gallons a year. If the non-contact cooling water were softened,
it could be used as makeup water to the cooling tower. This would save
the facility over $15,000 a year in purchased city water and chemical costs to
de-chlorinate the water prior to discharge. This project offers a 3-year
payback period.
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