Energy Usage In Industry Research Articles

Strategic Evaluation of Sustainable Practices for HVAC Systems in Small and Medium-Sized U.S. Manufacturers

Abstract This paper investigates the often overlooked yet crucial role of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in advancing sustainable manufacturing practices in the United States. Through all outcomes of the energy assessments conducted by the Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) in various industrial settings, the current study focuses on the energy consumption of HVAC systems and assesses the impact of their energy-efficient measures on the overall industrial energy usage. In-depth analysis covers both technological and economic facets of resource management practices, utilizing case studies and data from energy assessments on 20,818 small- and medium-sized manufacturing facilities. The results reveal substantial potential for reducing energy consumption, estimated at 71.9 million MMBtu per year, along with annual energy cost savings of approximately $744 million per year and a noteworthy mitigation of 8.7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, all achievable through HVAC system improvements. These findings show the practical significance of sustainable HVAC practices and their potential to improve energy efficiency and mitigate the environmental impact within the manufacturing sector.

Optimizing the integration of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and flexibility solutions in a multi-network pharmaceutical industry

In the contemporary landscape, roughly one-fourth of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions stem from industrial energy usage. In the industrial sector, improving the efficient and flexible coupling among different energy demands (electricity, heating, and cooling) and exploiting the integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) and waste heat can lead to a drastic reduction in CO2 emissions, these are also the goals of the EU founded Horizon Europe FLEXIndustries project. This study aims to establish a cost-optimized decarbonization strategy for an energy-intensive industry, focusing on an Italian pharmaceutical company. It delves into the exploration of potential pathways and diverse energy mix configurations. The approach undertaken involves coupling a customized energy system simulation framework, specifically designed for the industrial site, with a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA). The study, conducted with a focus on the year 2024, involves a comparative analysis of three distinct scenarios. Within the intricate and challenging constraints of the industrial demo site, 13 technologies were investigated. The outcomes of each scenario identify a set of 500 Pareto optimal solutions, obtained through 40,000 simulations. These results shed light on the compelling potential of hybrid solutions, showcasing the feasibility of achieving substantial decarbonization with only moderate increases in costs. The availability of land for RES technologies, along with the existence of a biomass supply chain in the region, emerge as pivotal determinants.

Space numerical simulation of full oxygen combustion flame in glass melting furnace based on flue gas preheating

This study explores the innovative design of a glass-melting furnace, which incorporates a combustion lance and a flue on one side. The research validates the simulation that the high-temperature flue gas, produced by the pure oxygen combustion of natural gas, can utilize residual heat in a multi-stage process to preheat and burn the fuel natural gas via a jet heat pump. This process significantly reduces energy consumption, thereby decreasing construction costs and energy usage in industries related to glass furnace production. The research focuses on the flame space of a 600 t/day natural gas flat glass all-oxygen combustion furnace. Utilizing numerical calculation methods, a three-dimensional mathematical model of the all-oxygen lance flame space was developed. Numerical simulation methods were employed to examine the temperature field, airflow field, and the distribution pattern of the liquid flow field within the glass space in the furnace. The simulation results reveal that incorporating high-temperature flue gas into the fuel can markedly enhance the performance of the spray gun flame. Additionally, choosing spray gun outlet designs of varying widths can tailor the flame width to better meet the requirements of the glass melting system, thereby significantly improving the waste heat utilization rate of the flue gas. This offers more alternatives for the direct utilization of flue gas. When compared to traditional oxy-combustion glass melting furnaces, this innovative design substantially reduces construction costs and is more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

Operation optimization of electricity-steam coupled industrial energy system considering steam accumulator

Steam system plays a crucial role in industrial energy usage. Steam generation in the industry domain is transferring from coal-fired or gas-fired plant/boiler to green-electricity steamer for net-zero purpose. The increasing coupling of the electricity-steam energy system in the industry domain, called electricity-steam coupled industrial energy system (ES-IES), brings enormous challenges to the system day-ahead operation optimization due to the uncertainties of renewable generation and the nonlinearities of the system mathematical model. Therefore, this paper introduces the steam accumulator (SA) into the steam system to mitigate the renewable fluctuations, proposes an isothermal linearization method of the steam flow model, and optimizes the operation based on an interactive iteration scheme between optimization and simulation for the global optimum and a balance between accuracy and speed. Results show that considering the storage characteristics of SA and the complementary coordination of electricity and steam through coupling equipment can significantly optimize the operation of ES-IES with an increase in the renewable energy consumption rate by 23.81 % and a decrease in the total operating cost by 11.39 %. The static payback period for the investment of EB and SA is 7 years, indicating a favorable application prospect.

