EARTH SUMMIT+5 Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21 New York, 23-27 June 1997 SUCCESS STORIES FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

	Rationalization of water use at a sugar mill
	Location	Mexico
	Responsible organization(s)	United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
	Description	Between 1990-1993, the Government of Mexico raised the price of water 17-fold. Considering that the sugar industry contributed to approximately 40 per cent of all waste water discharged by the Mexican industry, a joint demonstration programme to introduce the concept of clean technology into the sugar industry, and at the same time to reduce the consumption of water, was initiated. The project became part of a UNIDO initiative to demonstrate the concept of clean technology the most critical industrial sub-sectors in terms of pollution prevention. The programme was carried out in cooperation with the "Camara Nacional de la Industria Azucarera y Alcoholera"; (National Chamber of the Sugar and Alcohol Industry) and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Sugar Exporting Countries (GEPLACEA). The "Ingenio San Francisco Ameca"; was one of the three sugar factories selected for demonstration. This plant is located in the Jalisco State (west-central Mexico), and processes 720,000 tonnes of sugar cane into 85,000 tonnes of refined sugar annually. An audit team first investigated the water use in the plant and identified the opportunities for reducing waste water and pollution through use of clean technologies. With the help of a special line of credit, the mill was able to introduce a system of continuous recirculation of water from condensers and heat exchangers by constructing a cooling spray pool. As a result, not only water consumption was significantly reduced, but also the total "Biological Oxygen Demand" (BOD) discharged into the natural environment.
	Issues addressed	Waste minimization and cleaner production; reduction of water consumption; pollution control; and technology transfer
	Objectives	To introduce the concept of clean technology production through a demonstration project applied to the sugar industry of Mexico
	Results achieved	Through changes in the process, water consumption has been reduced by 94 per cent, a particularly important achievement in a country that often experiences shortage of water. The reduction of the BOD content in the waste water discharged is estimated at 20 per cent. The initial investment has paid back in two years.
	Lessons learned	Systematic environment auditing associated with changes in the production process proved that there are many opportunities to introduce cleaner production into the sugar industry of Mexico, and that it is possible to extend the practice to many other sugar factories around the world.
	Financing	UNIDO (through a special contribution from the Norwegian Government), and the San Francisco Ameca Mill (through capital investments of approximately 3,000).
	Contact	Mr. S. Miranda-da-Cruz, Agro-based Industries Branch, UNIDO Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 400 A-1400 Vienna Austria Tel: (+43 1) 21131/3807; Fax: (+43 1) 21131/6849 e mail: smiranda-da-cruz@unido.org