The improvement of energy efficiency is a requirement of any company, regardless of the sector and size. The energy diagnosis, however, and the consequent interventions must be made taking into account the particular type of company and its specificities. Let’s see how the energy management in the beverage industry, a sector that in Italy, if we consider only soft drinks, stands at around 3 billion euros, must be done (source: Bevitalia 2017-2018 Yearbook).
Generally this manufacturing activity includes glass and / or PET production lines, with blowers equipped with infrared lamps for the creation of plastic containers and compressed air systems for bottling. The sources of energy supply are almost always represented by electricity and natural gas. Starting from these data, the phases for energy efficiency include:
- carry out a preliminary energy audit
- identify the main possibilities of reducing energy consumption
- quantify the energy savings obtained thanks to an energy efficiency intervention
The preliminary phase: energy audit
The first phase is carried out by collecting consumption data referring to the same period. In the case:
- electricity bills for the previous year;
- methane gas bills for the same year;
- hourly detail data for the electricity of the main users attributable to the same production line and relating to specific periods;
- description of the production processes and use of the connected energy carriers;
- master load groups registry with nominal powers and usage estimates.
The cross-comparison of this information allows to highlight first of all which of the two carriers, between electricity and methane gas, are the main consumers. These evidences must then be analyzed by linking them to their respective influence on the production lines and on the service plants.
One of the most used machines in the beverage industry is the compressor. Its relevance on overall energy consumption can exceed 20%, but it is above all the losses of compressed air that make them soar. According to FIRE data, the Italian Federation for the rational use of energy, can affect the order of 12-15% on the general ones, equal to an amount of 235 thousand kWh in a year, that is, around 40 thousand euros.
Second phase: identify possible reductions in consumption
The second phase, based on consumption and production data, serves to build a general model for the individual business case and includes:
- statistical report;
- comparative baselinewith correlation graph (CuSum card) between consumption and energy driver;
- use of ultrasound to verify the real loss of compressed air;
- possible introduction of meters for more effective and real-time monitoring of consumption broken down by machinery and production lines.
A further intervention could focus on the analysis of the blow molding machines and on the impact that their use has on energy consumption, given that their operation is based on infrared lamps. Any efficiency increase could translate into energy savings.
From this phase of diagnosis and analysis, the beverage industry considered should derive all the fundamental elements to put in place a better energy efficiency together with a reduction in costs for energy supply and an increase in environmental sustainability.
Third phase: quantification of savings
The quantification phase of economic savings, which would derive from the elimination of losses and energy efficiency, prelude to the effective adoption of the necessary equipment. In particular, a software or a digital system capable of constantly checking consumption data from a diagnostic and predictive perspective would be the ideal solution. A system of this kind would acquire the information, identifying at the same time the deviations from the consumption considered standard. In addition to allowing you to immediately trace the cause, or the causes, on which the anomalies depend. Its adoption could guarantee improvement opportunities in the order of 3-5% and would not constitute a mere cost, but rather an investment whose return would be objectively measurable in terms of ROI.
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