Air Liquide's TURBOXAL Goes to New Depths for Cott Beverage.

HOUSTON -- Operations managers at Cott Beverage in Concordville, Penn., know well the difficulties in balancing increased production with effective wastewater management. As Cott's production capacity rose beyond its wastewater plant's treating capacity, the facility was faced with increased haul-off costs and significant capital expansion costs.

Cott turned to Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP and its TURBOXAL oxygen injection technology, which allowed the facility to increase treatment capacity by over 20 percent while it reduced operating costs by 30 percent. The ultimate operational improvements and cost benefits led to the Cott core implementation team being honored with its company's prestigious Gerald N. Pencer Award for Excellence.

Mark DiGiacomo, plant manager for the Cott facility, commended Air Liquide's dedicated experts and innovative technology. "Air Liquide's TURBOXAL oxygen injection technology allowed us to increase treatment capacity while reducing overall operating costs. In addition, their experienced environmental specialists provided insightful recommendations to improve other operating areas of the wastewater system."

When a production plant is originally conceived and built, its wastewater treatment facilities are designed to specific loading conditions and parameters. As production increases, plants can become curtailed by their wastewater treatment capacity and opportunity for additional profitability can ultimately be lost.

Air Liquide's TURBOXAL and VENTOXAL oxygen injection technologies provide customers with unique solutions to wastewater treatment capacity issues without capital intensive upsizing of the air system or expansion of the aeration basin volume. They provide a far more optimal solution to expand treatment capacity than hauling off excess wastewater and dealing with odor problems, discharge violations or operational disruptions.

TURBOXAL and VENTOXAL enhance or replace an existing air-based treatment design by providing a pure oxygen feed. This enables the aeration basin and the aerobic bacteria to handle higher organic loads creating a more efficient water treatment system. The increased oxygen injection and reduction or elimination of nitrogen provides added benefit by significantly reducing the stripping of volatile organic compounds and odorous compounds from the water as well as decreasing foaming tendencies.

Air Liquide's TURBOXAL technology is particularly well-adapted for low-depth basins or lagoons where additional immersed systems cannot be installed. VENTOXAL technology is designed for deeper basins and can handle large oxygen flow requirements. Both of these oxygen injection technologies provide an innovative approach to a conventional problem, with the ultimate benefit being a facility's bottom line.

Matt Wigle, vice president of business development for Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP, said, "Air Liquide's environmental specialists can evaluate and recommend advanced oxygen injection technologies and develop solutions to the most complex wastewater treatment needs, helping customers to improve performance and respect the environment."

Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP is the subsidiary of American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. that provides bulk gases and related services to a diverse base of customers in the U.S. including those in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, metals and automotive industries.

Present in more than 70 countries, Air Liquide is the world leader in industrial and medical gases and related services. The Group offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions, which are consistent with Air Liquide's commitment to sustainable development, help to protect life and enable our customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Founded in 1902, Air Liquide has nearly 36,000 employees. The Group has successfully developed a long-term relationship with its shareholders built on trust and transparency and guided by the principles of corporate governance. Since the publication of its first consolidated financial statements in 1971, Air Liquide has posted strong and steady earnings growth. Sales in 2005 totalled 10,435 million euros, with sales outside France accounting for almost 80%. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices (ISIN code FR 0000120073).