Abstract
Industrial energy efficiency has received increasing attention in many countries because of its importance in the pursuit of energy supply security, increased economic competitiveness and in the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions. This paper aimed to evaluate the energy consumption development of the Brazilian pulp and paper industry through an energy decomposition analysis and an energy efficiency index approach over a 30 years period. An international comparison with other important paper-producing countries (i.e., Canada, United States of America, Finland and Sweden) was carried out. It was concluded that despite a significant increase in the energy efficiency levels, responsible for 5.6 PJ savings in electricity consumption and for 38.6 PJ savings in fuels consumption between 1979 and 2009, a saving potential of 7.8 PJ and 146.2 PJ related to the annual consumption of electricity and fuels, respectively, could be identified in the Brazilian pulp and paper industry. Among the countries evolved in the international comparison, both the Swedish and Finnish industries were the most efficient, followed by the Brazilian, American and Canadian, the latter being the only one where there was a reduction in the energy efficiency levels from 1979 to 2009.
Highlights
Energy efficiency refers to a lower energy input to produce the same amount of services/useful output [1]
As manufacturing industries account for approximately one-third of global energy use [2], energy efficiency in industry has been claimed as one of the main cost-effective paths to the reduction of both energy consumption
The energy efficiency indexes developments are presented, followed by explanatory factors aiming to point some causes to the changes in the energy consumption patterns
Summary
Energy efficiency refers to a lower energy input to produce the same amount of services/useful output [1]. Energy is essential both to provide quality of life to mankind and as input in any production process. As manufacturing industries account for approximately one-third of global energy use [2], energy efficiency in industry has been claimed as one of the main cost-effective paths to the reduction of both energy consumption (according to the first law of thermodynamics the term “energy consumption” is a misnomer, because the total amount of energy is maintained, even if its form changes, this term is used in the paper referring to the useful energy demanded by the pulp and paper production process) and GHG emissions [3,4,5,6,7]. According to the IEA it seems a necessary ingredient if we aim to stop the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from reaching above 450 ppm [2]
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