Cleaner Production Technology and Bankable Energy Efficiency Drives in Fertilizer Industry in India to Minimise Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Case Study

Abstract

The Fertilizer Industry offers a most exciting, challenging, and rewarding opportunity for adopting Bankable Energy Efficient and Cleaner Production Technologies to support minimization of greenhouse gas emissions. Cleaner production technology has cut down energy consumption from 9 G. calories/Mt to around 7 G. calories/Mt in ammonia plants where capacity utilization has also improved from 74% to 84%. In addition, the fertilizer Industry has initiated measures on waste heat recovery, reuse of heat in the plant system, and steam network system optimization through computer programming. Pneumatic controls have largely been replaced by distributed control systems mainly operated by electrical drives and recently, naphtha-based power stations have adopted the latest DCS systems resulting in 3-5% energy savings besides realizing 2-3% raw material saving and 2-2.5% enhancement in yield. Energy efficient technologies relevant to the Fertilizer Industry include fuel switching (exchanging fossil fuel based energy generation system with those that use renewable fuels like biomass, solar energy etc). This has resulted in zero greenhouse gas emissions and very low cost/unit of generation of power and steam. Efficient electric motors have replaced old designs of sets and an overall effort has been made to reduce heat and power losses, which finally results in less use of fuel, thereby minimizing emissions. Waste incineration has also become a source of energy recovery. The chapter illustrates case studies to demonstrate substantial reduction in fuel consumption and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through the adoption of cleaner technologies in the fertilizer Industry.