SUSTAINABILITY
Driving for efficiency
Nearly 5M ha of
land devoted to
sustainable palm
According to the International Food Policy
Research Institute, vegetable oil accounts
for approximately 10% of today’s global
average calorific food supply, second only
to cereals. Demand for this most vital
resource is only set to increase, along with
the world’s burgeoning population. Indeed,
the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations projects that
by 2050, global agricultural production will
need to rise by 70% to feed the world.
For edible oil manufacturers, preparing
for rising demand is not their only
challenge. High energy prices, rising
raw material costs, changes in seasonal
demand, regulation and geopolitical
events have all put producers’ margins
at risk. Concerns about cost loom larger
than ever. To survive and prosper in these
challenging times, edible oil manufacturers
must find new and better ways to increase
efficiency in what is a complex, multistage production process.
Making energy savings
Producing edible oils is an energyintensive exercise that relies on sterilisers,
presses, centrifuges, boilers and more, all
of which consume a significant amount
of energy. As energy prices rise, choosing
energy-efficient equipment becomes vital
for maintaining profitability.
In particular, refining – a crucial step in
ensuring the product’s purity – involves
cooling towers. These are especially
energy-intensive and can account for
20-40% of a plant’s total electricity
consumption. Most cooling tower motors
lack drives, operating constantly at top
speed without adjusting to the process or
environmental conditions. This results in
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Edible oil manufacturers
face numerous challenges
today including high energy
prices and rising raw material
costs but by applying new
technologies to existing
production processes, they
can save energy and costs,
without compromising on
safety, quality and compliance Brith Isaksson
unnecessary electricity consumption and
limited process control.
Another critical piece of equipment is the
horizontal decanter, which uses centrifugal
force to separate solids from liquids. Again,
many facilities use motors without drives,
relying on throttling for speed control,
which lacks precision and poses safety
risks. Pairing decanter motors with drives
not only saves electricity but also provides
precise control, ensuring continuous
operation even during brief power
losses. Additionally, drives offer smooth
acceleration during high-torque start-up,
with some models further enhancing safety
with features like overspeed protection,
safe torque off and braking options.
Variable speed drives
Significant energy savings can be
achieved by pairing existing motors
with variable speed drives (VSDs). VSDs
actively regulate motor speed and torque,
reducing energy consumption whenever
the motor operates below maximum
speed. This is particularly impactful,
as a motor’s power consumption is
proportional to the cube of its speed,
meaning even a 20% reduction in speed
can halve energy usage. Historically, VSD
investments paid for themselves in one to
two years but with high energy prices, the
payback period has further shortened.
VSDs also offer operators the ability to
control motors precisely. For example, in
pumping operations, VSDs can be adjusted
to ensure that they match the pump’s
best efficiency point. Modern drives also
provide real-time data on energy use
and motor speed, enabling operators to
maintain product quality. For example, if
seeds are stored, even for a short time,
they should be stored in well-ventilated
warehouses with a constantly maintained
low temperature and humidity. The
precision control capability of VSDs helps
in maintaining such exacting conditions.
Another energy efficiency consideration
for edible oil manufacturers is harmonic
distortion. Non-linear loads from electrical
equipment on the network can cause
significant deviations from the expected
current and voltage. This means energy
is lost on the network rather than being
put towards useful work. An unstable
power network can also result in
premature equipment failure. While drives
significantly improve energy efficiency,
they can introduce harmonic distortion,
in common with many other types of
electronic equipment. Facilities often try
to overcome harmonics by over-specifying
electrical equipment, such as cables and
transformers, but this is expensive and
unnecessary. A better solution is to address
the problem at source by using ultra-low
harmonic (ULH) drives.
A digital advantage
In addition to using less energy to perform
the same work, modern motors and
u
drives also offer advantages in terms
OFI – JANUARY 2024
31
The global area devoted to certified sustainable palm oil production has risen from
just 125,000ha in 2008 to 4.9Mha across
23 countries last year, the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) says.
Marking nearly two decades of impact
at the RSPO Annual Roundtable Conference (RT2023) in 20-22 November, the
RSPO said certified sustainable palm oil
(CSPO) supply reached a new milestone
of 15.4M tonnes last year, while RSPO
Trademark licences had increased significantly to more than 1,600 licences in over
100 countries and territories, with growth
seen in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
The RSPO Smallholder Support Fund
(RSSF) had provided US$4.2M in funding
to support 44,203 farmers in 12 countries
since 2013, reflecting the importance of
smallholders, who accounted for 40% of
total palm oil production.
