Measure Implemented

	Repair of compressed air pipe leakages
	Steam leak minimisation
	Steam trap maintenance
	Thermal insulation maintenance
	Process heat recovery
	Process control
	Boiler- Fuel switching
	New heat scheme (steam system)
	Fractionation plant cooling system optimization

Benefits

	Total annual energy savings of 24,522 GJ.
	Total annual cost savings of RM 1,911,000, and
	Annual CO2 reduction – approximately 516 tonnes.

Summary

Cargill Palm Products Sdn. Bhd. (Cargill), one of the leading companies from the 48 factories audited by the MIEEIP, has invested more that RM 1.3 million to implement energ y saving projects in the 2 years since the audit was conducted by the MIEEIP team. Cargill has greatly reduced its energ y consumption cost by implementing not only the measures recommended by the MIEEIP team but also additional measures identified independently by factory personnel.

The factory has implemented a total of nine energy saving projects which are a combination of no-cost , low-cost and high-cost measures and has recorded the following results:

Energy savings of approximately 24,522 GJ/yr,
Energy cost savings of about RM 1,911 , 0 0 0 / y r., and
C0₂ reduction of about 642 tonnes/yr.


Company and Plant Overview

Cargill Palm Products Sdn. Bhd. (Cargill) is a subsidiary of Cargill United States (US). It was formerly known as Kupak Sdn Bhd, and started operations in 1980. Cargill is involved in manufacturing palm products such as olein, stearin and palm fatty acid from crude palm oil (CPO). More than 90 p e rcent of the products are exported.

The factory currently employs 70 staff in its administration and production sections. They operate seven days a week throughout the year. The overall output is about 450,000 tonnes of palm oil and its by-products. The company produces a variety of refined products such as refined bleached deodorised palm oil (RBDPO), as well as specialty products such as olein and stearin. The company operates four plants namely:

Physical Refining Plant 1,
Physical Refining Plant 2,
Fractionation Plant 1, and
Fractionation Plant 2.

Cargill’s operations require substantial use of thermal energy in the above plants. The required thermal energy is generated from a boiler house equipped with two low pressure boilers and one high pressure boiler, and also a thermal oil heater in a separate room.

The main electrical energy is consumed by other facilities such as compressor station, motors, pumps, refrigeration system and cooling water system. Crude palm oil (CPO) goes through several processes in the refining and fractionation plants to produce edible oils. In the process, the CPO goes through the physical refining plant
that converts CPO to Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO) with palm fatty acid distillate as a by product. RBDPO can be further processed into refined bleached deodorised olein and refined bleached deodorised stearin through a dry fractionation process.

About 85 percent of the energy consumed is in the form of thermal e n e rgy (steam and hot oil system) from fuel, while the remaining 15% is electricity to power the pumps, chillers and compressors. In monetary terms , the fuel cost constitutes 61 percent whereas electricity constitutes only 37 percent of the total energy and utility cost.


Project Overview



The MIEEIP energy audit exercise identified numerous nocost, low-cost and high-cost measures for energy savings. In addition, the company also identified other energy saving measures on their own. The following measures have been implemented during the years 2002-2005.

Measures Implemented	Investment Cost(RM)	Annual Energy Saving	Annual Cost Saving (RM)	Simple payback period
Repair of compressed air pipe leakages	No cost *	0.05 MWh	10,0 0 0	n/a
Steam leak minimisation	No cost *	54 kilometres (kl) (fuel)	35 ,000	n/a
Steam trap maintenance	No cost *	12 kl (fuel)	8,000	n/a
The rmal insulation maintenance	30,000	77kl (fuel)	50,000	7 months
Process heat recovery	70,000	308 kl (fuel)	200,000	4 months
P rocess contro	12 ,000	21 kl (fuel)	14,000	4 months
Boiler –Fuel switching	47, 000	n / a	1,400,000	4 months
New heat scheme (steam system)	20,000	71 k	44,000	5 months
Fractionation plant cooling system optimization	760,000	700 MWh	150, 000	5 years
Total	: 1,363,000	-	1,911, 000	-

1. Repair of compressed air pipe leakages

The factory operates a compressor station consisting of three a i r-cooled, screw type air compressors equipped with refrigerant dryers. The rated power of the compressors is 55kW each. The main consumers of compressed air are the membrane presses and the bleaching earth transportation system. The MIEEIP audit team found that leakages in the membrane presses, joints and pressure regulator caused an estimated 30 percent air leakage in the system. The factory was advised to perform regular checks and repairs on the system to maintain the air leakage rate at between 5 to 10 percent.

The audit team further recommended for the following measures to be carried out:

To include monthly leakage tests and repairs as part of the compressed air
system maintenance;
Maintain the leakage level between five to ten percent;
Keep the air intake clean and cool. The rule of thumb is that 40C lower inlet temperature results in one percent increase in efficiency;
Work at lowest possible operating pressure; and
Check and regulate the set points of relief valves.


