Today we visited Nouryon, a chemical producing company located in Deventer, Netherlands. A Pitt alumni, Christine, explained to us how Nouryon sells the chemical ingredients used to make products, so they act as the building blocks to a product. These chemicals are primarily sold to other practices that produce a service such as a mining company who need to extract certain materials, or practices that produce a product like paint, detergent, etc.. Christine expressed that Nouryon uses toll manufacturing for some companies which is when they ask for a specific chemical directly for their own use, or make general in-house products.
Nouryon has an extremely large global footprint, including sites in Brazil, United States, China, and many more. Their international presence increases their amount of competitors immensely, and is why Nouryon prides its self in impressive sustainability and safety scores. Just last year, they scored an A- ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) score, and have not had an injury in the workplace in seven years.
When we first walked into the site, I remember that there were solar panels lined up across the grass. During the presentation, Christine said solar energy from these solar panels contributes to part the 34% of total energy that is based on renewable resources, the other part being wind turbines and hydroelectricity. They also use raw materials that are bio-based, and have five carbon neutral plants to aid in their sustainability goals. This ensures that customers are getting chemicals that are to be used sustainably, but are also produced sustainably. However, Nouryon is still not close to a perfect sustainability goal. The faculty expressed that they still wish to improve offsetting carbon dioxide emissions, increase renewable energy sources, and further reduce water usage and waste generation in the future.
After the introductory presentation we split up into groups and visited some of the labs where they make and taste their chemicals. First, my group got to see how different dish and laundry detergents are tested in a lab setting. I thought it was very interesting now they tested the dish detergent on a dirtiness scale from 1 being the most dirty to 10 being no spots at all, but if it was anything above a 6 then it meant it was good detergent. I was confused at first because I thought why would you not just make it go up to ten. However, when the faculty explained that anything above six looks just as clean to the average person in house-hold lighting and would require less money and resources to make, it made a lot of sense.
Next we visited an interactive lab where they tested how heat and encasement can effect organic peroxides. We saw how compared to acetone it was a lot less flammable but a much wider flame when it did ignite. When the peroxide was enclosed in a capsule, the gas released increased the pressure so much that there was an explosion. I was extremely excited to see things we learned in chemistry class throughout this year being applied in a real world scenario. After this we visited their laboratory that identified unknown specimens using advanced machines. Being a bioengineer, this was enlightening to see how these machines operate because I could one day be making these and assisting in chemical production. I left the Nouryon company visit feeling like I had learned so much about scientific processes through a sustainable lens.
To end the night we had hors d’oeuvres with Pitt alum that had moved to the Netherlands. It was very interesting to hear everyones story on how they ended up living in Amsterdam and what they do for work/how they got to where they are within their positions. I also got to try bitterballen for the first time, which is a very traditional appetizer in the Netherlands, which I quite enjoyed. Afterwards, we checked out a nearby music festival that was lined with food trucks and live music. It seemed like everyone from the town was there to enjoy good food and each others company. See you tomorrow Amsterdam!