Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes

 

Energy efficiency in industrial processes is the ratio of useful output to input of energy in a system. This concept is not only important for environmental and economic reasons. It is also for creating value and innovation for industries. The most obvious benefit of improving energy efficiency can lower operational costs. In relation to that, it can enable to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance competitiveness for industries.

There are various strategies for improving energy efficiency in industrial processes. Implementing energy management systems and audits might be a start for most efforts. Those enable to identify and monitor energy use and performance. Then it is possible to set goals, track progress, and identify opportunities for improvement. For example, the ISO 50001 standard provides a framework for establishing and implementing an energy management system. This standard provides a practical way to improve energy use, through the development of an energy management system.

Adopting best practices and technologies for process optimization can be the tools to rely on. Technologies such as heat recovery, waste minimization, and variable speed drives can help to reduce energy losses, increase efficiency, and optimize production. For example, heat recovery systems such as boilers, furnaces, and ovens, can capture and reuse the otherwise wasted heat from caused by industrial processes. Renewable energy is a hot topic, thus investing in renewable sources can help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, lower carbon footprint, and save costs.

Some other tools to further enhance those efforts could be applying innovative solutions, such as digitalization, smart sensors, and artificial intelligence. These can help to collect and analyze data, automate and control processes. For example, digitalization can enable to connect and integrate their processes, equipment, and systems, and to access real-time information and insights.

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” said Newton. Engaging in collaborative actions and partnerships with other stakeholders, such as governments, regulators, customers, and suppliers is a sure way to take. To share knowledge and best practices, or to create incentives and standards for energy efficiency benefits could be countless. These can help to align objectives, leverage resources, and overcome barriers. The Energy Star program, which recognizes and promotes energy-efficient products and practices has been running since 1992. It is estimated that, in 2020 alone, the program’s emissions reductions were equivalent to more than five percent of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, besides many controversies, create meaningful impacts as a result of energy efficiency projects. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), improving energy efficiency could deliver over 40% of the emissions reductions needed to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. At this point two other terms come into the mix, energy conservation and sustainable energy. Energy efficiency might be regarded as a subset of energy conservation, whereas it can also be regarded as a cornerstone of sustainable energy targets. For the sake of energy conservation, using the optimal amount of electricity for each process and minimizing the losses can be achieved by, for instance, utilizing power factor correction. On the other hand, efficient use of renewable energy sources can contribute to sustainable energy, that is another way of saying “meeting energy needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

By improving energy efficiency, industries can save money most obviously on energy bills. Global industry could save around $437 billion a year from 2030 via energy efficiency savings, a study by the Energy Efficiency Movement shows. It is an industry collective, which has Switzerland's ABB, Germany's DHL Group, Sweden's Alfa Laval and Microsoft among its members, said four gigatons of carbon emissions could be saved by 2030.

That brings another question to the table, enhancing competitiveness and market share. By improving energy efficiency, industries can improve product quality, customer satisfaction, and reputation, and gain a competitive edge in the market.

Fostering innovation and creativity could be a benefit as well as a challenge for organizations. According to the World Economic Forum, energy efficiency can drive the transition to a circular economy, where resources are used more efficiently and waste is minimized. In contrast, many industries may face technical and organizational challenges to improve energy efficiency, such as replacing or upgrading old and inefficient equipment, optimizing their complex and interrelated processes, and coordinating and collaborating with their internal and external stakeholders.

Many industries lack awareness and knowledge about energy efficiency opportunities and solutions.  They may not be aware of the potential benefits and solutions for improving energy efficiency or may not have the necessary skills and expertise to implement them. High upfront costs and long payback periods seem to be an entry barrier in that sense. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and International Energy Agency (IEA), today’s $135 billion financing has a gap of $1.5 trillion for energy efficiency projects in emerging markets.

There is some consensus regarding regulatory and polices as well as some uncertainties. Industries may face regulatory and policy uncertainties that affect their energy efficiency decisions. It is clear that there is a need for more stable and coherent policies and regulations to create a favorable environment for energy efficiency investments.

Energy efficiency is important for industries. It creates value and innovation. It also helps to solve environmental and economic problems. But energy efficiency has benefits and challenges. Industries and other stakeholders need to utilize different methods to measure industrial process’s energy efficiency, depending on the purpose and situation. Industries can use effective strategies to improve energy efficiency, that can help industries to reach their energy goals

Data Science and Your Business

British mathematician Clive Humby famously declared “data is the new oil.”

As a petroleum engineer that quote got me! When dug deeper into it I realized he meant that "data, like oil, isn't useful in its raw state". It needs to be refined, processed, and turned into something useful; its value lies in its potential. Be it the gas in your car, or the plastic components in the mobile device you are holding in your hand, or numerous other areas of your life you make use of the oil... Same approach needs to be practiced when talking about data.

Let us start with the process of extracting the data. The business must commission the site for extracting the data, it could be an automatic data collection (like a combination of IIOT and ERP systems) or a manual labor (could be spreadsheets). -- I will share more on how to collect data in later articles. – At this point, there might be a need to use third party contractors to assess the data quality and examine the usability of the data. Also, the business needs to keep in mind the process of transferring and storing the data. Finally, the data is ready to be refined, so as the data-driven decision-making.