Development of Machine Learning Algorithm for Characterization and Estimation of Energy Consumption of Various Stages during 3D Printing

Energy usage in industries is one of the major contributors for climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity. Technological advancements in digitalization led by Industry 4.0 facilitates affordable energy monitoring systems. This allows comprehensive understanding of the primary energy needs and improvement in the areas of inefficiency of a modern manufacturing system. Machine learning has the potential to reveal untapped insights, providing decision support for sustainable manufacturing by improving environmental performances, significant savings, and operational opportunities.The objectives of this research paper are to develop a machine learning algorithm for characterization, and to estimate the energy consumption of various stages in 3D printing. Machine learning model is developed using long short-term memory algorithm, and is trained, validated, and deployed for the classification of various stages during 3D printing process. Furthermore, energy consumption in each stage is estimated based on Simpson’s rule.The characterization of stages is useful for understanding the energy consumption in each stage during the 3D printing process and providing decision support to practitioners in improving the areas of energy and time inefficiencies.

Decomposition of Industrial Electricity Efficiency and Electricity-Saving Potential of Special Economic Zones in China Considering the Heterogeneity of Administrative Hierarchy and Regional Location

Special Economic Zones (SEZs), an important engine of industrial economic development in China, consume large amounts of energy resources and emit considerable CO2. However, existing research pays little attention to industrial energy usage in SEZs and ignores the heterogeneity of administrative hierarchy and regional location. Considering the dual heterogeneity, this study proposes an improved two-dimension and two-level meta-frontier data envelopment analytical model to decompose the industrial electricity efficiency (IEE) and electricity-saving potential of SEZs in Guizhou Province, China, based on 4-year field survey data (2016–2019). Results show that the IEE rankings of three administrative hierarchies within SEZs are provincial administration SEZs, county administration SEZs, and municipality administration SEZs. The SEZs located in energy resource-rich areas and better ecological environmental areas have higher IEE than those in resource-poor areas and ecology fragile areas, respectively. This study can provide reference for policymakers to formulate effective policies for improving the electricity use efficiency of SEZs in China.

Condition monitoring towards energy-efficient manufacturing: a review

Recently, sustainable development has obtained increasing attentions from governments, industry, and academia owing to the limited natural resources. In the area of energy consumption, manufacturing accounts for a major portion of the total energy usage in industry. There is a clear necessity for energy-efficient manufacturing by optimizing manufacturing activities. Condition monitoring is the technology that provides runtime information for optimization. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of past achievements and future trends of condition monitoring towards energy-efficient manufacturing. Since there are a variety of sensors and technologies that can be used for condition monitoring towards energy-efficient manufacturing, this paper divides manufacturing activities into three levels, namely unit process level, shop-floor level, and supply chain level, and summarizes and discusses the sensors and technologies required to enable energy-efficient manufacturing on each level. With the advancement of technology, condition monitoring shows the characteristic of intelligence. Intelligent sensors that can be applied to condition monitoring in energy-efficient manufacturing are also reviewed. This paper can be helpful to manufacturers who are willing to improve energy efficiency in own manufacturing practice.

CHEMISTRY. Molecular sieves for gas separation.

Metal-organic framework materials enable efficient separation of similar gases

Energy optimisation of pneumatic actuator systems in manufacturing

Compressed air systems account for a significant proportion of industrial energy usage in the European Union and the United States. Improving the energy efficiency of final air consumers is an essential aspect of overall system optimisation. This paper investigates and compares the minimisation of air consumption in linear pneumatic actuator systems using two approaches: dual pressures and the utilisation of expansion energy in compressed air. In order to simplify the implementation of energy saving circuits for industrial end-users, a software program has been developed based on a combination of genetic algorithms and dynamic simulations. The developed program, described in this paper, automates the selection process of optimal design parameters and control input variables for pneumatic cylinders. The robustness of the optimisation software has been experimentally validated. The results from a vertical lifting application case study indicate that the proposed optimisation approaches can reduce compressed air usage by up to 29% per cycle, whilst simultaneously satisfying other common automation design objectives or constraints. The paper concludes with a discussion on methods to increase the application of such energy efficiency measures in pneumatic production machinery.

