Identification of savings opportunities in a steel manufacturing industry

Abstract

This paper aims to present a procedure that allows identifying savings opportunities in a steel manufacturing company. The procedure based on the ISO 50001, 50004, and 50006 standards comprise the use of tools such as energy baselines, the goal line, energy performance indicators, the Pareto chart, and an energy review. As a result of the implementation of the procedure, it was possible to obtain the baseline, the goal line, and energy performance indicators that allow the control of energy consumption and efficiency of the company in general and of the area with the highest electricity consumption. It was possible to identify that there is a potential savings of up to 6% throughout the company and up to 13% in the area with the highest electrical energy consumption. From an energy review carried out in the area with the highest consumption, motors operating with low load and idle for long periods were identified, as well as a lack of maintenance. Besides, the replacement of traditional technology lamps by LED technology lamps was proposed. The procedure can be generalized in steel industries with similar characteristics, which is one of the sectors that consume the most energy worldwide.