Energy Optimization / Applying Sustainability Tools in the Chemical Industry

Integrating sustainability concepts can position engineering design professionals to drive change related to complex systems and their impacts.

In the US, much engineering design work involves working with aging plants instead of designing new ones. Traditional Good Engineering Practices can be enhanced using Sustainability Tools and Metrics. Material and energy balances along with the present costs of energy, waste, water, and materials should be periodically reevaluated with respect to benchmarks. As energy costs increase, the potential return on investment coupled with meeting sustainability initiatives can make good business sense.

Practical ways to effectively reduce energy usage and costs include:
• Considering alternate fuel sources;
• Spreading energy peak usage over time;
• Incorporating sustainability in equipment specifications; and
• Looking beyond standard economization schemes to recover energy in processing.
• Sustainability tools related to energy optimization are presented with case studies involving chemical processes.