Reduction In Gas Consumption Research Articles

Industrial oven improvement for energy reduction and enhanced process performance

Industrial ovens consume a considerable amount of energy and have a significant impact on product quality; therefore, improving ovens should be an important objective for manufacturers. This paper presents a novel and practical approach to oven improvement that emphasises both energy reduction and enhanced process performance. The three-phased approach incorporates product understanding, process improvement and process parameter optimisation. Cure understanding is developed using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and CIE-Lch colour tests, which together highlight the impact of temperature variation on cure conversion and resulting product quality. Process improvement encompasses thermodynamic modelling of the oven air to evaluate the impact of insulation on temperature uniformity and system responsiveness. Finally, process parameters, such as temperature, pressure negativity and air flow, are optimised to reduce energy consumption. The methodology has been effectively demonstrated for a 1 MW festoon oven, resulting in an 87.5 % reduction in cooling time, saving 202 h of annual downtime and a reduction in gas consumption by 20–30 %.

Influence of Gas Sparging Intermittence on Ultrafiltration Performance of Anaerobic Suspensions

A novel strategy for membrane fouling control based on combination of intermittent gas sparging and transmembrane pressure set-point (TMPsp) for backwashing initiation was assessed at laboratory scale. Ultrafiltration of anaerobic suspensions, complex and highly concentrated, was carried out at supracritical permeate fluxes and different TMPsp values. Intermittent gas sparging effectively mitigated reversible fouling mainly caused by a cake layer formed of large particles, regardless of the selected TMPsp. In fact, cycle duration increased with dimensionless gas-sparging time (Θgs) and TMPsp, although this trend diminished with rising permeate flux (Jp). Additionally, backwashing initiation by TMPsp demonstrated its high effectiveness in preventing residual fouling, independent of the applied conditions (Θgs, J, and TMPsp). As a result, high net permeate fluxes were obtained at moderate J and low Θgs values. Therefore, the applied combined strategy is a promising option for reducing gas consumption that s...

Data analytics for simplifying thermal efficiency planning in cities.

More than 44% of building energy consumption in the USA is used for space heating and cooling, and this accounts for 20% of national CO2emissions. This prompts the need to identify among the 130 million households in the USA those with the greatest energy-saving potential and the associated costs of the path to reach that goal. Whereas current solutions address this problem by analysing each building in detail, we herein reduce the dimensionality of the problem by simplifying the calculations of energy losses in buildings. We present a novel inference method that can be used via a ranking algorithm that allows us to estimate the potential energy saving for heating purposes. To that end, we only need consumption from records of gas bills integrated with a building's footprint. The method entails a statistical screening of the intricate interplay between weather, infrastructural and residents' choice variables to determine building gas consumption and potential savings at a city scale. We derive a general statistical pattern of consumption in an urban settlement, reducing it to a set of the most influential buildings' parameters that operate locally. By way of example, the implications are explored using records of a set of (N= 6200) buildings in Cambridge, MA, USA, which indicate that retrofitting only 16% of buildings entails a 40% reduction in gas consumption of the whole building stock. We find that the inferred heat loss rate of buildings exhibits a power-law data distribution akin to Zipf's law, which provides a means to map an optimum path for gas savings per retrofit at a city scale. These findings have implications for improving the thermal efficiency of cities' building stock, as outlined by current policy efforts seeking to reduce home heating and cooling energy consumption and lower associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Development and Characterization of a Miniaturized Flame Ionization Detector in Ceramic Multilayer Technology for Field Applications

A new type of a miniaturized flame ionization detector (μFID) for industrial and environmental field applications is presented. It is fabricated in Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC) using multilayer technology. The developed solution integrates the fluidic structure with feed pipes, reaction chamber and exhaust and the electrical structure with electrodes for ignition and measurement as well in a monolithic ceramic component. The novel μFID was characterized using a varying methane concentration in a nitrogen sample gas. An absolute sensitivity of 9.4 mC/gC combined with a reduced gas consumption of 20 ml/min hydrogen in comparison to conventional FID systems were achieved.

Visualising Energy Use for Smart Homes and Informed Users

We evaluate the changes to domestic electricity and gas consumption when the occupants have local access to a coloured real time in-home display (IHD). We report the preliminary six months findings of a three year research project involving 52 new build Scottish dwellings (flats and houses). On average, when compared to households with no IHD (n=22) the households with the IHD (n=30) reduced their gas and electricity consumption by 20% and 7% respectively. We found that the IHD was valued by the users for its ability to incite behaviour to reduce gas consumption and reinforce existing electricity saving behaviour.