Briefing: Potential for ground energy systems in the waste industry

There are significant economic and environmental drivers for the reduction of industrial energy usage, and there is a corresponding interest in renewable and alternative sources of energy. Ground energy systems are an established low and zero carbon dioxide technology widely used in the UK outside the waste management industry to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions associated with the heating and cooling of buildings and industrial processes. To date very few ground energy applications have been implemented on waste management sites. This may be a missed opportunity because many sites contain heat sources (including landfilled waste, leachate and compost) at elevated temperatures relative to natural ground. If these heat sources can be exploited and matched to on-site or off-site heat demands there are considerable opportunities to reduce energy costs, improve environmental performance and provide additional revenue streams to site operators.

Industrial energy usage in Australia and the potential for implementation of solar thermal heat and power

A review of industrial energy usage for Australia was undertaken to identify potential sites for utilisation of solar thermal energy. The review identified 2498 individual sites by location, industry type, energy use and characteristic process temperature. This data is presented on maps in terms of both industry type, and characteristic process temperature, in discrete ranges for comparison with the approximate insolation patterns and to identify sites that should be considered for more detailed analysis. High insolation areas of Australia are not heavily populated or industrialised, but there are electricity demands for many remote communities and mining sites that may be suitable targets for solar thermal power generation projects. Relatively few industrial sites were present in areas of high insolation that could utilise higher temperature heat directly, but some potential opportunities were identified involving bauxite and laterite ore processing, ammonia production, oil refining and natural gas processing. In areas with moderate insolation, outside major cities, there are numerous sites in the food processing, building products, textiles and wood products industries that could utilise low to moderate temperature solar heat.

PhD Thesis Summary: Energy Efficient Multistage Zeolite Drying for Heat-Sensitive Products

Although drying takes a significant part of the total energy usage in industry, currently available drying technology is often not efficient in terms of energy consumption. Generally, the energy efficiency for drying processes ranges between 20 and 60% depending on the dryer type and product to be dried. The high energy consumption and low energy efficiency have a high environmental impact due to combustion of fossil fuel or wood used as energy sources. Moreover, the sources of fossil fuel are limited, the prices for energy increase, and the worldwide industrial energy usage rises. In this context the development of efficient drying methods with low energy consumption is an important issue for research in drying technology.

The challenge of reducing energy consumption of the Top-1000 largest industrial enterprises in China

In 2005, the Chinese government announced an ambitious goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20% between 2005 and 2010. One of the key initiatives for realizing this goal is the Top-1000 Energy-Consuming Enterprises program. The energy consumption of these 1000 enterprises accounted for 33% of national and 47% of industrial energy usage in 2004. Under the Top-1000 program, 2010 energy consumption targets were determined for each enterprise. The objective of this article is to evaluate the program design and initial results, given limited information and data, to understand the possible implications of its success in terms of energy and carbon dioxide emission reductions and to recommend future program modifications based on international experience with similar target-setting agreement programs. Even though the Top-1000 program was designed and implemented rapidly, it appears that – depending upon the GDP growth rate – it could contribute to somewhere between approximately 10% and 25% of the savings required to support China's efforts to meet a 20% reduction in energy use per unit of GDP by 2010.

Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions through the application of solar thermal energy in industrial processes

The analysis of industrial energy usage indicates that low temperature processes (20 ≈ 200 °C) are used in nearly all industrial sectors. In principle there is the potential to use solar thermal energy in these lower temperature processes thus, reducing the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. Using the model of an Austrian dairy plant, this research investigated the potential for, and the economic viability of, using solar energy heat processes in industry. Some industrial sectors such as food, chemistry, plastic processing, textile industry, building materials industry and business establishments can be identified as potential sectors for the application of solar energy heat processes. When assessing the (economic) feasibility of solar thermal energy, the investigation of these industries’ energy systems has to focus on an integrated analysis of cooling and heating demands and to take into account competing technologies. Amongst these are heat integration, cogeneration, new technologies and heat pumps. Pinch analysis was used to investigate industrial energy systems and heat integration possibilities and proved to be a viable tool. Working from the basis of energy balances, Sankey diagrams, pinch analysis and environmental cost accounting, a newly developed investigation tool was applied in the case study of an Austrian dairy plant. This enabled a fast optimization of the system. Two different options for the integration of solar thermal energy into the production line were calculated, option 1 with a solar field of 1000 m 2 and option 2 with a solar field of 1500 m 2. Natural gas savings of 85,000 for option 1 and 109,000 m 3/a for option 2 can be achieved, resulting in a reduction of 170 tons of CO 2 per year, or 218 tons for options 1 and 2 respectively. Based upon option 1, return on investment is realised after less than three years of implementation. This research thus, indicates promising technical and economical feasibility of using solar thermal energy for industrial processes and provides an important step towards sustainable zero emission production in industry.