Specific energy consumption of sugar cane mills in thailand

Abstract

According to Thai Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP 2015), the government has set the target of 30 % reduction in 2036 compared to the total energy consumption in 2010. The industry sector accounts for approximately 37 % of the total energy consumption. Thai industries have been classified into 11 main sectors, in which food, beverage and tobacco sector is the most energy-consumed sector which consume about 35.7 % of the total energy consumption. Among industries in the food, beverage and tobacco sector, sugar mill industry is the most second energy-consumed industry. Thus, the rational amount of energy saving target will be assigned to the sugar mill industry, for which their baseline energy consumption and their potential energy saving should be known. In this paper, 25 of 55 sugar mills are carefully investigated and audited to determine baseline energy consumption (BEC) and specific energy consumption (SEC) based on plant performance. Factors that effect on BEC and SEC are identified. Equations for predicting baseline BEC and SEC are developed using statistic regression approaches. It is found that the sugar mills can be classified into two groups, i.e. one with own power plant and one without power plant. They are totally different in BEC and SEC. The characteristic of energy consumption within a sugar mill itself is also different between juice extraction season and the others. The regression equations for predicted baseline BEC and SEC are developed based on known factors.