Abstract
Over the last decade, energy prices in China have risen dramatically. At the same time, extensive use of coal fired energy provision systems in industry has led to serious environmental and economic problems translating to an economic damage of an estimated 10% of the Gross Domestic Product. This has led to increasing awareness in the process industries of the need to save energy whilst replacing conventional energy sources with renewable ones.An energy audit was conducted for a soy sauce production facility in Beijing, which aimed to reduce its thermal energy demand through process intensification and to integrate renewable energy. Their current supply of thermal energy came directly from a district steam network, which was both directly consumed and downgraded via heat exchangers. It was determined that the best two solar integration locations would be in the pre-heating/mixing of raw ingredients to 60°C and the subsequent direct steaming of the mixture to 120°C.Three different systems for supplementing steam were investigated: (1) a traditional solar thermal heating system; (2) a system consisting of mono crystalline photovoltaic panels coupled with either a resistance heater or electric steam generator; and (3) a cascading system consisting of two types of solar thermal collectors, photovoltaic panels, and an electric steam generator. Comparisons of systems 1 and 2 were made for the heating of mixing water, and systems 1, 2, and 3 for saturated steam generation.Results showed that for the heating of process water, flat plate solar collectors performed best with an estimated 20year Levelised Cost of Energy of 0.063€/kWh. Steam generation was most cost effective with a cascade system of photovoltaic and flat plate collectors, with an estimated 20year Levelised Cost of Energy of 0.145€/kWh. The model predicts that integration of this technology would lead to a reduction of 14% in heating utility demand.
Highlights
In 2011 China was the largest energy user in the world with a total consumption of 12,275 million tons of oil equivalent (21% of the world’s energy use)
Before the modernisation of the vinegar production line in May 2009 (Fig. 5), its contribution to the energy demand was enormous, which is directly reflected in the average Specific Steam Demand (SSD) and the resulting Specific Total Energy Consumption (SEC), which was more than twice as high before than after the modernisation
The relative costs per unit (RCU), which are the ratio between the actual energy costs at the time and the costs in 2011, show how drastically energy prices rose with the economic crisis in 2009, with a level of 59% in 2008 and 92% in 2009
Summary
In 2011 China was the largest energy user in the world with a total consumption of 12,275 million tons of oil equivalent (21% of the world’s energy use). Due to its rapid economic growth, the energy use has increased by more than 150% in the last decade. [1], which has increased pressure on energy production. China’s industrial sector accounts for almost 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and for around 70% of the country’s energy use [2]. Coal and oil account for 70% and 18% respectively of the total primary energy consumption. China’s coal consumption, on the other hand, has increased by 200% in the past decade.
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