P&G Chemicals: Progressing Toward a More Sustainable Future

As the leader of P&G Chemicals’ Engineering team since 2022 (and a P&G’er for nearly 29 years), I believe that innovating in our manufacturing operations is critical to delivering growth, reducing our environmental footprint, and opening new solutions for our customers. “Tomorrow Starts Here” is not just a tagline; it’s part of our everyday thinking — enabling us to take a bold approach to delivering bio-based, low-carbon solutions sustainably.

Together, we are not just envisioning a sustainable future; we are actively constructing it, including through innovative strategies designed to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. And I’m excited to shine a spotlight on just a few of the ways in which P&G Chemicals’ Engineering team is right at the heart of the action!

As a company, P&G’s ambition is to achieve 65% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, versus our 2010 baseline. The dedicated engineering professionals in my team are committed to identifying and innovating technologies that will significantly reduce our operational carbon footprint. We integrate superior operational performance with environmental and social stewardship thinking in the everyday work we do. That’s because we are convinced that there is power in “AND” — hitting the sweet spot delivers leadership, helps support business growth, identifies innovation, attracts top talent (the innovators of tomorrow), delights our customers and, of course, proactively manages risks.

Sustainability is not an add-on; it’s embedded throughout our initiative program and at our production facilities. Today, we leverage vacuum technology to enhance the efficiency of our separation processes. By operating stills, evaporators and columns under vacuum, we significantly lower the boiling points of various constituents, which in turn reduces the energy required for separations. Traditionally, steam-powered vacuum ejectors are used, but they come with high energy costs and significant cooling water usage. Recognizing the need for sustainable alternatives, we are using vacuum pumps that dramatically cut down both energy and water consumption.

Our use of liquid ring pumps proves effective for medium vacuum applications, while our advanced dry vacuum pump systems minimize cooling needs and operate efficiently under varying conditions. We are committed to applying our engineering expertise to identify solutions that help ensure continued progress driving down energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Another key initiative is to reduce and eliminate the once-through water to condense vapors from our distillation units and to cool vapor streams on the vacuum ejector systems. We are implementing a combined chiller and closed loop cooling tower to reduce the water footprint. This innovative approach is designed to help minimize waste and significantly reduce the energy required to maintain optimal cooling for our equipment. Every step we take makes a difference and is focused — and by prioritizing, we deliver resource and operational efficiency.

We are also working to re-platform our hydrogenation systems by replacing slurry bed catalyst technology with industry-standard fixed bed technology. And making a strategic shift from once-through well water cooling to cooling tower water. This enables water circularity – saving water — helping to optimize our reaction processes, drastically reducing energy consumption, and leading to decreased greenhouse gas emissions. By boosting operational efficiency, we continue to deliver for our business and make advances in line with our sustainability ambitions.

Powering progress requires steadfast commitment, collaboration and innovation. It’s an honor to be part of a team that is passionately focused on driving transformative change and finding ways to better serve our customers’ needs. Together with P&G Chemicals, we are upgrading our infrastructure and providing solutions that will benefit our planet and future generations. We invite you to come on board and continue our journey as it continues!