This DOE Industrial Program case study describes how the J.R. Simplot Company saved energy and money by increasing the efficiency of the steam system in its potato processing plant in Caldwell, Idaho.

Rohm and Haas conducted a plant-wide energy assessment at its Knoxville, Tennessee, chemicals manufacturing facility. The assessment identified potential annual energy savings of nearly 47,000 MMBtu in steam and fuel and 11,000 MWh in electricity. Annual cost savings were estimated at almost$1.5 million. After the assessment was replicated in California and Kentucky plants, the companys additional estimated cost savings were$500,000 annually. Additional annual energy savings were about 23,000 MMBtu and 6,000 MWh. The assessments also indicated the plants would reduce nitrous oxide emissions.

The plant-wide energy assessment at W. R. Grace's Curtis Bay Works helped identify four projects with combined potential savings of $840,000 per year. A separate, unique project that would partner W. R. Grace with the City of Baltimore to recover and use landfill gas (methane) to cogenerate steam and electricity was also identified during the assessment. If implemented, the project would recover gas from the landfill to replace 40% of the electricity and 65% of the fuel currently required to produce steam at Curtis Bay Works. Annual savings are estimated at $900,000 to $1.2 million.

Forty Dow Chemical Company plants in Texas and Louisiana could save $15 million per year and reduce emissions by reusing wastes as described in this Industrial Technologies Program case study.

An assessment team conducted a mill-wide energy survey at Georgia-Pacific's Crossett, Arkansas mill to update a previous pinch analysis. Three heat recovery projects were identified that could reduce annual costs by $4.8 million and reduce natural gas use by 1,845,000 x 106 Btu. The overall payback period for the heat recovery projects would be less than 1 year. Furthermore, by implementing operational improvements, the mill could save $4.8 million more annually and 1,500,000 x 106 Btu in natural gas.

In the 1990s, a subsidiary of the Citation Corporation, Interstate Forging, implemented a compressed air system improvement project at its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, forging plant. This improvement enabled the plant to maintain an adequate and stable pressure level using fewer compressors, which led to improved product quality and lower production downtime. The project also yielded annual energy savings of 820,000 kWh and$45,000. With a total project cost of$67,000, the plant achieved a simple payback of just 1.5 years.

In 2001, Ohio Aluminum Industries implemented the first phase of a compressed air system improvement project at its Cleveland, Ohio, plant. By completing this phase, the plant stabilized the system's pressure and improved its performance. Furthermore, it yielded annual energy savings of 716,000 kilowatt-hours and $73,200. The total cost for the project's first phase was $83,500, making the simple payback slightly more than 1 year.

The Paramount Petroleum plant-wide energy assessment identified a cost-effective electrical power and heat energy production facility and systems that could benefit from either fuel-burn adjustments or a new drive/control system. This could lead to independence from a local electric utility with much improved reliability, estimated annual energy savings of 1,200,000 kWh of electricity, and estimated annual savings of$4.1 million for energy reduction and other improvements.

The Weirton Steel Corporation performed a plant-wide energy assessment of its steel mill plant in Weirton, West Virginia. Based on the assessment results, the company found strong economic justification for six projects that would reduce the use of fossil fuel, electrical energy, and water. All of the projects would save fossil fuel either for heating steam or firing the furnace. This savings totals 108,300 million British thermal units (MMBtu) annually or $1.27 million. Other yearly savings include 119 million gallons of water ($87,110) and 84,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or $3,357 of electrical energy. All of the projects could be applied to other steel mills and possibly other industries using steam processes and furnaces.

In 2000, the Corning glass plant in Greenville, Ohio, consumed almost 114 million kWh of electricity and nearly 308,000 MMBtu of natural gas in its glassmaking processes for a total cost of approximately $6.4 million. A plant-wide assessment indicated that improvement projects could save nearly $26 million and reduce natural gas use by 122,900 MMBtu per year, reduce electrical use by 72,300,000 kWh per year, and reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million pounds per year.

Progressive Powder Coating in Mentor, Ohio, is a metal finishing plant that uses a convection oven in its manufacturing process. In an effort to save energy and improve production, the company installed an infrared oven in between the powder coating booth and the convection oven on its production line. This installation allowed the plant to increase its conveyor line speed and increase production by 50 percent. In addition, the plant reduced its natural gas consumption, yielding annual energy savings of approximately$54,000. With a total project cost of$136,000, the simple payback is 2.5 years.

