Energy, environmental, and economic analysis of energy conservation measures in Thailand's upstream petrochemical industry

Abstract

Upstream petrochemical industry accounts for the highest energy consumption among all stages of petrochemical industry in Thailand. The energy conservation in this industry is essential for sustainable industrial development. In this research, the performance of energy conservation measures adopted in Thailand's upstream petrochemical industry are in-depth analyzed in energy, environmental, and economic cost effectiveness perspectives by using four indices: (1) reduction in energy intensity (EnRI), (2) reduction in carbon intensity (ERI), (3) energy consumption reduction on investment (EnROI), and (4) greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction on investment (EROI). Furthermore, the methods for evaluating the economic feasibility, and estimating the potential for energy saving and GHG emission reduction are proposed. The analyzed result suggests that the energy saving and greenhouse gas emission reduction potential are 5,267 GJ/million USD of product and 450 tCO2eq/million USD of product, and 5,272 GJ/million USD of product and 451 tCO2eq/million USD of product, in case of without and with carbon credit, respectively. The evaluation and assessment method proposed in this research can support decision makers to analyze and evaluate the economic feasibility of the measures under various policies and pricing scenarios of energy and carbon credit and, can be applied in other industries as well.