How do Steel Industries ensure energy conservation?

May-14-2018 Post / how-do-steel-industries-ensure-energy-conservation-

How do Steel Industries ensure energy conservation?

Steel Industry

With the constant increase in the national and global Steel production, it becomes mandatory to check on the energy consumption in the production and handling processes and actively participate in reducing the carbon print to the environment. As a developing country, India has a lot of construction and development plans underway that will further encourage the production of Steel materials. With the increased production, comes the responsibility to promote energy efficiency with minimum greenhouse gas emissions.

About 50% of an integrated facility’s energy input comes from coal, 35% from electricity, 5% from natural gas and 5% from other gasses.

Here are a few norms adopted by the Steel industries to save Energy:

• Increase in Energy Efficiency: The benefits that a Steel-making industry reaps due to energy efficient setups is beyond cost-saving. Energy efficiency also increases productivity, reduces space and equipment needed for storage and supply, and ensures a competitiveness with the other companies with respect to the pricing and also energy management. Business strategies, goals, expansion and investment plans are dependent on the energy consumption and efficiency projects that are undertaken by the brands.
   
• Raw-materials used: Raw materials used in the Steel making processes play a pivotal role in defining the energy consumption in the industry. Also, the gases used in the production process influence the amount of energy needed for Steel-making. Selection of the right starting materials, mixers, and the proper balance of these materials, water balance, is important in defining the energy consumption in the processes.
   
• Investment in advanced technology: The Steel industry adopts suitable economic and investment policies to ensure the availability and utilization of advanced technologies and machinery to conserve energy. These technologies also ensure minimum wastage and monitor the consumption of energy source. Investing in Sustainable and renewable sources of energy are increasing in Steel and related industries to reduce the burden on the non-renewable sources.
   
• Operations and maintenance: Constant Research and Development and operation processes have paved the way to reduce, reuse, and recycle the available energy sources. With the periodic and through maintenance and quality checks of the machines, products, and processes, a conscious effort is made to ensure energy conservation at every step. Trained Experts in the Operations and Quality department are hired to warrant smooth process management for energy conversations.
   
• Energy from By-products: The constant search for energy efficiency paved the path for the optimizations processes for the generation and utilization of by-product gases. Fuels from by-products in a Steel manufacturing industry often constitute to high energy provision, improving efficiency and reducing costs for energy consumption. There is a surge in implementing and generalizing such energy conservation processes that can use the energy from by-products.

The Steel industry is actively managing its use and conservation of energy. It is crucial to ensure the functioning of the industry and to reduce environmental impacts. Recovery of waste and outgoing heat energy is also been looked into to reuse it in the main processes. AgniSteels has always engaged in preserving energy and also invested in alternate sources of energy, for instance sustainable energy from the windmills, following reusable energy practices, etc.