Pfizer's Lincoln plant greening industrial processes
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By RICHARD PIERSOL/Lincoln Journal Star
The great thing about getting green industrially is that it pays at least three times: once to the earth, in the form of reducing carbon emissions, another in the kind of green that folds and keeps investors happy and finally, when it gets public attention.
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, has won international recognition for its green initiatives, like those to be found at its Lincoln animal health products plant.
Pfizer announced last month the company was named to the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a not-for-profit coalition of more than 315 global investors, including the Calvert Funds, one of the leaders in socially responsible investing and owned by the Unifi Cos. of Lincoln.
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Pfizer said it has had a company standard requiring the conservation of energy and reduction of greenhouse gases since 1996.
In 2002, Pfizer became a charter member of the Climate Leaders Program, a collaboration between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and industry that aims to develop long-term, comprehensive climate change strategies and sets greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
As a Climate Leader, Pfizer established a company-wide goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 35 percent per million dollars of sales by the end of 2007 from the baseline year of 2000. A company spokesman said Pfizer expects to reach that goal.
Pfizer was one of 68 Fortune 500 companies — the only pharmaceutical company — named in the honor roll for global corporations addressing the challenges of climate change.
Here’s what they’re doing in Lincoln, as described by spokesman Rick Chambers; Jack Coogan, director of environmental health and safety for Lincoln operations; Tom Rathe, a maintenance engineer in Lincoln; and Larry Zillig, director of engineering and maintenance in Lincoln.
Pfizer recently installed a high-efficiency boiler system that uses a third of the space of the old system and is 85 percent energy efficient.
It uses a smaller reservoir of water that can be heated far more quickly – five minutes, versus an hour for a conventional boiler.
That means there is no need to maintain a large quantity of near-boiling water at times the system doesn’t need it. By the end of this year, they expect total savings to reach 11,000 million British Thermal Units. That, Pfizer says, means a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by utility providers of 600 tons a year and an annual saving in natural gas expense of $113,000.
There should be a four-year payback on the boiler, according to Zillig.
“It all depends on load,” he said. “If you had a steady load, you wouldn’t see the savings we’re seeing.”
Pfizer in Lincoln is pretty much a one-shift production operation, he explained. A lot of the load is in first shift, so there can be big swings in the boiler’s temperature.
That boiler’s been running a good share of this year.
Just as they need boilers, Pfizer needs chillers, and in Lincoln, the company automated bringing chillers on- and off-line to support production.
“In the old days, there wasn’t as much automation,” said Rathe. “If it was a hot day, we turned on another chiller.”
Pfizer also fit one chiller with a variable speed drive that allows it to ramp up and down to match fluctuating demand in the system. This allows them to meet demand using one fewer chiller.
They also improved the process of using outside air to supplement chillers during colder months.
“We have a system called free cooling,” Rathe said. “When the outside is cold enough, we use a cooling tower to cool water, and eliminate the chiller. It’s much more efficient.”
In all, the chilling procedures save 1,800,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which equals 1,143 tons of CO2, and reduces annual energy costs by $90,000.
Zillig said the projected saving from the variable speed drive in the chiller is approximately $45,000, or about half of the savings and CO2 reduction from the overall chiller project.
They’re now considering a a roof cooling system that would spray a light mist of water on the roofs during hot weather. That should reduce the need for air conditioning inside.
Pfizer projects that could save as much as 840,000 kilowatt-hours per year, 534 tons of CO2, and $42,000 in electrical savings.
“We have an energy team that reviews these projects,” said Zillig. “In this case, we’ll verify the actual cost to install, look again at the impact on the roof or anything else, and verify those dollars are real. Then we’ll look at the project and make sure we get a return on investment.”
If they meet those criteria and the maintenance group thinks it’ll work for them, they’ll go ahead.
“It probably wouldn’t be ready to try until next spring,” Zillig said.
Environmental responsibility is taken seriously at Pfizer, Chambers said.
What’s wonderful about these kind (of projects) is we can lower our impact on the environment and in, doing so, improve our processes and save money.”
To Coogan, the view and the returns are long-term.
“It’s important to recognize we will accept investments that take longer, based on the fact they’ll reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.
Reach Richard Piersol at 473-2741 or at dpiersol@journalstar.com
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