December 2007
Industrial Technologies Program E-Bulletin: Your Online Connection
Welcome to this edition of the E-Bulletin — your connection to news and resources from DOE's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP). Each monthly edition brings you the latest industrial news highlights, and announcements about new tools and resources, training events, and project opportunities.
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Save Energy Now Helps Dow Save $1.9 Million Annually; Apply Today to Start Saving at Your Company
With a goal of improving its energy intensity by 25% by 2015, Dow Chemical Company has enlisted several of its plants to receive energy assessments from Save Energy Now. In Hahnville, LA, six Dow employees worked with a DOE Energy Expert to identify opportunities to make the plant’s steam systems more efficient. By implementing the recommendations from the assessment, the plant saved 272,000 MMBtu and $1.9 million. Read the new Dow case study.
View current Save Energy Now results to see how manufacturing plants and the environment are benefitting from Save Energy Now. Find companies similar to yours that have received assessments through the Participating Plants Web page. You can also see which manufacturers are being recognized by DOE for their energy-saving efforts. So far in 2007, ITP has completed 223 energy assessments, with an additional 37 scheduled for December. Apply for yours today!
Nineteen States to Receive Funding for Industrial Assessment Projects
In response to a solicitation issued by ITP, DOE has announced the selection of 19 states to receive grants for industrial plant assessments at local facilities. The awards total $950,000 and represent 96 new industrial plant assessments that will be conducted by energy teams, achieving local results while simultaneously supporting the national goal of reduced energy use and carbon emissions. Through these awards and other collaborative efforts of its Save Energy Now initiative, ITP seeks to accelerate partnerships with the States and local energy efficiency groups, utilities, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations to meet industrial energy efficiency challenges. These awarded projects represent an additional 5.8 trillion Btu per year in potential natural gas savings, and reduced CO2 emissions of 390,000 metric tons per year. Details.
DOE Celebrates First Year of Super Boiler Operation
DOE, in partnership with the Gas Technology Institute and Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., has developed the first Super Boiler, a unique industrial steam technology that delivers better than 94% thermal efficiency and produces fewer pollutants than conventional boiler technology. It has been successfully tested for one year at the Specification Rubber facility in Alabaster, AL, where it averaged gas savings of nearly 13%. DOE, along with developers and supporters of the Super Boiler, celebrated this accomplishment on November 30, 2007. Watch the overview video, Super Boiler: Think Globally, Act Locally.
Wisconsin Becomes First State to Adopt Save Energy Now Approach to Improving Industrial Efficiency
DOE recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy, and CleanTech Partners to foster increased awareness and use of energy-efficient practices and technologies by industries throughout the state. This partnership puts Wisconsin in the spotlight as the first state in the nation to adopt the ITP Save Energy Now approach. It also marks an important first step for DOE to bring this initiative to all 50 states by leveraging each state’s own capabilities and local partnerships. Wisconsin will support a variety of activities to assist the state’s manufacturing facilities, including promote awareness, demonstration, and adoption of selected technologies funded by ITP; and train and certify 20 or more new DOE Qualified Specialists within the next year. Read the full progress alert. Learn more about ITP state activities.
High-Intensity Plasma Melter Offers Energy-Efficient Option for Industry
A revolutionary high-intensity plasma melter developed by Plasmelt Glass Technologies, LLC, has been completed to serve commercial glass manufacturing markets. The melter will save energy and reduce emissions for materials industries, including glass, minerals melting, and fusion cast refractories. Using a small, flexible rotating furnace design, the ITP-sponsored high-intensity plasma glass melter (PDF 1.15 MB) offers an efficient alternative to energy intensive, high capital cost conventional glass furnaces. Benefits include high melt temperature capabilities, rapid start-up (30 minutes) and shutdown, reduced refractory use, and low capital costs and spatial requirements. Moreover, the plasma glass melter has already shown the capability to melt many different types of glass, providing broad applicability across the glass industry. Read the full report on this unique technology (PDF 915 KB).
