1. Introduction - Firenze University Press

Abstract:
PROCEEDINGS OF ECOS 2012 - THE 25 TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
EFFICIENCY, COST, OPTIMIZATION, SIMULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ENERGY SYSTEMS
JUNE 26-29, 2012, PERUGIA, ITALY
Demonstrating an integral approach for industrial
energy saving
René Cornelissen a , Geert van Rens b , Jos Sentjens c , Henk Akse d , Ton Backx e , Arjan
van der Weiden f , Jo Vandenbroucke g
a CCS B.V., Deventer, The Netherlands, cornelissen@cocos.nl,
b CCS B.V., Deventer, The Netherlands, vanrens@cocos.nl, CA
c Jacobs consultancy, Leiden,The Netherlands, Jos.Sentjens@jacobs.com
d Traxxys, Woerden, The Netherlands, henk.akse@traxxys.com
e Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, a.c.p.m.backx@tue.nl
f NL Agency,Utrecht, The Netherlands, arjan.vanderweiden@agentschapnl.nl
g Nyrstar, Budel, The Netherlands, Jo.Vandenbroucke@nyrstar.com
The reduction of energy consumption in industry is getting increasingly more difficult. In this article an
integral approach is used to perform an industrial energy saving study at a Zinc manufacturing plant. The
approach is a combination of exergy analysis, pinch analysis, process intensification and control
engineering. It was found that exergy analysis at the level of process functions can act as a focal point for
more detailed studies, like process intensification, control engineering and exergy itself. Optimising on
control engineering as a part of an energy saving study has the advantage of tackling process control issues,
while saving energy. It was found that the structured method of the integral approach ensures a broad range
of solutions for both the short term and the long term, of which 12 were elaborated into simple business
cases.
Keywords:
Integral approach, Energy, Exergy, Pinch, Industry.
1. Introduction
Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Oil prices are fluctuating, but have an upward
tendency. Furthermore, many oil reserves are located in countries which are not always politically
stable. Income from oil can increase the political instability. Therefore, a shift away from oil is
required. Coal could be an alternative, as coal reserves are distributed more widely over the world.
However, consumption of coal leads to more polluting emissions, like CO2, which is believed to
cause the greenhouse effect.
Instead of focussing on alternative fuels to replace fossil fuels, this paper focuses on the reduction
of energy use; to be more precise on the reduction of energy consumption in industrial processes.
Companies with a long history of energy saving, find it increasingly difficult to come up with
additional measures for energy saving with an attractive pay-back period. The conventional
analyses focus on optimisation based on energy balances, however, other tools are available for
energy optimisation as well. When these tools are used, they are often applied haphazardly, in parts
of the process that are expected to cause the biggest losses, or expected to achieve the biggest gains.
A systematic approach to energy saving is generally not used.
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