In his opening remarks at RT2023,
RSPO CEO Joseph D’Cruz (pictured) said:
“Through nearly two decades of voluntary action, RSPO members have banded
together to raise the bars of sustainability
within the industry. The impact we have
collectively achieved is increasingly being
acknowledged by stakeholders outside
u of connectivity. This enables them to
interface with a facility’s network for
ease of control and monitoring. When
combined with programmable logic
controllers (PLCs), equipment can be set
to adjust itself automatically to ensure
that it runs at peak performance.
Operators can use data from edible
oil machinery for a range of purposes,
such as reviewing energy usage data
to identify which systems consume the
most power. They can then take action
to determine the root cause – such as
oversized or low-efficiency components
– and address them, saving money in the
long term. Meanwhile, cloud connectivity
enables operators to securely maintain
real-time visibility and control from any
location.
Rich data also enables a smarter
approach to maintenance. When
condition monitoring detects that a
parameter – such as bearing operating
temperature – has exceeded the limits
set by the operator, it can send an alert
32 OFI – JANUARY 2024
Photo: RSPO
PLANT & TECHNOLOGY
our industry, and we are seeing a definite
shift in the sustainable palm oil narrative
in our favour. There is room now for us to
move beyond a standards and certification
body, and develop tools that will enable
the industry to demonstrate sustainability
in the way that markets, regulators and
customers demand today.”
New CTTS platform
The RSPO highlighted the launch of its
new Certification, Trade and Traceability
System (CTTS) in October to replace its
PalmTrace platform.
“The system ... integrates data collected
at the upstream level through certification,
audits and risk assessments into a secure
trading platform,” the organisation said at
the time of its launch.
“The new platform will support RSPO
members (operators and traders) in prothrough the cloud platform. This enables
the operator to decide whether an
immediate intervention is required or if
the equipment can be run at a lower load
until the next scheduled maintenance
interval. Rather than experiencing
unexpected downtime due to a sudden
machine failure, operators can identify and
address potential issues during scheduled
downtime. Predictive maintenance is
cheaper in terms of downtime, labour
and potential waste from product
contamination.
Safety first
Edible oil is subject to strict safety
standards. It can be challenging for
facilities to balance the need for hygiene
with the rapid pace of production.
However, this is possible by selecting the
right drives, motors, PLCs and services.
Facilities must specify appropriate
equipment for the operating
environment. In high-pressure and
heated environments, for example,
viding information which is necessary for
the due diligence statement required by
the European Commission, in line with the
European Union Deforestation Regulation
(EUDR) by 29 December 2024.”
Design of the CTTS platform was led
by Singapore-based Agridence, which had
already developed an integrated physical
trading platform with traceability and
sustainability data solutions for the natural
rubber industry. Also involved in delivering
the platform was Netherlands-based agrifood supply chain expert CIED, and geospatial solution provider NGIS Australia.
Evolving organisation
Formed in 2004 as a non-profit organisation with 200 members from 16
countries, the RSPO now had more than
5,700 members in over 100 countries and
territories, RT2023 heard.
“RSPO is evolving to meet current and
forthcoming challenges by improving the
auditability and implementability of our
current standards and assurance systems,”
said Anne Rosenbarger, co chair of the
RSPO board of governors. “Following a
comprehensive review of our current 2018
RSPO Principles and Criteria and 2019
RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard, a
revision process is underway to produce a
revised set of standards in 2024.”
RSPO members include palm oil producers, processors and traders; consumer
goods manufacturers; retailers; banks
and investors; and environmental, nature
conservation, social and developmental
NGOs. ●
standard components may pose a safety
hazard. Fortunately, manufacturers offer
equipment designed specifically for these
challenging operating environments.
A facility can also be made safer by
ensuring equipment runs as precisely
and efficiently as possible. The high
reliability of modern solutions and
greater automation reduce the amount
of unnecessary manual intervention,
reducing the risk of accidents.
Taking the long view
The edible oil industry presently faces
numerous challenges which should be
addressed with a holistic approach, taking
into account the total cost of ownership
and operational expenses, rather than
solely focusing on initial expenditures.
Making decisions that align with long-term
viability will not only allow manufacturers
to withstand the challenges of today, but
also prosper in the future. ●
Brith Isaksson is the Global Food and
Beverage Segment Manager at ABB Motion
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