Avoiding filter cake cracking: Influence of consolidation on desaturation characteristics

ABSTRACTIn cake filtration processes with an air-blowing step, cracking is an undesirable phenomenon as it leads to deterioration of the filtration process by highly increasing gas throughput. This leads to higher residual moisture if the pressure difference cannot be maintained and an increase in overall cost. Crack formation can be avoided by compacting the filter cake before desaturation. While this action will make the separation process applicable by highly reducing gas consumption, there are also potential negative effects. Compaction increases filter cake resistance and might therefore slow down desaturation kinetics. Therefore, the authors investigated how the filter cake characteristics governing desaturation change from the nonconsolidated to the consolidated state of the filter cake and compared these findings to the actual dewatering kinetics. The results showed that for the case where cracking could be oppressed, dewatering kinetics of the consolidated cake are actually faster than for the nonconsolidated cake, despite higher resistance of the consolidated cake. Thus, compaction is an appropriate action when dealing with filter cake cracking.

The comparison of performance of bidboland gas refinery unit based on the current designing and the new designing

One of the problems of Bidboland Gas Refinery especially in the cold seasons is the low temperature of the sour gas entering to Gas Refinement Unit that .This problem has a direct influence on output reduction of Amin-Amin Exchanger leading to an increase in gas fuel consumption in the Reboiler of Amin Recovery Tower because Amin-Amin exchanger is not able ,in the current condition ,to warm up Rich DEA solution to optimum temperature based on design of the manufacturer company .In order to solve this problem, the Amin-Amin exchanger was redesign by use of Aspen Hysys specialized software and it was used in the process by use of the Aspen Hysys software .Based on the obtained results, in case of using the new exchanger ,the Rich DEA solution temperature will increase from 33°C to 98°C that this increase in temperature causes a 33.2% reduction in gas consumption in the Reboiler. On the other hand ,as a result of improvement in the heat exchanging between Lean and Rich solutions ,temperature of the saturated Amin solution reduces to 57°C which, consequently there is no need to use air cooler to cool running Amin. These equipments are totally omitted from the process, and its operating costs will are returned to Bidboland Gas Refinery .Finally, it was revealed that using the new heat exchanger causes a capital-return to 114864 $ annually as a result of reducing energy consumption in Reboiler and air cooler.

Analysis of Micro CHP Potential in Latvia

The self-sufficiency in the energy field of Latvia is only 35,9 % therefore it is important to think about more efficient and local energy production to provide energy safety whilst reducing the dependence on external factors. [11,12] The current legislation is not favourable for micro CHP unit implementation due to high requirements for electricity sales, however on-site consumption is an option. A good example is Carnikavas Darznieks Ltd micro CHP project, which helped the company to reduce gas consumption of 608 450 m3 and CO2 emissions of 1680 tons per annum. The awareness in Latvia is high due to the experience with CHP plants and there is an interest from foreign companies. With the right application, micro CHP is perspective new technology in Latvia.

Feasibility Study of Regenerative Burners in Aluminum Holding Furnaces

Gas-fired aluminum holding reverberatory furnaces are currently considered to be the lowest efficiency fossil fuel system. A considerable volume of gas is consumed to hold the molten metal at temperature that is much lower than the flame temperature. This will lead to more effort and energy consumption to capture the excessive production of the CO2. The concern of this study is to investigate the feasibility of the regenerative-burners’ furnaces to increase the furnace efficiency to reduce gas consumption per production and hence result in less CO2 production. Energy assessments for metal holding furnaces are considered at different operation conditions. Onsite measurements, supervisory control and data acquisition data, and thermodynamics analysis are performed to provide feasible information about the gas consumption and CO2 production as well as area of improvements. In this study, onsite measurements are used with thermodynamics modeling to assess a 130 MT rectangular furnace with two regenerative burners and one cold-air holding burner. The assessment showed that the regenerative burner furnaces are not profitable in saving energy, in addition to the negative impact on the furnace life. However, reducing the holding and door opening time would significantly increase the operation efficiency and hence gain the benefit of the regenerative technology.

