Developing unit process models for predicting energy consumption in industry: A case of extrusion line

Abstract

Energy efficiency has become a critical concern for manufacturing industries due to the increasing cost of energy, the associated environmental impacts and perceived social awareness. Global efforts have been directed towards improving transparency, e.g. developing energy consumption models for manufacturing processes. However, most of the existing models were developed in laboratories, whilst developing models in industry faces multiple challenges, such as cost, interruption of current production, limited process flexibility, etc. Therefore, a modified methodology is essential for the practical implementation in an industrial environment. A sheet extrusion line in a biomedical company was selected as the test case.