Energy footprint assessment in oil refineries based on green productivity techniques and tools, case study: Iran

Abstract

In recent years, the environment has become a very vital issue concerning global trade. In the field of world trade, the main reason for paying attention to the subject of energy is the world government is inventing innovations to reduce climate change, growing costs, and to use natural resources optimally. In Iran, general consumption pattern reforms policies announced in 2010, and energy saving by applying a balanced set of price and non-price measures to continuously reduce the country's “energy intensity index” to at least one-half of the same year by the end of 2026 with Emphasis placed on the policy of reviewing and approving laws related to energy supply and consumption, formulating and enforcing mandatory national standards for the production and import of all energy-intensive equipment and devices, and strengthening the system for monitoring their proper implementation and requiring manufacturers to reform energy-efficient production processes. The energy footprint in the energy industry, which represents the trajectory of energy consumption and its measurement in the production process from the stage of energy provide to the step of use by the final consumer, was identified. Oil refining industries in the form of legal requirements and related standards were required to implement green productivity techniques based on the installation of appropriate technologies and proper management techniques for oil refining that is environmentally friendly and increasing productivity and profitability. In 2015–2018, 378,000,000 Gj of energy is saved in Iran's oil refineries by carrying out these measures.