Tobias Fleiter

(Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research)

Cost effective industrial energyefficient technologies: Options for electric motor systems and the pulp and paper industry
EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3 Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

Berlin, February 19th 2010

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

Introduction
This paper discusses the availability and costs of further potentials to reduce energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions in industry in Europe. It focuses on options in the pulp and paper industry as well as on options related to motor systems that are used in all industrial branches. Cost curves and energy demand scenarios are calculated for both fields. The paper is based on an assessment of energy saving potentials in Europe (Fraunhofer ISI et al. 2009). In addition to this report, an open-access online database is available that allows a comparison of saving potentials by sector, end-use, country and year.1 The paper is intended to summarize the main issues of the presentation held at the EFONET workshop 4.3.

Energy demand in the European industry

When analyzing energy saving potentials, it is helpful to first see where energy is consumed in industry and to identify the processes and technologies which consume the most energy. The following two figures show the structure of energy demand in industry by process type and by type of technology. Figure 1 gives an overview of the industrial processes with the highest energy consumption in the EU. It can be seen that the blast furnace process of oxygen steel making has by far the highest energy consumption, followed by the production of paper (pulp preparation not considered), the burning of clinker for cement production, ammonia and cracker production in the chemical industry and chemical pulp production as well as steel rolling. Processes with significant electricity consumption are primary aluminum production (electrolysis) and secondary steel making (electric arc furnace to smelt steel scrap). In total, the final energy demand in the EU industry amounted to 13500 PJ in 2007, which underlines the relative importance of these processes. Another way to look at energy demand is by type of technology rather than type of process. Figure 2 shows the total electricity demand by type of technology across all sectors of the EU industry. While very energy-intensive processes like electrolysis or electric arc furnaces only account for 5 and 4% of industrial electricity demand, respectively, electric motor systems are responsible for about two thirds. Motor systems can be found in all branches and most plants, for example, in compressed air (9%), ventila1 http://www.eepotential.eu/

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

tion (11%) or pump systems (12%). The figure also shows a large share of other motor systems that are not further specified but represent all the remaining motor-driven systems like presses, rolls, conveyor belts, etc. Due to their very high share in industrial electricity consumption, the energy saving options in motor systems will be discussed in detail in the following chapter.
2.400 1.900
[PJ]

1.400 900 400 100

Electricity

Fuel

Source: Fraunhofer ISI

Figure 1: Final energy demand by process in the EU27 industry, 2007

Chlorine electrolysis 3% Other processes 13% Aluminium Elektrolysis 5%

Electric steel (arc f urnace) 4% Zinc and copper electrolysis 1%

Lighting 6% Other motor appliances 33% Compressed air 9%

Electric motor systems other technologies

Ventilation 11% Pumps 12%

Cold 3%

Source: Fraunhofer ISI et al. 2009

Figure 2: Electricity consumption in industry by end-use (EU27, 2004)

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

Energy-efficient technologies in electric motor systems in the EU

As mentioned above, motor systems account for about 65% of industrial electricity consumption. At the same time, case studies report high saving potentials here in the range of 20 to 30%, often with very short payback times of only a few years. This makes motor systems a very interesting field for policy makers aiming at improving energy efficiency in industry. In fact motor systems have been the subject of a variety of national as well as European energy efficiency policies for more than a decade, some of which aim at certain systems like compressed air and others at single components like minimum standards for electric motors.

Source: (Boteler et al. 2009)

Figure 3: Efficiency classes for 50 Hz 4-Pole motors according to IEC 60034-30 Although electric motors have been being produced and used for over a century, there are still significant remaining potentials to improve their energy efficiency. Since 1998, a voluntary labelling scheme for standard electric motors has been in place in Europe that distinguishes electric motors into three efficiency classes. It has succeeded in phasing out the least efficient motors, but the introduction of highly efficient motors has only advanced slowly. These had a market share of around 12% in 2007. As a result, this voluntary agreement is going to be replaced and from 2011 and 2016 minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) will require all motors imported to or produced in the EU to comply with a certain minimum efficiency level. The efficiency levels are