Measure Implemented

Several audit tests at the compressed air system indicated that leaks existed at the fractionation plant and membrane presses. The team replaced the leaking air hoses, and went on further to service the membrane halves and gaskets. The implementation of this simple measure enabled the company to save electricity cost amounting to about RM 10,000 per annum and reduce electricity consumption by 0.05 MWh/yr.

The MIEEIP team advised Cargill to maintain a daily maintenance checklist to detect and take corrective measures on the following:

Condensate drain valves left open;
Air using equipment left connected when not in operation;
Leaking pipes and joints;
Leaking hose and couplings;
Leaking pressure regulators; and
Shut off valves left open.

To locate leakages an ultra-sonic leakage tester (energy audit equipment) can be used. Further, in order to assess the magnitude of the air leakages, a no load test should be conducted.

2. Steam Leak Minimisation

During the steam line audit the MIEEIP team identified steam leakages from piping joints in several places. Though the monthly energy loss from these leakages seems insignificant, the actual yearly cummulative energy loss can be rather substantial. For example steam leakages from 10 holes with a diameter of 1.5mm, result in an annual heat loss of almost RM 30,000/- . Cargill was advised to implement a periodical steam system leakage detection programme to identify and rectify the leakages.

Measure Implemented

The company conducted a survey for the entire plant to identify and rectify all steam leakages. The factory’s energ y management team also initiated a monthly steam leakage maintenance programme .This measure is a ‘no cost’ measure (requiring no capital investment from the company). By just identifying and rectifying steam leakages the company has saved about RM 35,000 per annum on fuel cost and has reduced its fuel consumption by 54 kl/yr .

3. Steam Trap Maintenance

The factory has over 300 steam traps, and the MIEEIP audit team’s spot checks of the steam system using a steam trap tester found leaks in some of the steam traps. This situation causes substantial steam losses to the condensate line which increases the system fuel consumption.

Measure Implemented

The company has implemented a formal steam trap preventive maintenance programme to avoid energy losses due to steam trap leaks. Under this programme Cargill carries out a steam trap audit every six months, and then use the opportunity during the planned plant operation shut down to replace leaking traps. This measure is a “no cost” measure and its implementation has resulted in the company saving about RM 8,000 per annum on fuel cost and fuel reduction of 12kl/yr. Steam systems are found throughout industry and consume a significant portion of the energy used at manufacturing plants. Hence, effective steam trap maintenance practices can reduce costs significantly for almost any steam system.

4. Thermal Insulation Maintenance

An insulation audit carried out by the MIEEIP audit team showed high heat losses of un-insulated pipes and fittings, this indicated that energy savings can be achieved with proper insulation management. The heat loss in the overall steam pipes can be established by estimating the area of uninsulated pipes. On-site investigation showed that many pipes, valves, flanges etc. were not insulated, thus causing high heat losses with high annual fuel consumption of up to 366,000 l/yr. The factory was advised to take immediate action, to reduce these energy losses. The audit team noted that due to maintenance access and space constraint (many pipes were installed close to each other) the factory will need to look closely at ways and means of insulating the pipes. Some valves and flanges were left un-insulated mainly for maintenance reasons, while others were left uninsulated after being opened for repair.

Detachable type of insulation housings form a better way of insulating the valves and flanges as they also allow access for maintenance purposes. Also available in the market are detachable insulating jackets for bucket steam traps.


Measure Implemented

In October, 2004 the energy management team at Cargill conducted a plant wide survey to identify un-insulated pipes and joints. As a result of this survey the factory insulated the spiral heat exchangers, hot oil pipes and the fractionation chilled
water tanks. In total the company invested RM 30,000 /- for the insulation works, which resulted in annual energy cost savings of RM 50,000/- and a fuel consumption reduction of 77 kl/yr.

5. Process Heat Recovery
Cargill is equipped with two physical refining plants namely Refining Plant 1 and Refining Plant 2. The processes at these plants involve heating at various stages and also cooling at the final stage. This provides potential waste heat recovery
from the cooling process to be used in the heating process in this plant, so as to save energy (steam) used for heating. Waste heat recovery is an attractive energy efficiency option in industrial and commercial facilities to replace steam heating that uses other fuels.


Measure Implemented

Cargill studied the system and decided to use the waste heat in the plant for pre-heating processes. A c c o r d i n g l y, it installed a spiral Heat Exchanger (HE) to recover heat from the RBDPO during the cooling process where it is cooled from a temperature of more than 200°C to about 60°C. The implementation of this measure cost about RM 70,000 and the company reduced its energy cost and fuel consumption by RM 200,000 per annum and 308 kl/yr respectively.

6. Process Control

Refined bleached deodorised stearin is produced through a dry fractionation process in the fractionation plant. During the fractionation process RBDPO is cooled down from 70oC to 24oC using a specific cooling curve to convert RBDPO into stearin
crystals and olein remains in liquid form. The two products are then separated using filter presses. Transportation and storage of stearin requires it to be melted again to liquid form, and it has to be maintained at 55 oC in order to avoid solidification. To maintain stearin at this temperature the holding tank is heated manually at maximum heat. This method causes excessive heating of the tank and causes energy waste. Ideally the temperature set for the tank should vary with the volume of its contents.


