Interesting financial and manufacturing news collided recently when Apple announced it was issuing the biggest “green bond” ever sold by a US corporation to finance green energy projects.  Last year, Apple did the same thing for initiatives to fight global warming.  This year, Apple has issued a $1 billion green bond to fund renewable energy generation.

Renewable energy is the holy grail of manufacturing, promising everything from lower prices to cleaner impact on the environment.  While some support solar and wind efforts, other biodiesel fuel alternatives are also generating a lot of attention.  Biofuels look promising, whether as a direct “crop” grown for that purpose or even to go so far as to use land previously mined for coal to be reclaimed with plants that can lead to more biofuel production.

Sometimes, though, the process itself is what makes a greener alternative more viable.  For example, the process of creating biofuels sometimes involves dealing with sludge and slurry or blending fuels together for the best performance.  In these instances, having the right equipment means creating a highly stable, consistent product, while also saving energy in the process.

A Triple Action Static Mixer, for example, can vastly improve production of biofuels through its multistep mixing process that reduces or eliminates the amount of sludge sticking to the equipment while ensuring highly accurate and consistent sampling with the blend. Inline heating, for example, can also save as much as 20-25% of energy over a heat exchanger and still maintain 99-100% accuracy.  After all, what is the point of working with biofuels if the process itself isn’t cleaner and greener?

As Apple typically paves the way in terms of innovation, other companies are expected to follow in a wide variety of industries, and Komax is happy to be at the forefront of providing equipment in this movement.  Proving that profits and ethics aren’t antithetical to each other, nor that businesses have to depend on the changing decisions of politicians, Apple shows all it takes is continued work toward energy efficiency.