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

defined according to an internationally harmonized classification2. As shown in Figure 3, these are differentiated by motor size and frequency. While larger motors already attain efficiencies of more than 90% and the differences between the efficiency classes are rather small, smaller motors with a power of around 1 kW still have a high remaining potential for improvement due to their typically lower efficiencies of well below 80%. However, there are many more components involved in motor systems than just the electric motor and numerous case studies have shown that higher saving potentials can be achieved by optimizing the entire motor system rather than simply using a highly efficient motor. Often, system optimization on its own can already result in substantial efficiency gains without having to replace expensive components. The example of a compressed air system clearly illustrates how several stages of energy conversion and transmission result in efficiency losses and a low total system efficiency. In a typical compressed air system, a supply and a demand side can be distinguished. The supply side consists of compressors and air-treatments and provides pressurized air, while the demand side consists of an air distribution system, storage tanks and usually several end-uses like different pneumatic tools. Controls adjust the supply of compressed air to the actual demand. The compressor is often driven by an electric motor. A variety of different types and designs are available for the compressor, which converts mechanical energy into pressure. Many compressors are sold packaged with the motor already included and thus, the design of the core motor system is already determined by the compressor producer. Before being transported to where it is used, the air is treated to improve its quality, e.g. by drying or filtering. These many steps of energy conversion, storage and transmission result in significant energy losses and inefficiencies. With a typical system efficiency of 10-15%, compressed air systems are among the least efficient industrial motor systems (IEA 2007). Efficiency improvements are possible practically everywhere in the system. Besides replacing the entire compressed air system by a direct motor-driven system that provides the same useful energy, other improvement options include the reduction of air leaks, the use of multipressure systems, variable speed drives or the recovery of waste heat. In total, Radgen and Blaustein (2001) found a saving potential of 33% in compressed air systems in the EU, which could be tapped by system optimization and applying the best available technology.

2 The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) scheme covers all general purpose mo-

tors: AC, three-phase, or induction between 0.75 and 375 kW with 2-, 4- or 6-Poles and a voltage below 1000 V, 50 or 60 Hz. Explicitly excluded are motors which are fully integrated into, e.g. pumps or fans, and those exclusively constructed for converter operation.

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

There is a similar situation for other motor systems like ventilation, pump or cold production systems. Figure 4 shows the resulting potentials and costs of improving energy efficiency in motor systems in the form of a cost curve. The figure allows different options to be compared according to their quantitative impact as well as the related costs. The roughly 100 saving options considered are grouped by type for a more transparent comparison.
Specific costs of saved energy [Euro/MWh] 60 40 20 0 -20 -40 -60 -80 -100 Other Options Regular maintenance Direct drive insteat of belt Avoid oversizing High efficiency appliance Optimisation of ducting Demand related control systems Variable speed drive Energy efficient Motors (IE2 and IE3) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Cumulated savings [TWh] 450

Figure 4: Cost curve for energy saving options in electric motor systems (EU27, 2030) In total, the saving options considered represent a technical saving potential of around 25% of industrial electricity consumption in the EU - in comparison to a frozen efficiency development without any efficiency improvements. As the cost curve shows, most of these savings are highly cost effective, however, barriers, market failures and programme costs are not considered in this analysis. The data used for these calculations is taken from the most recent studies of saving potentials and energy consumption in motor systems. The oldest of these dates from 2000. Further assumptions and a more detailed description of the methodology can be found in Fraunhofer et al. (2009). Two main groups of studies are available that assessed the saving potentials in motor systems. The first covers studies conducted for the European Commission. They focused on the analysis of energy consumption and saving potentials for efficient electric motors in general (Almeida et al. 2001), for variable speed drives (Almeida et al. 2000) and also for ventilation systems (Radgen 2002), pump systems (ETSU et al. 2001) and compressed air systems (Radgen, Blaustein 2001).

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

The second group covers studies conducted in the framework of the European Directive on Energy Using Products. These studies represent life cycle assessments of energy using products and they aim at assessing the environmental as well as the monetary impacts of different products. The studies conducted under lot 11 are particularly useful for the analysis of electric motor systems , since these covered electric motors (Almeida et al. 2007), fans (Radgen et al. 2007) and pumps (Falkner 2007).

