' Vitro Glass Plant Cited as National Model for Water Reclamation '
Shan Chowdhury MSc,MA(FD),PGDAM,PGDAMT,PGDFD,MPhil-Ch.E
Director of Operations and Creative Management Services at Green Group
Vitro Glass and the city of Wichita Falls were recognized for a $1.9 million project that diverts treated non-potable wastewater from the city’s Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant to seven glass-cooling towers operated by Vitro Glass.The Wichita Falls, Texas, plant operated by Vitro 'Architectural Glass' (formerly PPG Glass) has been cited as a national model for water reclamation in a case study published by the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF). Vitro Glass and the city of Wichita Falls were recognized for a $1.9 million project that diverts treated non-potable wastewater from the city’s Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant to seven glass-cooling towers operated by Vitro Glass, which has reduced potable water consumption at the facility by more than 50 million gal per year. The project, which was implemented during extreme drought conditions in 2014 and 2015, included construction of a 1-million-gal reservoir to store non-potable water on-site, as well as the rerouting of rinse water for a glass coater and washer.
“More than half the funds for the water optimization project were provided by the Wichita Falls Economic Development Council,” said Bill Haley, manager of the Wichita Falls plant. “The management team at the city’s wastewater treatment facility also demonstrated exceptional foresight by obtaining the necessary permits to sell non-potable water before the project was under consideration.”
Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) will display two extra-large insulating glass units (IGUs), a glass wall and multiple large panels of glass to showcase its products and expanded technical, service and production capabilities at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference on Architecture 2017 in Orlando, Florida, April 27-29.
The Vitro Glass booth will house a pair of 55-by-32-inch IGUs fabricated with Solarban? 90 solar control, low-e glass on clear and Starphire Ultra-Clear? glass substrates. Formulated with the industry’s first quad-silver coating, Solarban 90 glass combines robust solar control with high visible light transmittance to meet architect demands for greater transparency and improved energy-saving performance. A glass wall decorated with painted glass, tinted glass and patterned bird-safe glass by Vitro Glass alliance partner, Walker Glass, will be accompanied by several additional large glass panels featuring Solarban 70XL on clear glass, Solarban 70XL on Optigray? glass and Solarban z75, Solarban 67 and Sungate? 400 passive low-e glasses.
Attendees will receive information about new specification tools, such as the recently expanded "Construct tool", which allows users to configure virtual IGUs online and to quickly generate 3-part specifications in the Construction Specifiers Institute (CSI) format. They also will learn about Architects’ GPS (Guide to Glass Product Selection), an online program that connects architects and specifiers to relevant glass-related content on the Vitro Glass website at each phase of the construction process, from initial schematics and design development, through documentation, bidding and construction. Company staff also will available to answer questions about the jumbo magnetron-sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) coater that Vitro Glass will soon be building at its Wichita Falls, Texas plant. The coater will enable architects to specify energy-efficient, high-performance low-e glasses in sizes taller than 12 feet to meet the complex requirements of today’s monumental building projects. When it begins operation, the Vitro Glass coater will be the largest of its kind in North America.
About Vitro Architectural Glass:
Vitro Architectural Glass, part of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:VITROA), is a new organization created from Vitro’s acquisition of PPG’s flat glass business unit. Now the largest company of its kind in the Americas, Vitro Architectural Glass manufactures industry-leading brands such as Solarban?, Sungate? and Starphire Ultra-Clear?glasses at U.S. plants in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Fresno, California; Salem, Oregon; and Wichita Falls, Texas. The company also operates one of the world’s largest glass research and development facilities in Pittsburgh and four residential glass fabrication plants in Canada.
Researching paper works about Vitro Glass Plant.