Chemical Processing - October 2007 - (Page 7)

555 West Pierce Road, Suite 301, Itasca, IL 60143 Phone: (630) 467-1300 Fax: (630) 467-1109 www.chemicalprocessing.com E-mail: cpnews@putman.net Subscriptions/Customer Service: (888) 644-1803 or (847) 559-7360 EdItoRIaL StaFF MaRk RoSEnzWEIg, editor in chief, x478 mrosenzweig@putman.net kEn SChnEPF, managing editor, x442 kschnepf@putman.net JILL RuSSELL, digitaL editor, x455 jrussell@putman.net MIkE SPEaR, editor at Large hertfordshire, U.K. mspear@putman.net ContRIbutIng EdItoRS andREW SLoLEY, troUbLeshooting coLUmnist LYnn L. bERgESon, regULatory coLUmnist ChRIStoPhER RuSSELL, energy coLUmnist dIRk WILLaRd, coLUmnist C. kEnna aMoS, news SEÁn ottEWELL, news dESIgn & PRoduCtIon StEPhEn C. hERnER, groUp art director, x312 sherner@putman.net toM WaItEk, prodUction designer, x413 dchamberlain@putman.net RIta FItzgERaLd, prodUction manager, x468 rfitzgerald@putman.net EdItoRIaL boaRd Vic edwards, aker Kvaerner tim franK, dow chemical ben paterson, eli Lilly roy sanders, ppg industries eLLen tUrner, eastman chemical ben weinstein, procter & gamble Jon worsteLL, shell chemical sheiLa yang, fluor corp. MIkE bREnnER, groUp pUbLisher, x487 mbrenner@putman.net bRIan MaRz, pUbLisher, x411 bmarz@putman.net adMInIStRatIvE StaFF John M. CaPPELLEttI, president/ceo JuLIE CaPPELLEttI-LangE, Vice president RoSE SouthaRd, it director JERRY CLaRk, Vice president of circULation JaCk JonES, circULation director REPRIntS CLaudIa StaChoWIak, marKeting manager claudia@fostereprints.net 1-866-879-9144 x121 fax: 219-561-2019 FoStER REPRIntS 4295 ohio street michigan city, in 46360 FROM THE EDITOR << Exceed environmental expectations The chemical industry is making good progress but needs stretch goals Leading chemicaL companies aren’t just talking about biofeedstocks but are building plants relying on them, as this month’s cover story (p. 20) details. While economic considerations — if not immediate outright savings, at least insulation from the long-term cost and supply pressures posed by conventional petroleum- or gas-based raw materials — obviously come into play, the moves also reflect the greater emphasis some manufacturers are placing on doing their part for the environment and sustainability. dupont, for instance, says that it uses 40% less energy in making diols from corn instead of petroleum and reckons it cuts greenhouse gas emissions by more than half. dow, which aims to make polyethylene in Brazil from sugar-cane-derived ethanol, says the project boasts about one-seventh the co2 footprint of traditional polyethylene production. prospective biofeedstock-based benefits aside, the U.s. chemical industry has already made impressive strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. The american chemistry council (acc), arlington, Va., says that companies have cut their greenhouse gas intensity by 5% between 2003 and 2005, and more than 30% since 1992. Likewise, the companies have boosted energy efficiency by nearly 28% since 1992, and trimmed energy consumption by 141 trillion Btus from 2003 to 2005. acc posts consolidated industry performance data at www.responsiblecare-us.com. While we certainly should applaud such efforts, we should push for even greater strides. indeed, chemical companies would do well to emulate the approach taken by sKF, göteborg, sweden. it launched an initiative in 2005 called BeyondZero. as the name implies, this aims to reduce the environmental impact of its operations and ultimately to produce an overall positive effect. a key aspect is going beyond the company’s internal operations and developing products and services that help customers improve their performance. sounds idealistic, but sKF is actually showing how it can be done. at a september press briefing, the company discussed new energyefficient ball and tapered roller bearings that offer the same life as the company’s regular such bearings but at least a 30% energy savings. as Tom Johnstone, president and ceo of sKF explained, that translates to lower energy consumption for devices using the bearings as well as reduced equipment temperatures and decreased total cost of ownership. if every electric motor in the U.s. and europe had the energy-efficient ball bearings, the energy savings would exceed sKF’s total global energy consumption and would equal the energy consumption of 3 million swedish households for a month, according to Johnstone. Both the energy-efficient ball bearings, which likely will initially appear in indus- Let’s push for even greater strides. trial motors, and the tapered roller bearings will be available by the end of this year. mechanical components clearly can provide follow-on benefits to products incorporating them, but many chemicals also go into finished products and so we have the opportunity, too, to provide such a positive ripple effect on the environment. CP Mark Rosenzweig Editor in Chief mrosenzweig@putman.net october 2007 • 7 Folio editorial excellence award winner www.chemicalprocessing.com http://www.chemicalprocessing.com http://www.responsiblecare-us.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chemical Processing - October 2007

Chemical Processing - October 2007 Contents From the Editor ChemicalProcessing.com Field Notes In Process Energy Saver Compliance Advisor Biofeedstocks See Real Growth Become a Cyber-Security Pacesetter Go Beyond Condition Monitoring Disposable Equipment Earns Lasting Role Improve Control Loop Performance Ethanol Plant Boosts Output and Saves Energy Process Puzzler Plant InSites Equipment & Services Ad Lits Product Spotlight/Classifieds Ad Index End Point

Chemical Processing - October 2007

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