Energy Audit of an Industrial Site: A Case Study

In order to reduce energy consumptions for sustainable and energy-efficient manufacturing, continuous energy audit and process tracking of industrial machines are essential. Compared to other non-residential buildings that have been widely researched, industrial buildings are generally characterized by larger thermal loads, ventilation losses and pollution control requirements. This paper presents the results of a preliminary energy audit carried out on 8 large industrial buildings of a famous car manufacturing holding in Italy. Energy demand for heating varied from 6 to just over 74 kWh/m3year among the buildings of the site. The energy audit enabled to build a specific factory energy model which has been used in order to analyze the impact of various energy saving actions on the primary energy consumptions of the site. It has been demonstrated that in this specific case the improvement of the building envelopes and the optimization of the performances of the existing HVAC systems can determine a reduction of gas consumption up to 15% per year with a predicted annual economic saving of the order of 100000 €; the total simple pay-back time of the proposed thermal retrofitting is evaluated to be less than 6 years

A Plant for Absorbent Regeneration Utilizing Fuel Wastes

An energy-efficient resource-saving absorbent regenerating plant having a pyroevaporator and utilizing fuel wastes and effluents of oil and gas processing plants is investigated. The results of appraisal of the efficiency of the developed alternative version of the plant for facilities being planned and operated based on a system of parameters that include energy, technoeconomic, and combined criteria are reported. It is shown with reference to a gas drying plant that updating of the absorbent regenerating block will help reduce consumption of fuel gas from the plant circuit by 30‐40% and curtail environmental pollution by industrial effluents. Absorbent regenerating plants (ARPs) having pyroevaporators are components of oil and gas processing enterprises where natural and process gases are dried and cleaned. In general, ARPs include (Fig. 1) the following apparatuses arranged in succession along the flow path of the absorbent being regenerated: a degasser-separator (DS), a pyroregeneration block with a pyrotube evaporator (PE) and a rectifying column C-1 mounted on it, an air-cooled steam condenser (AC-1), and a saturated absorbent (SA) recuperative heat exchanger-heater (H-1). The ARPs also include absorbent pumps P-1 and P-2 and tanks E-1 and E-2. Primarily natural gas from the enterprise circuit and partly off-grade gas mixtures with a variable composition are used as the fuel in the evaporator. The fuel gas consumption rate for the production process requirements alone reaches 17‐94 m 3 per 1000 m 3 of processed gas-phase feedstock and 10‐20 m 3 per ton of gas condensate or crude oil. The analysis made of the existing enterprises having ARPs showed a tendency for increased rate of fuel gas consumption for its own needs, which is associated not only with unsteady composition of the feedstock, increased degree of processing of the latter, and improved quality of the obtained products, but also with low degree of utilization of the heat of the regenerated absorbent and lack of technical solutions for utilization of fuel wastes (gases from degassing and regeneration) and effluents. One of the ways of reducing gas consumption for inherent needs, augmenting energy efficiency of the ARP, optimizing its fuel balance, and reducing gas preparation cost is to develop fuel waste utilization technology and appropriate nonstandard equipment. The developed fuel waste utilizing plant reduces fuel consumption rate for absorbent regeneration and toxicity of discharged flue gases and increases overhaul life of the equipment [1]. The process flow diagram of one version of the ARP as a component of gas drying plants is illustrated in Fig. 2. The energy efficiency of the developed ARP is enhanced by using the degassing gases as the fuel, the pressure differential of the saturated absorbent flow in the expander-generator with generation of electric power for heating of the absorbent before degassing, improving separation of the saturated absorbent and the gas condensate in the degasser-separator and the regenerated absorbent tank with removal of the gas condensate through a separate line, and by neutralizing the industrial effluents (equipment wash water, and water separated from the drying unit and the top product of the regeneration column of the evaporator).

Analysis of permeate pressure build-up effects on separation performance of asymmetric hollow fiber membranes

The study rectifies some perceptions about pressure build-up in hollow fiber membranes. It is a general intuition that operating at higher pressures permeates more gases, and sometimes the membrane module is tested or characterized at lower pressures to reduce gas consumption. It is also perceived that higher pressure build-up occurs at higher feed pressures, and membrane performance deteriorates at higher feed pressures. In this study, the apparent and intrinsic permeances of H2 and N2 in asymmetric cellulose acetate-based hollow fiber membranes were evaluated from gas permeation experiments and numerical analysis. It was shown that though the permeate pressure build-up increases as the feed pressure increases, the effect of the permeate pressure build-up on the membrane performance is actually reduced at higher feed pressures. Membrane performs close to its intrinsic separation properties if it is operated at high feed pressures, under which conditions the effect of pressure build-up on the membrane performance is minimized. The pressure build-up effect was further investigated by evaluating the percentage loss in the driving force due to permeate pressure build-up, and it was found that percentage loss in driving force is less at higher feed pressures than that at lower feed pressures.