Energy-efficient technologies in the European pulp and paper industry

Paper production in the EU increased by more than 50% between 1991 and 2005; total production in 2005 was around 100 million tonnes of paper. Major paper grades include packaging paper and graphic paper, while other grades like newsprint or sanitary and household paper only account for a smaller share of total paper production (CEPI). Germany is the major paper producer in Europe with 23% of total paper production in 2005, followed by Finland (14%), Sweden (12%), Italy (10%) and France (10%). The production of the main raw materials like chemical and mechanical pulp, in contrast, is concentrated in Finland and Sweden that together account for more than 60% of the EU production. To calculate the saving potentials, the pulp and paper industry is divided into four major processes: chemical pulp, mechanical pulp, recovered fibres and papermaking. For each of these process steps, production forecasts and todays specific energy demand give the frozen efficiency energy demand development. Technical saving options are related to each of the four processes and allow energy demand to be reduced by diffusion through the technology stock. Investment and O&M costs are also considered for these saving options so that a cost curve can be constructed similar to the motor system analysis (see Figure 5). Once again, the cost curve reveals mostly negative costs, meaning cost-effective investments. We assumed a 30% discount rate, a CO2 price of 20 Euro/t and slowly increasing energy prices for the calculation. Figure 6 shows the distinct saving options underlying the cost curve. Each step of the curve represents one saving option in one country. Options with the highest impact until 2030 are black liquor gasification in chemical pulp production, enzymatic pretreatment in mechanical pulping, and the shoe press and thermo compressors in the core paper making process. Heat recovery (mainly low temperature) options also exist along the whole production line.

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

20
Specificcostof[1000Euro/TJ]

10 10 20 30 50.000 100.000 150.000 200.000 250.000 300.000

Cumulatedsavedenergy[TJ]

Figure 5: Cost curve for energy efficiency options in the pulp and paper industry (EU27, 2030)
S a ving option S a ving pote ntia l by 2030[T J] Che mica l P ulp 97,244 Black Liquor Gasification 97,244 Me cha nica l P ulp 53,026 EES GW 14,215 Enzymatic pre-treatment 17,768 Heat recovery from waste water of bleaching process 313 Thermopulp, RTS, Turbine Segments 15,992 TMP heat recovery 4,738 P a pe r 97,304 BoostDryer (Voith) 7,513 Heat recovery from axial blowers for supply air of drying hood 4,613 Heat recovery with a trickling tower 767 Optimising of existing refining plants 871 Preheating with shower water 6,255 Shoe press 21,465 Steam Box 7,129 Use of high efficient refiners 7,698 Use of waste heat for sludge drying 16,558 Using thermo compressors (reducing condensor losses) 24,435 R e cove re d Fibe rs 3,781 HC pulping 1,029 Heat recovery from waste water of bleaching process 1,609 High efficient screening 1,143 T ota l 251,356

Figure 6: Saving potentials for the pulp and paper industry by technology (EU27, 2030)

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

In total, the diffusion of these saving options can result in savings of around 13% of the final energy demand of the paper industry in comparison to the frozen efficiency development to 2030. The pulp and paper industry also offers further saving potentials, mainly in improving motor systems (an additional 8%) and a wider use of combined heat and power (an additional 12%), resulting in a total saving potential of 33% until 2030 in comparison to a frozen efficiency development. Some of these efficiency improvements will be realized by companies without further political support. It is, for example, very probable that the shoe press, which has already been successfully applied for some years now, will further diffuse through the technology stock. In contrast, it is not at all clear for other options which are still at an early stage of research and development, such as black liquor gasification, whether they will widely diffuse through the stock until 2030.

Conclusions
For motor systems, it has been shown that large cost effective saving potentials are still not being exploited even after more than a decade of active energy efficiency policy in this field. However, these are not easy to realize because they are mostly related to motor system optimisation which involves a plant-by-plant analysis of very heterogeneous systems. Further savings from using more efficient electric motors are high in total, due to the large number of motors used in industry, but lower than the saving potentials from system optimization. Furthermore, designing ever more efficient motors is now approaching the technical limits. Also for the paper industry, further options to improve energy efficiency are available. However, to substantially reduce energy demand, radical process innovations will be necessary because the dominant paper making process has been constantly improved over a long period of time. For the future development of energy demand in industry, the production of paper will be the most influential driver, much more influential than the use of energy-efficient technologies. This is also an important lesson for studies aiming at forecasting energy demand in the paper industry or other energy-intensive industries like iron and steel, cement or aluminium production. They should focus more intensively on forecasts of physical production, the single most important determinant of energy demand.

EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes

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References
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EFONET WORKSHOP 4.3: Increasing energy efficiency in industrial processes