Reducing Transportation Emissions - The Safe Handling Approach
Our core business is transporting raw materials to Maine’s industrial plants. These raw materials include: baking flour, plastic pellets, fuels, and liquid chemicals. A typical liquid chemical would be 25% solids and 75% water. Traditionally these chemicals have been trucked across the country. Our transportation approach reduces emissions 3 ways:
- Rail uses 70% less fuel than trucking – We help customers replace long-haul trucking with long-haul rail. Then we transload from railcars onto trucks in our rail yards for local deliveries by truck. Customers still receive product by truck, but most of the cross-country trip is made by rail.
- Shipping dry vs wet can reduce volumes 4-fold – Instead of shipping liquid slurries long distances, we ship chemicals in dry form and reconstitute them into a liquid slurry here in Maine, near the point-of-use. This reduces emissions another 75%.
- Tri-axle trucks use 30% less fuel- For regional deliveries, we are permitted to use 3-axle trailers which can hold 40% more freight than long-haul, 2-axle trailers that are allowed on most interstates. Hauling 3-axle trailers reduces emissions 30% compared to hauling 2-axle trailers.
Leveraging these three methods, we can reduce emissions nearly 90%. Click here for a case study on Safe Handling and Verso Paper in Pulp & Paper Magazine.