Data-driven decision-making is a powerful tool that can help businesses make informed decisions that drive growth and process improvement. By leveraging data science, businesses can gain insights into customer behavior, market trends, and other key business metrics that can help them make better decisions. For example, a business might use data science to measure the speed of rotating equipment in their manufacturing plant to identify the average capacity of the facility. By analyzing this data, businesses can optimize their production processes and improve efficiency. This can help them reduce costs, increase output, and stay competitive in today’s fast-paced business environment.

There are some important parameters comes into play here. Most data work is focused on tasks such as adding new fields to databases, aligning systems, defining metadata, and implementing low-level governance. Those who work with data often struggle to engage the business on these tasks. Aligning all these with business strategy is completely another level requiring an expert. When businesses ask for better data controls, data specialists may lack the skills or business acumen needed to drive an idea forward. As a result, data activities are often disconnected from business strategy and tend to be low-level and short-term in nature. Data activities are becoming increasingly costly so to minimize such risks it is imperative to collaborate with experienced professionals. Even someone from outside of the company would be a better choice.

There is abundance of opportunities in the field of data science, such as analytics, artificial intelligence, data quality, monetization, privacy, small data, and security. Just like extracting oil out of the rocks deep into the earth’s crust, data needs to be carefully extracted and refined. I would be happy to provide my consulting services and industry expertise to carefully extract things that the eye cannot see—no pun intended!

Fossil Fuels: Three shades of energy forms

 

 

Thermodynamics and energy transformation are fascinating topics that explore how heat, work, and energy are related. Thermodynamics is the branch that studies the laws governing physical phenomena, such as the conservation of energy and the increase of entropy. Energy transformation is the process of changing one form of energy into another, such as converting chemical energy into mechanical energy or electrical energy into thermal energy. Energy transformation is governed by the principles of thermodynamics, which determine the efficiency and feasibility of different types of energy conversion.

One way to measure the efficiency of energy conversion is to calculate the ratio of the useful output energy to the input energy. For example, generally a solar panel converts 100 joules of solar energy into 20 joules of electrical energy, so efficiency is 20%. The remaining energy is usually lost to the environment as heat unless it is made useful, e.g., district heating. The higher the efficiency, the less energy is wasted in the process. In another example, nuclear energy plants have about the double efficiency (~40%) of converting nuclear fission into electricity, but it also has high costs, safety risks, and radioactive waste disposal challenges. Wind energy has about the same efficiency of converting wind into electricity, but it works as long as there is wind. Therefore, efficiency should not be the only factor that affects the feasibility of energy conversion.

The best energy sources and technologies for a sustainable future depend on several factors, such as cost, availability, reliability, environmental impact, and social acceptability. Each energy source and technology has its own advantages and disadvantages, and no single solution can meet all the energy needs of the world. Therefore, a mix of various types of energy conversion (source) and optimal balance between efficiency and feasibility might be the best way to ensure energy security, affordability, and environmental protection. For example, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and biomass can provide clean and abundant energy, but they also depend on weather conditions and geographic locations. On the other hand, fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are widely available and reliable, but they also emit greenhouse gases and cause air pollution. Nuclear energy is another option that can produce large amounts of electricity with low carbon emissions, but it also poses safety and waste management challenges. Therefore, the costs and benefits of each energy source and technology need to be carefully evaluated, and the most suitable combination for different regions and scenarios need to be found.

Fossil fuels have been a controversial topic for many years, with some people arguing that they are essential to our way of life and others arguing that they are destroying the planet. However, there might be some advantages to fossil fuel use that tend to be overlooked. Fossil fuels have a high energy density, comparable only to nuclear energy. They can produce a lot of power with a small amount of fuel. This makes them efficient and cost-effective. Fossil fuels are versatile and can be converted into different forms of energy, such as gas, oil, coal, and biofuels. This gives them flexibility and adaptability to different needs and situations. They also have well-established infrastructures and markets that support their production and distribution. In addition, fossil fuel technology is globally developed making it to enable many products and services that is used every day, even in the remotest parts of the world. They do not depend on weather conditions or geographic locations. They can also meet the high demand instantly whenever needed.  

All that being said, it comes down to our greed. Fossil fuels also allow us to enjoy many of the things that we take for granted, such as air conditioning, refrigeration, and television. Without fossil fuels, we would have to live in smaller homes, would have to travel less, and would have to eat a less varied diet. That is where environmental impacts begin. Concepts such as carbon footprint can tell us where to stop being greedy. Humankind since the control of fire used fossil fuels in all three energy forms, solid-liquid-gas. Evidence for the "microscopic traces of wood ash" as controlled use of fire by Homo Erectus, beginning roughly 1 million years ago. Until the industrial revolution, we were kind enough to live within our means. In conclusion, fossil fuels do have environmental impacts, these impacts can be mitigated with new technologies and regulations. We should continue to use fossil fuels in a responsible way while we develop new energy sources. We should also invest in new technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of fossil fuel use.