CASE STUDY

Energy efficiency and conservation in steel coil manufacturing units

Introduction
After enactment of energy conservation act 2001, several industries are marching towards energy conservation and energy management, of which steel sheet (hot rolled as well as cold rolled) manufacturing units are one among others. As energy cost is one of the major components of their total production cost and due to the increasing competition in the market, they are forced to take different steps/ initiatives to reduce the expenditure on energy consumption. Energy prices are on rising trend, thereby putting energy efficiency as a smart business along with additional benefit of saving environmental degradation. Reducing energy consumption will reduce total production cost and greenhouse-gas emissions in addition to enhancing the comfort conditions. This paper presents the energy conservation potential in steel sheet/ coil manufacturing industries. WII carried out detailed energy audit to identify the saving potential in two such industries. Both the units are large scale unit and are among the largest units in their sector. One unit is located in northern India where natural gas is available for the process while other plant is located in western India. The study was focussed on identification and detailed techno-economics of low and medium cost measures, which have payback period less than two years. The studies revealed that there is significant potential (about 7-14 %) in reducing the energy cost through low cost and medium cost options alone. During the energy audit, wide array of latest, sophisticated, portable, diagnostic and measuring instruments were used to support our energy audit investigations and analyses. The specialized instruments that were used
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during the energy audit are: I Ultrasonic Flow Meter I Flue gas Analyzers I Multifunction Kit I Micro manometers I Power Analyzers I Power & Harmonic Analyzers I Thermal Anemometer I Vane type anemometers I Thermocouples I Lux Meters I Infrared pyrometers I Stroboscope I Fyrite kits I Digital hygrometers These Steel strip manufacturing units are energy intensive and have several energy consuming equipments like I Cold Rolling Mills I Compressed air system I Fans & blowers I Pumping system I Air conditioning system I Continuous galvanising furnaces

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Annealing furnaces Boilers and steam system

Energy Consumption Profile

The process of making cold rolled steel sheets is highly energy intensive. Electricity and thermal fuels are used for process requirements. Electricity is used for driving the motors of the mills, compressors, blowers, fans, water pumps, process equipment and other

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Table 1. Energy consumption and production profile of year 2006 - 2007

Energy source Plant A: located in Northern India Quantity Energy cost, lakh 1086 19 5088 1556 0 0 7749 Plant B: located in Western India Quantity Energy cost, lakh 1198 57 3187 0 10192 1240 5248 19 559 0 3459 342 9627 Production in Plant B 475854 331934 38357 846145 1137

Electricity 227 lakh kWh HSD, KL 66 FO, KL 31800 Natural Gas, sm3 1575000 LPG, MT 0 LDO, KL 0 Total, lakhs Product CRM, MT CGL, MT CCL, MT Total, MT Specific energy consumption, Rs/MT

Production in Plant A 475000 225000 0 700000 1107

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utilities and auxiliaries. The fuels are used for heating, annealing applications and steam generation in boilers. The following table (table 1) gives the energy consumption details of the plants. It can be seen that the specific energy cost of Plant A and B are comparable though the fuels used are different. In case of Plant A which is located in northern India, uses natural gas and FO for power generation to meet the electricity requirement (70% of the plant requirement) in addition to the grid power (30% of the plant requirement). Natural gas is also used for heating, zinc melting and annealing applications in the furnaces apart from steam generation. In case of Plant B, entire electricity is procured from the grid. LPG is used in continuous galvanising furnaces & kettle furnaces, furnace oil for steam generation and annealing furnaces.
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Energy Saving Potential

Comprehensive energy audits in these two units were carried out (excluding the large mill motors) to identify the energy saving potential. The sections covered in both the units are: I Electrical systems and power factor improvement I Electrical drives and motors I Compressed air system

Cooling towers and water pumping system I Fans and blowers I Annealing furnaces I Kettle furnaces I Steam boilers, steam distribution and utilisation I Continuous galvanising furnaces I Air conditioning system The following table (table 2) gives summary of the identified potential for energy savings in these two establishments. Though the cost of energy in both the cases is comparable, the cost reduction potential in Plant B is high when compared to Plant A in view of several factors. The energy conservation measures identified by WII in these plants under each section are briefly discussed in the following sections It can be seen that though both plants are manufacturing similar kind of products and the installed capacities are comparable, the kind of energy conservation measures arrived after the detailed study are different. The energy savings identified is varied from 7% to 15 % through short term and medium term measures alone. If the long term measures and

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Table 2: Energy saving potential in steel strip and coil manufacturing units
Particulars Total energy cost, Rs. Lakh (2006 2007) No of energy conservation measures identified by WII Total identified energy saving potential, Rs. Lakh/ annum Total anticipated investment required, Rs lakh Simple pay back period, months Anticipated energy bill reduction (%) Saving potential in specific energy cost, Rs. Per ton Plant # Plant # A B 7749 41 578 225 5 7.5 83 9627 37 1335 460 5 13.80 157

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A. Boilers and steam system energy saving measures