Integrated Melting System Expands Energy Efficiency for Metal Casting Industries
Partners in the ITP-sponsored Isothermal Melting (ITM) technology development are expanding the project into an integrated system of energy-efficient melting and delivery of high-quality molten aluminum. This system is currently being tested at General Motors Powertrain metal casting facility in Saginaw, MI. The award-winning ITM technology (PDF 124) uses high-heat direct immersion heaters to melt aluminum, resulting in improved metal quality, near zero plant emissions, and reduced processing time and metal loss. The advanced transport system uses turbo-electric ladle trucks to transfer the molten aluminum to high-efficiency metal-handling holding vessels at the casting operations site. In addition to the ITM technology, the benefits of the entire system include an integrated metal supply system, elimination of energy-intensive holding furnaces, and reduced metal loss and contamination. Estimated energy savings of the project are approximately 12.7 trillion Btu/year by 2020. Learn more (PDF 79 KB).
New Energy Quick Start Web Site Offers Resources for Industry
Visit the new Energy Quick Start Web site, which provides industry with variety of resources to help manage energy costs and identify savings opportunities. Created by the Superior Energy Performance initiative, a collaboration of industry and government leaders, the Web site provides technical documents, software tools, training, case studies, listings of experts, and calculators. It also includes guidance and tools to help manufacturers in developing an energy management plan, which is vital for sustained efficiency improvements.
Attend these key events to learn about the latest energy-efficient technologies and practices, and network with industry peers.
Don't Miss These Key Industry Events
Discover new strategies, theories, techniques, and technologies for manufacturing and process reliability at the 22nd International Maintenance Conference, December 4-7, 2007, in Daytona Beach, FL. This annual event brings together 1,000 maintenance and reliability professionals from around the world to share their knowledge and experience. Conference passes are available for two, three, or all four days.
The 2008 Northwest Food Manufacturing & Packaging Expo will take place January 13-16, 2008, in Portland, OR. The event, which draws more than 3,500 attendees, features 400+ exhibit booths and several sessions covering such topics as energy management, food regulation, and climate change in the West.
Attend the Advanced Materials for 21st Century Steelmaking event on January 23, 2008, in Westlake, OH, to learn about an award-winning aluminum bronze alloy that is improving productivity and efficiency for steelmakers. The conference includes presentations on the technology, and a plant tour to observe the technology in action.
ITP offers technical publications, software tools, and other resources to help you address your company's industrial energy needs. Here are the latest products from ITP.
New Tip Sheet Offers Suggested Actions for Improving Process Oven Efficiency
Process heating applications involving flammable solvent removal use large amounts of energy to maintain safe lower flammable limits (LFL) in the exhaust air. One way to ensure proper vapor concentrations and significantly lower process energy requirements is to use LFL monitoring equipment. Find out more by reading ITP’s new Process Heating Tip Sheet #11: Use Lower Flammable Limit Monitoring Equipment to Improve Process Oven Efficiency.
In addition, the following tip sheets have been recently updated: Process Heating Tip Sheet #1: Preheated Combustion Air, and Process Heating Tip Sheet #2: Check Burner Air to Fuel Ratios. View other system tip sheets on the ITP BestPractices Technical Publications Web site.
Visit the ITP Web site for more BestPractices technical publications, software tools, and case studies to help you improve efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line.
ITP awards cost-shared funding for R&D and plant assessment projects through a competitive merit review process.
Stay on Top of Funding Opportunities Through SBIR/STTR Alerting Service
Keep current on funding opportunities available through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program by subscribing to the SBIR/STTR Alerting Service. This free service provides bi-weekly notification of SBIR and STTR solicitation announcements, news and information, and Internet resources relevant to the SBIR/STTR programs. Through the SBIR/STTR program, 11 federal agencies provide annual funding to small businesses to research, develop, and commercialize their technologies.
Register at Grants.gov for Federal Funding Opportunities
The Grants.gov Web site is a great resource for locating and applying for federal funding opportunities offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies. Before submitting an application, however, you must first register on the Grants.gov Web site. This one-time registration process has been streamlined and will take three-to-five business days to complete. Learn more and register.
To learn more about project opportunities, visit ITP's solicitation page.