July 11, 2008—A Dow Chemical Co. plant in Dalton, Georgia, started using landfill methane gas to manufacture carpet latex recently in its effort to move to more sustainable energy sources.
In the manufacturing of its latexes for carpet backing, Dow says its target will be to replace nearly all the fossil fuel required to manufacture latex with methane gas that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere.
Dow will use approximately 240 billion Btu annually of methane gas, which is equivalent to the amount of energy required to heat 2,100 US homes annually. The company said that carpet backing manufactured with the technology the company calls Lomax will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 27 million pounds annually which is comparable to keeping 2,300 cars off the road each year.
Carpet backing products manufactured with the process are targeted to receive up to five points under the renewable energy section of the new NSF 140 Carpet Sustainability Standard. Carpets that are certified under this standard can help earn LEED points.
For more information visit the Dow Web site.
