Case Study 008 Solving Solvent Recycling

This case study describes a resource efficiency project facilitated by the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) between Protea Chemicals and Dekro Paints to recycle expired solvents, diverting them from hazardous landfills.

• Protea Chemicals faced challenges with contaminated, expired, or degraded solvents, specifically ketones and alcohols stored in 200 litre drums. These materials typically required costly sampling and testing for characterisation before they could be sent to landfill in accordance with regulations.
• Dekro Paints operates a solvent recycling plant through its Chemical & Solvent Trading division. The plant uses filtration, decanting, and distillation to clean hydrocarbons, aromatics, and other industrial solvents to a purity level exceeding 99%.
• Facilitated by WISP, a once-off exchange occurred where 18 drums (approximately 4,000 litres) of dirty solvents were transferred from Protea Chemicals to Dekro Paints for recycling.
• The recycling project resulted in environmental benefits, including the diversion of 4 tonnes of solvents from hazardous landfill and a reduction of 19.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Economic benefits for Protea Chemicals included R127,000 in saved testing and characterisation costs and R8,000 in saved transportation and landfill gate fees.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Case Study 008 Solving Solvent Recycling. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-Putting-the-Solve-in-Solvent-Recycling_FA2-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Case Study 008 Solving Solvent Recycling. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-Putting-the-Solve-in-Solvent-Recycling_FA2-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Case Study 008 Solving Solvent Recycling |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-Putting-the-Solve-in-Solvent-Recycling_FA2-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendcase, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Case Study 008 Solving Solvent Recycling}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-Putting-the-Solve-in-Solvent-Recycling_FA2-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }