Dyneema® is the world's strongest fibre. It is used to make mooring lines for large tankers. Lightweight, bulletproof jackets made using Dyneema® are worn by policemen. It is also used to make fishing lines, cut-resistant gloves, and cockpit doors. The product is unique and contributes to a sustainable world. Thanks to its strength and light weight, it has a much lower carbon footprint than other materials. This special fibre is produced in Heerlen in the Netherlands and Greenville in the USA by DSM Dyneema. The company is happy to use the demineralized water supplied by Evilim in its production process. Leon Gubbels from DSM recently evaluated Evilim as a supplier and gave the company almost eight out of ten in a quality audit.
Extrusion
Dyneema® is the brand name of the Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene Fibre from DSM Dyneema. Dyneema® products are sold in various formats such as fibre, tape, and sheets. The material is at least fifteen times stronger than steel, lighter than water, and extremely durable. Leon Gubbels explains: ‘The fibre is manufactured using a process of continuous extrusion. The fibre made in this way needs to be cooled. We do that using demineralized water which Evilim manufactures for us from tap water, using reverse osmosis. That water is not just used for the cooling process. It also rinses any residual chemicals off the fibre. The most important thing for us is the conductivity of the water. It needs to stay between five and seventy microsiemens. Evilim showed us that this is not always the case. There are occasional highs and lows. Research is being carried out into the causes so that we can improve on this.’
Score
Leon Gubbels is the last person to want to make a drama out of minor deviations. He points out that there is also a back-up for Evilim's reverse osmosis system. If necessary, DSM Dyneema can continue to operate using pure tap water from WML. As far as DSM Dyneema is concerned, it makes complete sense to outsource water treatment. As Leon Gubbels says, ‘It has to do with placing the responsibility elsewhere, and with costs. This is Evilim's core business and they do it well. We carried out a Supplier Quality Audit. As part of this audit, we surveyed the company on areas like process monitoring and process features. Evilim scored 166 out of 215, which is a score of almost eight out of ten. As such, it was one of our top suppliers. And they are now working on an even better score.’
Water types
Evilim supplies various qualities of water to its customers in industry. This may be in the form of a bulk product or, as is the case here at DSM, a customized system that produces water according to customer requirements. A lower quality of water than drinking water is sufficient for some processes, leading to considerable reductions in water costs. However, for applications such as steam production, high-quality water is needed in the form of demineralized water. Evilim uses reverse osmosis for DSM Dyneema. This process uses a semi-permeable membrane to separate dissolved substances from water. It is called reverse osmosis because pressure is needed to force the water through the membrane, leaving impurities behind. Reverse osmosis can remove 95% to 99% of the substances contained in water.