Measure Implemented

There are three stearin holding tanks in the plant. To avoid unnecessary heating, the company installed temperature regulators to maintain the stearin liquid at the required temperature of 60°C. The company spent RM 12,000 for this measure which reduced unnecessary heating of the tanks and saved the company RM 14,000 per annum in energ y cost, while fuel consumption was also reduced by 21 kl/yr.

7. Boiler- Fuel switching

The company is located close to a natural gas pipeline and considered fuel switching at its plant. The MIEEIP team supported this proposal although it is more of a cost saving measure rather than an energy saving measure. Nevertheless a gas system will be better for the environment compared to fuel oil. Gas system will make heat recovery more viable such as installation of economizer at boilers to recover heat from flue gases. Currently, the attractive price of gas makes fuel switching a very profitable cost saving option.


Measure Implemented

The company switched from the use of medium fuel oil and diesel for 2 of its steam boilers and 2 of its heaters to natural gas during the year 2004. The exercise involved the setting up of an above ground piping network, the conversion of burners and final commissioning. The company invested RM 471,000 for this measure and achieved extremely attractive annual cost saving of RM 1,400,000/- (i.e., a simple payback period of only about 4 months).

8. New Heat Scheme (Steam System)

The factory operates two low-pressure oil-fired boilers, one high-pressure boiler and a thermal oil heater. The highpressure always in operation. The number of low-pressure boilers operating will be based on demand. The previous low-pressure steam scheme did not recover condensate due to contamination risk. The condensate is currently used to heat the fatty acid and oil spillage storage system. The high-pressure steam an d thermal oil system is a closed–loop system. As the factory is concerned over oil leaks into the steam pipe, it decided not to allow any condensate to mix with the low-pressure boiler feed water. This situation forced the factory to flush out all condensate into the drain without recovering the available heat from the low-pressure steam system. It was therefore necessary for the factory to segregate the clean and dirty condensate and install a heat recovery system to recover as much heat as possible.


The MIEEIP audit team recommended the following steps to be undertaken to recover heat from ‘dirty’ condensate :

Install a pressurised condensate collection tank; and
Inject the flash steam directly into the feed water tank.

The contamination of the boiler water from dirty condensate could be mitigated by installing heat exchangers to recover the heat before draining the condensate. A c o n d e n s a t e collection tank will be required to manage the fluid. The recovered heat could be utilised for fresh water preheating. On the other hand, clean condensate can be found at processes with minimum leakages. This clean condensate should be injected into a pressurised tank which maintains a pressure of about 1 bar. Condensate and fresh water can be mixed together in this tank. The mixture can be injected to the boiler or could also be preheated in an economizer to
recover heat from flue gases. The advantage of this system is not only energy savings, but water savings as well. The annual water consumption of the boiler is higher than fuel consumption with a ratio of 10 percent.


Measure Implemented

In May 2003 Cargill conducted a detailed study of its steam system and identified areas where clean condensate could be recovered. The factory diverted ‘clean’ condensate from refineries (heat exchanger systems, tank heating and steam headers) to the boiler feed water tank using the newly installed pipe line which connected the plant to the boiler feed water tank . The heat recovered from the system managed to increase the temperature of the boiler feed water from 30°C to 60°C.

The works done also involved installing a hot tank complete with a steam coil. Total investment for this measure was RM 20,000 /- and energy savings achieved is RM 44,000 per annum . The company not only saved on fuel consumption of 71kl/yr but also managed to save on water usage of 16,000 m³/ y r.

9.Fractionation Plant Cooling System Optimization

The fractionation plant cooling system serves the crystallisation cooling process. The MIEEIP audit team monitored the electricity consumption for a day to determine the specific energy consumption of the system, and proposed some retrofitting to the company’s cooling system. The existing chillers are quite old and the chilled water and cooling towers water which are exposed to contamination affects the chillers heat transfer capability and reduces their efficiency.


Measure Implemented

The company replaced the old chillers with more efficient chillers. They also installed a dedicated cooling tower for chillers to maintain the cleanliness of cooling tower water. The company invested RM 760,000 for this measure and managed to save RM 150,000/- per annum.


Management-driven commitment towards Energy Efficiency (EE)

Environmental responsibility and competitive operating performance are important goals of many organisations. Cargill’s overall company policy incorporates Energy and Environment Policies. The company policy promotes waste reduction, resources utilisation efficiency, property conservation and environmental preservation. The company targets to reduce its energy consumption by 10%. It is interesting to note that resources utilisation efficiency is one of the Key Performance Indices (KPI) in the company’s Balanced Score Card performance monitoring system.

To realise the company’s energy policy targets, Cargill has set up an Energy Management Team (EMT), supported by key operations and top management personnel. This EMT is lead by the Plant Superintendent, Mr Jamaluddin Adnan himself, and actively pursues further energy saving options. The company projects itself as a “Good Corporate Citizen” as it is not only committed to producing high quality products but is also committed to conserving energy and other r e s o u rces, and reducing waste to preserve the environment.