Water Usage

Despite processing 50 to 100 tons of Cedarwood per day, Pax consumes a very modest amount of water per day.

The reason is that more than 90% of the water used to produce steam, is condensed with the extracted oil, efficiently separated in gravity decanters or centrifuges, and recycled in a closed loop into the boilers as mineral free boiler water, after minor and harmless treatment to neutralize the natural acidity of the returned distillate. The 10% makeup water needed for the boiler operation represents a small amount drawn from the river and duly permitted by the local authorities.

At Pax, even the cooling process following the passage of the steam through the loaded stills (for steam extraction) is achieved using the nearby river water to condense the steam in stainless steel shell and tube heat exchangers and return the clean river water downstream, only slightly elevating the total river water temperature.

Only the boiler blow downs of a few gallons per day, the natural rain run-off, and the plant wash-downs entraining some cedar dust, constitute some amount of plant effluent. However, nearly all such effluent (analyzed and considered as being nontoxic), is captured in large settling ponds, to prevent such effluents from leaving the plant property.