New ecological fluid bed nitrocarburising technology for improvement of properties in X160CrMoV121 steel

New technologies for fluidised bed nitrocarburising are described that employ either a chemically active bed or a chemically inert bed, plus additional activation of the fluid bed with mechanical vibration (alone or accompanied by the flow of a gas medium). Investigations were performed on X160CrMoV121 tool steel, with three methods of nitrocarburisation, at 580°C for 2 and 4 h. The nitrocarburised layers produced were investigated via surface hardness tests and microhardness distribution examination, metallography and X-ray spectrometry. Wear results are also reported. The new processes are reported to reduce gas consumption and to provide better case properties under optimised process conditions.

Quantification of energy savings from Ireland’s Home Energy Saving scheme: an ex post billing analysis

This paper quantifies the energy savings realised by a sample of participants in the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s Home Energy Saving (HES) residential retrofit scheme (currently branded as the Better Energy Homes scheme), through an ex post billing analysis. The billing data are used to evaluate: (1) the reduction in gas consumption of the sample between pre- (2008) and post- (2010) scheme participation when compared to the gas consumption of a control group, (2) an estimate of the shortfall when this result is compared to engineering-type ex ante savings estimates and (3) the degree to which these results may apply to the wider population. All dwellings in the study underwent energy efficiency improvements, including insulation upgrades (wall and/or roof), installation of high-efficiency boilers and/or improved heating controls, as part of the HES scheme. Metered gas use data for the 210 households were obtained from meter operators for a number of years preceding dwelling upgrades and for a post-intervention period of 1 year. Dwelling characteristics and some household behavioural data were obtained through a survey of the sample. The gas network operator provided anonymised data on gas usage for 640,000 customers collected over the same period as the HES sample. Dwelling type data provided with the population dataset enabled matching with the HES sample to increase the internal validity of the comparison between the control (matched population data) and the treatment (HES sample). Using a difference-in-difference methodology, the change in demand of the sample was compared with that of the matched population subset of gas-using customers in Ireland over the same time period. The mean reduction in gas demand as a result of energy efficiency upgrades for the HES sample is estimated as 21 % or 3,664 ± 603 kWh between 2008 and 2010. An ex ante estimate of average energy savings, based on engineering calculations (u value reductions and improved boiler efficiency and use through heating controls), suggests a technical reduction potential of 5,676 kWh per dwelling. Equating this with the gas reduction in the sample suggests a shortfall of approximately 36 ± 8 % between technical potential and measured savings. This shortfall includes the effects of direct and indirect rebound effects, variations in ex ante assumptions and achieved u values and efficiencies for upgraded dwellings. The profile of household characteristics in the HES sample is influenced by the self-selected nature of scheme participants. Self-selection bias and other possible biases in the sample data impact on the validity of the comparison. Data limitations for individual households across explanatory variables in the control and treatment groups precluded corrections for these biases in the sample; however, the profiles of separate comparable data sets were used where possible to quantify the differences in the explanatory variables and how these might impact on the measured energy saving with reference to the relevant effects identified in the literature.

A system dynamics analysis of energy consumption and corrective policies in Iranian iron and steel industry

Iron and steel industry is the most energy intensive industrial sector in Iran. Long time subsidized energy has led to low energy efficiency in this industry. The sudden subsidy reform of energy prices in Iran is expected to have a great impact on steel production and energy consumption. A system dynamics model is presented in this paper to analyze steel demand, production and energy consumption in an integrated framework. A co-flow structure is used to show how subsidy reform affects energy consumption in the long run. The main focus of this paper is on direct and indirect natural gas consumption in the steel industry. Scrap based Electric Arc Furnace technology has been evaluated as an energy efficient way for steel making. The energy consumption in steel industry is estimated under various steel production and export scenarios while taking into account new energy prices to see the outlook of possible energy demand in steel industry over next 20 years. For example it is shown that under reference production scenario, potential reduction in gas consumption forced by complete removal of energy subsidy and utilizing scrap could lead to 85 billion cubic meters of gas saving over the next 20 years.

