Assessments Reveal Steam Energy Savings Opportunities for Chemical, Automotive, and Paper Manufacturing Companies
From the Spring 2008 issue of Energy Matters
West Linn paper mill's new blow down heat recovery system is saving the company approximately 18,000 MMBtu and $133,000 per year.
Through Save Energy Now, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) performs energy assessments to help industrial manufacturing plants identify ways to improve efficiency in energy-intensive systems such as steam. Three recently published Save Energy Now case studies highlight the energy and cost savings recommendations identified during energy assessments performed at a chemical, automotive, and paper manufacturing plant.
Using Steam Assessment Tool to Measure Energy Savings Opportunities
During these three Save Energy Now energy assessments, a DOE Energy Expert used DOE's Steam System Assessment Tool (SSAT) software to identify the following annual cost and energy savings:
- Dow Chemical Company St. Charles Operations in Hahnville, Louisiana: $1.9 million and 272,000 MMBtu in natural gas
- Chrysler truck and minivan complex in St. Louis, Missouri: $627,000 and more than 70,000 MMBtu in natural gas
- West Linn Paper Company mill in West Linn, Oregon: $379,000 and more than 58,000 MMBtu in natural gas.
Steam is used for various processes in these three plants, ranging from electricity generation to space and process heating. With such differing industries, recommendations in each plant varied accordingly. However, all three plants had one recommendation in common: the need to implement or improve a steam trap survey and repair program—a simple step that each plant quickly put into operation and almost immediately achieved a payback.
The Energy Expert guided plant personnel in the use of SSAT. Employees learned how to use the software to monitor their steam systems as part of an ongoing energy management effort, and also to share their knowledge with other facilities. The summaries below capture the savings opportunities discovered at each plant. Your plant, too, could benefit from applying some of these measures to improve steam efficiency.
Dow Assessment Results in Permanent Energy Savings Measures
At Dow Chemical Company's 2,000-acre plant in Hahnville, Louisiana, identifying energy efficiency opportunities is key to helping meet the company's corporate energy management goals. The energy assessment was performed by a team consisting of DOE Energy Expert Riyaz Papar of Hudson Technologies and six Dow employees.
Using SSAT, the team quantified several opportunities for increasing steam system efficiency. By quickly capitalizing on short-term opportunities, the plant has achieved annual savings of approximately $1.9 million and 272,000 MMBtu in natural gas.
Dow made immediate improvements to its steam system, including repairing several failed steam traps, fixing a number of leaks, improving an existing steam trap program, and enhancing a leak repair campaign. Because the total cost of the improvements was approximately $225,000, the simple payback was only about six weeks.
As a result of these cost and energy savings, the Hahnville plant has made steam trap maintenance and leak management an ongoing agenda; leaks and failed traps are recognized and replaced quickly. Dow is also sharing the results of the assessment with its other facilities that utilize steam.
Read the full Dow Chemical Company case study (PDF 550 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Assessment Helps Chrysler Meet Energy Efficiency Goals Faster
The energy management policy at Chrysler encourages independent evaluations to identify opportunities that help the company meet its target goal of a 2% annual reduction in energy use per unit of production. At Chrysler's 5-million-square-foot truck and minivan assembly complex in St. Louis, Missouri, steam powers turbines and provides space and process heating.
Because the St. Louis complex uses 2.4 million MMBtu of natural gas and landfill gas per year, energy costs account for a significant amount of the complex's total expenses. After implementing several of the assessment recommendations, Chrysler saved approximately $627,000 in energy costs and more than 70,000 MMBtu in natural gas per year, with a simple payback of just over 2 months.
Energy Expert Riyaz Papar worked with two Chrysler employees and used SSAT to analyze the complex's steam system. The team uncovered energy efficiency opportunities in the steam system that could be implemented faster than Chrysler had predicted.
The company's Energy Champion worked directly with plant operations, maintenance, and the powerhouse to make immediate changes that would not affect production. Powerhouse operators were trained on a new operating strategy for the boiler that allowed the plant to shut down one boiler and operate the others as close to fully loaded as possible. A steam trap audit at the north plant revealed that 30 of the 48 steam traps had failed. Steam trap repair and inspections are now part of regular maintenance.
"Thanks to the expertise of the Save Energy Now consultant, we have identified some new opportunities to build on our past progress, and we are moving quickly to implement those ideas," said David Lyons from the Chrysler Environment and Energy Planning Group.
Read the full Chrysler case study (PDF 578 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Small Changes Mean Big Savings for West Linn Paper Company
Founded in 1889, the West Linn Paper Company located in West Linn, Oregon, is the oldest active paper mill in the United States. The mill uses steam to dry up to 700 tons of coated free-sheet paper daily and to power two back-pressure turbines. Energy efficiency is an important concern for West Linn; the mill had already implemented some energy savings measures by the time of their energy assessment. After implementing several of the opportunities identified during the assessment, the mill achieved annual savings of approximately $379,000 and more than 58,000 MMBtu in natural gas, with a simple payback of less than 6 months.
During the assessment, Energy Expert Bill Moir of Steam Engineering, Inc., formed an assessment team with mill employees and helped them use the software to determine opportunities to improve steam system efficiency. The mill implemented several of the recommendations, including surveying steam traps, connecting two separate steam headers, applying additional insulation to steam headers, retuning boilers, and resetting combustion controls.
"The Save Energy Now assessment was a great way to help us quantify the opportunities we knew were out there and discover additional opportunities we hadn't seen before," said Robert Hart, Engineering Manager, West Linn Paper Company. "It helped us prioritize the work and sell it to mill management. Training with the Steam System Assessment Tool also gave us a consistent method to evaluate new projects. It was time well spent."
Read the full West Linn Paper Company case study (PDF 636 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
See more Save Energy Now case studies.
Learn more about how to improve your plant's steam system efficiency through technical publications, and training opportunities.
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