Adopting best practices promotes energy efficiency

ADOPTING best practices is an important element in the national effort to promote energy efficiency. In view of the significant role played by it, the annual EENP Awards has an award category devoted to recognising best practices.

The Best Practices award recognises corporate teams which implemented energy efficiency (EE) projects that have led to improvements in the energy performance of their facilities.

The award recipient under this category this year is CCD (Singapore) Pte Ltd. At the same time, four companies are receiving the Best Practices (Honourable Mention) Award under this award category. They are: Afton Chemical Asia Pte Ltd; ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore Chemical Plant; Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited; and Senoko Energy Pte Ltd.

CCD (Singapore) is a petrochemical company which produces and supplies chemical products around the globe. It was awarded for its Allyl Alcohol Plant Heat Integration Project which is a heat recovery project that recovers waste heat from the reaction zone to heat up distillation to reduce cooling and heating utilities costs.

The project involved the installation of two heat exchangers to recover heat from the reaction zone of the allyl alcohol (AAL) process and use it to heat up the distillation zone. The chemical reaction involved in the AAL process is exothermic, resulting in high energy content in the reactor output which is considered a good grade heating source. On the other hand, the AAL plant is designed with distillation units which are operated with steam to recover raw material and purify the product.

CCD conducted a study on the possibility of heat integration, and found that the rejected heat output from the reaction zone could be used by the distillation zone to reduce steam consumption. Their feasibility study also indicated that the payback period of this project would be less than one year.

After addressing quality, environmental and process safety risks pertaining to scope modification, CCD proceeded with the engineering design for this project in 2018. It learnt from the experience of its overseas sister plant's implementation of a similar project, and planned for pre-emptive measures to mitigate potential issues. The project was completed and commissioned on 12 Nov 2019.

The project reduced CCD's overall energy consumption, achieving steam energy savings of 148 TJ per year and carbon abatement of 19,098 tonnes CO2 emission annually through its energy efficiency project. TJ refers to Terra Joule which is the unit used for energy measurement.

"We really appreciate NEA giving this award to CCD Singapore to recognise our energy efficiency effort. This EENP award will encourage CCD Singapore to continue our energy efficiency journey," says Beh Cho Hwa, CCD Singapore's energy manager.

On the road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, he says that while it has affected business operation it should not reduce the effort of promoting energy efficiency.

"In the flow of energy efficiency improvement, Covid-19 really posts a challenge to project implementation due to shortage of manpower and logistical issues. In CCD Singapore, we maintained energy efficiency effort through better project planning and management to ensure progress of energy saving project was executed following the planned timeline."

He adds that businesses can take a wide range of approaches to promote energy efficiency in their own operating systems. Apart from the environmental benefit, doing so reduces the operating cost and generates more cash flow for the company.

"It sometimes also enhances productivity. In addition, it reduces in-border or trans-border carbon tax which is going to be a financial burden in future due to the climate change issue.

"Petrochemical companies like ours can adopt ISO 50001 Energy Management System to improve energy efficiency continually and systematically. Apart from that companies can also work with energy experts to conduct energy relevant analysis such as pinch analysis (heating system) and hydraulic analysis (big pumping system) and execute those feasible energy saving project."

Highlighting an energy efficiency improving step taken by his company in recent years he says that it was to increase energy relevant competency of key employees. For example, key personnel were sent to attain Singapore certified Energy Manager qualifications. That course instills the trainee with simple and practical methodology to enhance process energy performance.

"In addition, we also conducted regular production meetings that shared successful energy saving projects done from respective plants and compared similar plant energy use index... stimulating new energy saving ideas. Feasible energy efficiency improvement opportunities will be planned and executed to enhance energy efficiency.

"The implemented project such as variable speed drive (VSD), VSD installation, heat integration, utility integration, zero purge dryer installation, cooling water pumping system optimisation, etc, were done," he adds.

Beh says the company is currently adopting the ISO 50001 Energy Management System that can improve energy performance continually and systematically.

"Apart from that we are working with an energy specialist firm to do an energy efficiency opportunity assessment so that we can incorporate its ideas into our energy efficiency efforts. The feasible and process compatible energy improvement opportunity will be planned and executed to improve energy efficiency."

Action will be taken to further promote energy efficiency through the implementation of an energy efficiency improvement plan. The energy saving projects that will be implemented include heat integration project, utility integration project, absorption chiller installation, cooling water pumping system optimisation, steam system optimisation and reaction cycle time reduction to save utility use.