A TWO-DOF Controlled Lens Drive Actuator for Off-Axis Laser Beam Cutting

This paper describes a two-degree-of-freedom (two-DOF) controlled electromagnetic actuator guided by an elastic hinge mechanism to realize off-axis laser beam cutting. In the laser beam cutting process, a focused laser beam melts and vaporizes part of the workpiece, and the molten material is blown away by an assist gas jet. The cutting speed and quality are related to the flow of the assist gas jet. In order to improve the removal capability of the molten material and to reduce gas consumption in off-axis laser beam cutting, the lens is driven radially by the proposed two-DOF actuator to generate relative motion between the assist gas nozzle and the laser. Experimental results show the prototype actuator possesses a positioning stroke of ±500µm within 3µm of tracking error and bandwidths more than 150Hz in the two-DOF directions. In the acceleration test supposed at a maximum acceleration of 2G, the prototype actuator maintains the relative displacement between the lens holder and the laser head within 10µm. Off-axis laser beam cutting by using the prototype actuator achieves high speed and less dross processing.

Solvent Induced Oil Viscosity Reduction and Its Effect on Waterflood Recovery Efficiency

WAG process is one of the techniques used for reducing gas consumption, enhancing recovery factor and achieving better profile control of displacing fluids. Recovery efficiency due to reduction of oil viscosity, simulating a WAG process, in a wide range of reservoir permeability and water injection rate was investigated. Gas viscosity reduction by miscible gas or solvent injection is mimicked by progressive dilution of a medium density crude oil with a mixture of hydrocarbon solvent. The porous media used in this study consists of a set of water wet sandstone core plugs of low to medium permeability. The experimental findings show that reduced oil viscosity has no correlation with recovery efficiency, in the normal flood velocity regime. However, in the higher flood velocity regime, recovery efficiency reduces with increasing oil viscosity, only for higher permeability cores, which is attributed to micro-heterogeneity within pore geometry. The study suggests that the additional oil recovery during miscible gas injection, is mainly contributed by the swelling factor of oil which results in increased oil saturation, higher reservoir pressure and increased relative permeability of oil in addition to the contribution from lower interfacial tension and very little, if any due to oil viscosity reduction. Key words: WAG process; Recovery efficiency; Oil viscosity

Environmental impact of building-related and user-related energy consumption in dwellings

Energy consumption in dwellings contributes significantly to their total negative environmental impact. This paper quantitatively assesses the environmental impact of building-related and user-related gas and electricity consumption in a Dutch apartment dwelling using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Several scenarios for gas and electricity consumption are compared to assess what effect changes in building characteristics and user behaviour have on the environmental impacts of energy consumption. This study shows that gas consumption significantly contributes to four environmental impact categories, which can be most effectively countered by reducing the heat demand of the dwelling. A 23% reduction in gas consumption leads to up to 13% less overall environmental impacts. Particularly in buildings with low heat demand, electricity consumption dominates all environmental impact categories. These can most effectively be reduced by changing the electricity demand of the user: 47% less electricity consumption leads to a 9–45% reduction in the total environmental impact. However, since electricity consumption continues to rise, the environmental effects of electricity use may be better reduced by changing the environmental impact of the electricity supply. Theoretically, when electricity consumption remains the same, over 90% less environmental impact could be reached by using 100% wind power to generate electricity.

3376 A TWO-DOF Controlled Lens Drive Actuator for Off-Axis Laser Beam Cutting

This paper describes a two-degrees-of-freedom (two-DOF) controlled electromagnetic actuator guided by an elastic hinge mechanism to realize off-axis laser beam cutting. In the laser beam cutting process, a focused laser beam melts and vaporizes part of the workpiece, and the molten material is blown away by an assist gas jet. The cutting speed and quality is related to the flow of the assist gas jet. In order to improve the removal capability of the molten material and to reduce gas consumption in off-axis laser beam cutting, the lens is driven radially by the proposed two-DOF actuator to generate relative motion between the assist gas nozzle and the laser.

The Effect of a Prepayment Meter on Residential Gas Consumption

This study examined the effect of prepayment gas meters (households pay for their gas as they use it) as a feedback instrument on gas consumption by households. Furthermore, behavioral determinants of the reduction in gas consumption were studied. Half of the households in the experimental group were issued a notebook allowing them to compare their gas consumption with a self‐set goal. The results revealed that households with a prepayment meter reduced their annual gas consumption by 4.1% compared with the control group; the notebook did not result in additional savings. Furthermore, changes in objective gas consumption were related to self‐reported changes in intention toward reducing consumption.