Plant # A
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Plant # B
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Optimize excess air level of boilers I Overhauling of WHRB to remove scale & soot I Plug steam leakages I Replacement of leaking steam traps I Use of economizer in natural gas fired boiler I Condensate recovery

Optimize excess air in boilers I Operate energy efficient boiler among all I Reduction in blow down losses in boilers by optimizing blow down frequency I Retrofit FO fired boiler with biomass fired boiler I Insulation of bare pipes/tanks/ surfaces I Condensate recovery I Operation of one steam header instead of two headers to Pickling section I Waste heat recovery from hot water generator

Plant B uses furnace oil to generate steam. There is very good potential to reduce the cost of steam by using biomass boiler instead of furnace oil fired boiler. This measure is also eligible to obtain CER credits under clean development mechanism. The estimated CERs are in the range of 8000-8500 per annum. Boiler replacement measure is expected to result in annual cost saving of Rs. 230 lakh with an estimated investment of Rs 35 lakh. In case of Plant B, this measure is not economical as the plant is useing natural gas for steam generation.

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B. Pumping system energy saving measures
Plant # A
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Plant # B
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Replacement of identified inefficient pumps with suitable sized high efficiency pumps I Install of VFD for identified pumps I Install VFD with Narrow Annealing pump I Optimization and replacing with one common pump I Interlock the of fans and pumps I Replace all Al. blades of CT fans with FRP blades

Rectifications of water pumping in centralized cooling towers I Balancing and optimization of water pumping used for furnaces and compressors I Rectification of pump I Separate low pressure and high pressure users

In case of Plant A, significant energy savings in pumping system can be envisaged by implementing the simple measures. The expected savings are to the tune of Rs. 132 lakhs. While Plant B, has recently implemented energy conservation initiatives in pumps by replacing all old pumps with energy efficient pumps.

C. Air conditioning system energy conservation measures

Plant # A
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Plant # B Air conditioning is not a major energy consumer Air conditioning system in Plant A is one of the major energy consumers and has significant energy conservation potential. Installation of vapor absorption chiller to recover the waste heat from jacket cooling water of the DG sets is estimated to save Rs 237 lakh per year. This measure is also eligible to obtain CERs under clean development mechanism. The estimated CERs are in the range of 6000-7000 per annum.

Reducing the Distribution Losses in Chilled Water lines I Use of DG jacket cooling heat for vapour absorption chiller I Avoid mixing of DG cooling water with chiller cooling water in cooling tower I Improve the performance of chillers I Improving the performance of the cooling tower to reduce the specific energy consumption of chillers

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D. Compressed air system and nitrogen generation energy conservation measures

Plant # A Prior to the energy audit study plant had replaced all compressors with energy efficient centrifugal compressor with refrigerated dryer
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Plant # B Separate high pressure and low pressure compressed air users I Use of energy efficient refrigerated dryers in place of heat less purge type dryers I Up keeping of compressors through comprehensive periodic monitoring I Capturing oxygen from nitrogen plants In compressed air system Plant B has very good energy saving potential by separating the low pressure and high pressure users; in addition there is significant revenue potential by capturing the vented oxygen from the nitrogen plants.

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E. Furnaces energy conservation measures
Plant # A
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Plant # B
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Interlock hot air dryer fan with user operation I Insulation I Resetting air to fuel ratio in annealing furnaces I Install recuperator for combustion air preheating in Kettle furnaces

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Proper control of air fuel ratio in annealing furnaces I Rectification and modification of annealing furnaces I Control of excess air in kettle furnaces I Installation of recuperator for kettle furnace 1 I Change of pulley for cooling fans or installation of variable speed drives I Insulation I Use of waste heat from kettle furnaces in hot air dryers I Interlock exhaust gas fan with burner operation in furnaces I Waste heat recovery from continuous furnaces by installing a recuperator

In furnaces, significant scope is available in Plant B when compared to Plant A in view of waste heat available in continuous furnaces, in addition the cooling fans have scope to reduce the energy consumption since most of the fans are throttled

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F. Electrical systems, motors and lighting

Plant # A
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Plant # B
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Down-sizing the under loaded motors with properly sized motors

Energy efficient motors Belt Driven motors

In both cases, the plants are operating at closer to unity power factor

comprehensive energy audits of individual plants are necessary. Energy audits with systematic analysis aided by sophisticated instrumented survey would reveal the extent of energy savings potential. Simple and cost effective measures can curtail energy bills in the range of 7-15% and even more. It is essential to carry out detailed energy audit periodically (once in three years) and have strict implementation plans in addition to systematic and simple monitoring and verification protocol to ensure sustainable energy savings.
Courtesy: Ramesh Babu Guptha Paluri Head Bangalore Regional centre Winrock International India 10/2 Palace Road, Vasant Nagar, Bangalore-560052, INDIA Tel: 0091-80-41140624 Email: ramesh@winrockindia.org

higher investment proposals are considered then saving potential would further increase.

Conclusion
Steel coil manufacturing units consumes significant quantum of energy for production and various

utilities. Significant potential exists in all the areas of energy consumption. How ever there is need to sensitize the top management in this sector to initiate the efforts towards energy conservation. To identify various energy conservation opportunities available,

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