In 2001, American Water Heater Company implemented a system-level improvement project on the compressed air system that serves its manufacturing plant in Johnson City, Tennessee. The plant now operates with less compressor capacity, which has reduced its energy consumption and maintenance needs. The project's total cost was $228,000. The annual compressed air energy savings (2,345,000 kWh) and maintenance savings total $160,000, yielding a simple payback of 17 months. Furthermore, the system now supports the plant's production processes more effectively, which has improved product quality and increased production.

This Industrial Technologies Program case study describes an energy assessment team's recommendations for saving $5 million in energy, water, and other costs at an oil refinery in Houston, Texas.

In 2001, Lehigh Southwest Cement Company improved the compressed air system at its cement plant in Tehachapi, California. Consequently, the system was able to operate more efficiently with less compressor capacity and at a lower system pressure. The project yielded total annual savings of 895,000 kWh and $199,000. The initial project cost was $417,000, but Southern California Edison provided a $90,000 incentive payment to reduce the cost to $327,000. Simple payback was about 20 months.

The Bayer Corporation undertook a plant-wide energy efficiency assessment of its New Martinsville, West Virginia, plant in 2001. The objectives were to identify energy saving projects in the utilities area. The projects, when complete, will save the company the loss of an estimated 236,000 MMBtu ($1.16 million) annually in energy from burning and leaking fossil fuels. Certain other projects will save the company 6,300,000 kWh ($219,000) of electrical energy each year. All of the projects could be duplicated in other chemical manufacturing facilities and most of the projects could be duplicated in other industries utilizing steam, pumps, and/or compressed air.

Neville Chemical conducted a plant-wide energy efficiency assessment of its Anaheim, California, plant in the spring of 2002. The assessment justified five projects that would significantly reduce electricity and fuel costs. Four of the five projects, when complete will save 436,200 kilowatt-hours, or$31,840 of electrical energy each year. The remaining project will save 7,473 million British thermal units or$43,600 in fossil fuel each year. One year later, the same assessment team applied its knowledge of Neville's processes in a plant-wide assessment at Neville's Pittsburgh plant, and identified 15 projects with more than$715,000 in projected annual savings.

FMC Chemicals Corporation increased the efficiency of two large coal-fired boilers at its soda ash mine in Green River, Wyoming, by upgrading the burner management system. The project yields annual energy savings of 250,000 MMBtu.

The Ford Cleveland Casting Plant used results from its plant-wide energy efficiency assessment to identify 16 energy- and cost-saving projects. These projects addressed combustion, compressed air, water, steam, motor drive, and lighting systems. When implemented, the projects should save a total of$3.28 million per year. In addition, two long-term projects were identified that together would represent another$9.5 million in cost savings.

This case study highlights International Truck and Engine Corporation's optimization project on the compressed air system that serves its foundry, Indianapolis Casting Corporation. Due to the project's implementation, the system's efficiency was greatly improved, allowing the foundry to operate with less compressor capacity, which resulted in reduced energy consumption, significant maintenance savings, and more reliable production.

Additional steam traps were installed on the drum oven at a petroleum jelly production facility at an ExxonMobil plant in Nigeria. The installation improved heat transfer and saved energy.

This case study highlights control scheme modifications made to the steam system at ExxonMobil's Mary Ann Gas Plant in Mobile, Alabama, which improved steam flow efficiency and reduced energy costs.

The boiler blowdown process involves the periodic or continuous removal of water from a boiler to remove accumulated dissolved solids and/or sludges. During the process, water is discharged from the boiler to avoid the negative impacts of dissolved solids or impurities on boiler efficiency and maintenance. However, boiler blowdown wastes energy because the blown down liquid is at about the same temperature as the steam produced. Much of this heat can be recovered by routing the blown down liquid through a heat exchanger that preheats the boiler's makeup water. A boiler blowdown heat recovery project at Augusta Newsprint Company's Augusta, GA mill will save almost $31,000 annually in fuel costs.

This fact sheet describes OIT BestPractices Steam program's systems approach to help companies operate and maintain their industrial steam plants and thermal manufacturing processes more efficiently.

Plant-wide energy assessments at the Anchor Glass Warner Robins and Jacksonville plants revealed opportunities that could result in significant annual energy savings.