- 35% reduction in fuel use and associated CO² emissions, improved availability and reduced steam costs
On-site energy utilities such as boilers must be independently managed to achieve meaningful performance outcomes. Steam and boiler operations and maintenance expert service provider, Associated Energy Services (AES) frequently discovers that companies incorrectly rely on a single fuel-to-product usage ratio to capture energy metrics and performance.
“This has significant implications as cost pressures, competitive forces and other challenges have decimated South Africa’s manufacturing sector in recent years. Consequently, these aspects must be independently managed to give the site the best possible chance of maintaining competitiveness while maximising profit margins,” advises AES Commercial Director Dennis Williams.
One size does not fit all
Williams emphasises that thermal energy operations and utilisation in production facilities contain two major processes: the conversion / generation process and the production / utilisation process.
Multiple measurements are essential, including water meters to assess feed water to boilers and makeup water, temperature probes to measure condensate and feed water temperature; and also specialised probes to measure the CO2/O2 in flue gas. It is also important to monitor steam splits and condensate return volumes.
“At the outset, AES conducts an energy analysis as part of an initial proposal and solution development, identifying the current baseline and comparing it: either to client outcome expectations or AES’s best-case performance baseline.
Then, a more detailed energy analysis follows once AES is on site managing the client’s boiler operations and proactively addressing cost, efficiency, emissions performance, reliability and uptime,” Williams advises.
As energy management requires consistent effort and intervention, AES’s excellent experience, expertise, systems and methodologies are constantly applied, via a system of meticulous and ongoing checks.
“This intense level of energy management is beyond the scope and capability of clients – and is furthermore frequently seen as a non-core business activity – which is where AES comes in and ‘fits’ perfectly,” he comments.
The perfect people
To this end, AES has a core national and regional team of experts to support client operations. Those on site are the critical client interface and ‘hands’ of AES.
While automation can successfully manage the combustion process on liquid or gaseous fuels, this does not apply to solid fuel combustion systems due to the variability of the quality of the fuel (particle size, moisture content, volatile content, ash content).
Williams says AES’s on-site team focuses on continuous improvement, looking at new management approaches to better extract value: “We rely on robust personnel training, retaining hard-won industry and application experience – and fostering an environment of skills transfer and empowerment across the entire team.”
Implications of not doing energy management
Failure to undertake regular energy management assessments has massive safety implications, Williams warns.
This covers combustion, heat, dust, gases, rotating equipment or electricity. Process safety management (PSM) manages activities where there is an element of risk, and specific personnel are trained in HIRA (Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment): “These team members are tasked with identifying and quantifying risks – which are then rolled out into management tools and work procedures, ensuring that all on site have specific work instructions, information and training on how to safely execute the relevant activities.”
Failure to conduct operational performance evaluations also results in higher operating costs (fuel and maintenance), increased plant downtime, a higher carbon footprint and reduces the lifespan of plant.
Benefits of proactive energy management
“The more efficient the combustion, and the lower the losses as unburnt carbon in ash, or CO² in flue gas. The more efficient the management of the heat transfer process, the lower the energy losses,” Williams explains.
Use of fuel – by far the highest cost – can effectively be managed through the recovery of the energy released (boiler heat transfer), ensuring that the maximum amount of energy is recovered from the fuel into the steam.
Closely aligned with this are the considerations of fuel costs and quality. Through its in-house laboratory, significant buying power, access to market supply and sourcing expertise, AES ensures that the best quality fuel is procured at the lowest cost.
The quality of the steam supply is another key consideration, Williams points out: “This relates to stability of steam pressure, maximisation of condensate return, the dryness of steam and the reliability / continuity of steam supply. These all impact on how a company can effectively use the steam supplied to maximise efficiency and lower usage per unit of product.”
Efficient operations also positively impact key aspects such as sustainability and emissions. Improved boiler efficiency and maximisation of condensate return, in turn, lowers resource usage (coal and water) per unit of production.
Effective maintenance management including scheduling, quality execution, planning and recommissioning all impact on objectives relating to maximised efficiency and plant reliability / uptime.
Proactive energy management pays off
The beneficial outcome of effective energy management is best illustrated by a pilot project that AES undertook for a multinational fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) client.
“This entailed the installation of an additional boiler, mitigation of liquid fuel use and overall outsourcing of operations. Following operational takeover and maintenance / operations interventions by AES, there were significant improvements. There was complete mitigation (100% reduction in costly liquid fuel use for steam generation) and a 21% improvement in CO2 emissions when compared with the client’s operational baseline.
As a result, this client outsourced its largest steam generation facility to AES, achieving similar results with lower steam cost, improved availability and a staggering 35% reduction in fuel use and associated CO2 emissions – proof indeed that proactive energy management pays off. AES now services five of this client’s sites,” Williams concludes.
