23 June 2006
ARID Technologies, Inc. today announced that H. E. Butt Grocery Company (H-E-B), headquartered in San Antonio, TX, has agreed to purchase ARID's PERMEATOR Gasoline Vapor Containment System for 32 of the company's retail gasoline sites in order to satisfy Texas' ORVR Compatibility requirements. Last year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved ARID's patented PERMEATOR System for ORVR Compatibility. H-E-B joins a growing list of Texas petroleum retailers who have chosen the PERMEATOR as their ORVR solution.
By adopting the PERMEATOR technology, H-E-B has again demonstrated their commitment to their customers and to the environment. The PERMEATOR will help contribute to the health of its customers and employees by reducing emissions from the underground storage tanks at their fueling sites. In 2003, H-E-B ranked sixth in the nation and first in Texas in a Consumer Reports reader's survey of the nation's top conventional supermarkets. In 2003, Forbes Magazine ranked H-E-B 10th in the nation among privately held companies with an estimated $11 billion in annual sales.
''ARID's PERMEATOR System makes a lot of sense for H-E-B. This solution helps us with compliance and makes it possible to maximize the volume we get from our underground tanks,'' said H-E-B Vice President of Petroleum Marketing James Aulds. ''Most important, our use of PERMEATOR technology is right in line with our commitment to sustaining the environment by reducing emissions.''
Hydrocarbon emissions result from the incompatibility of Stage II vacuum assist systems refueling vehicles equipped with ORVR (On Board Refueling Vapor Recovery) canisters. ''Currently, Stage II vapor recovery efficiencies are being compromised by vacuumassisted systems returning excess air to the storage tanks and causing significant evaporative emissions of product,'' said ARID president Ted Tiberi. He added, ''These emissions represent a potential health and safety hazard for the public as well as an economic burden to petroleum marketers who will not be able to sell the same volume of product that they originally purchased. ARID's PERMEATOR system provides the solution to both of these issues.''
The PERMEATOR prevents the venting of gasoline vapors (VOC's, volatile organic compounds) and associated product loss from gasoline storage tanks through the use of a patented hydrocarbon-selective membrane. The system virtually eliminates evaporative emissions and has been proven since 1989 in large tank storage and refinery applications. A recent third party study conducted in Florida has shown that evaporative losses can be as high as 0.35% of throughput (3.5 gallons per 1,000 gallons pumped). This same study showed PERMEATOR recovery efficiencies of 99.27%.
All Stage II vapor recovery systems installed on refueling stations located within the Texas counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Waller, Hardin, Jefferson, Orange, El Paso, Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant must be ORVR Compatible according to the following schedule:
For more than 100 Years, H-E-B has been an innovative retailer. Known for its fresh food, quality products and convenient services, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience at every day low prices. Based in San Antonio, TX, H-E-B employs more than 60,000 Partners and serves millions of customers in more than 150 communities throughout Texas and Mexico. For more information about H-E-B, please visit www.heb.com.
ARID Technologies, Inc. is a recognized leader in membrane based gasoline vapor recovery technology. Based in Wheaton, IL, ARID has over 146 of it's PERMEATOR systems installed worldwide, including locations in Europe and Japan internationally, and in California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia domestically. For more information about ARID, please visit www.ARIDtech.com.