(81a) Energy Efficiency & Best Practices for Sustainable Future

The Energy Balance in Processes and Utilities; the Audit of Thermal Equipment and Systems; and the Audit of Effluents and Waste are methods that allow the visualization of the Flow of Materials and Energy in their Holistic and Economic Vision to develop long-term Planning. These Methods combined with human behavior in routine practices indicate the sustainable result in transformation processes in the chemical industry. It is possible to Map the Consumption of Energy, Water and Materials by studying the Supply based on economic and environmental trends.

Cooling Towers are open systems that deserve attention regarding best practices, indicating that there are appropriate operating modes and limited adaptation capacity. The performance of the towers depends on maximum heat exchange in the recirculating water flow. Critical Heat Exchanger Systems must be monitored for Efficiency Analysis, and for possible dirt, erosion, corrosion and holes that affect their availability and the industrial plant. Networked heat exchangers must meet the thermal and safety requirements for the process units. Furnaces and Boilers, on the other hand, have a high probability of energy loss due to improper operation - maintenance causing losses due to improper planning of production campaigns or even heat loss through the hot wall of these equipment.

Losses of organic products from rotary sealing, improper sampling, and inorganic loads in organic effluents make it difficult to establish a standard mass balance. The goal is to avoid losses that impact worker health, effluent treatment costs, and may increase the risk of fire and explosion events in the effluent system. Live steam losses through traps may be the result of poorly planned debottlenecking projects. Live steam losses unbalance energy recovery by modifying the thermal profile of the condensate system and increase steam and fuel consumption in industrial units.

In terms of management, it is possible to work on new tools such as analysis of good practices to avoid energy losses and monitoring and controlling energy consumption based on energy reliability indicators. Finally, around strategic planning, implementing the Water and Energy Master Plan indicates the urgent need to adjust behavior for water and energy reuse due to future water scarcity and the difficulty in using energy from fossil fuels.