Potential energy savings in the production route for plastics

Journal article (1994)

Authors

E. Worrell Universiteit Utrecht
J. G. De Beer Universiteit Utrecht
André Faaij Universiteit Utrecht
K. Blok Universiteit Utrecht
Affiliation
External organisation
Energy efficiency Chemical industry Plastics Energy conservation Energy requirement
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

01-01-1994

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Affiliation

External organisation

Abstract

The gross energy requirement (GER) for the major petrochemical products (ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene) and the major bulk polymers (low density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinylchloride) is determined. The GER-values for LDPE, PP, PS and PVC are 69.8, 61.6, 81.5 and 55.7 GJ/ton, respectively. The potential energy saving in the process chain for each product is assessed on the basis of commercially available technologies. The profitable potential, savings (i.e. with a payback period shorter than 3 yr) is about 8% of the GER-figure. The technical potential for savings varies from 12% for ethylene to 25% for PVC. In addition, the potential savings are investigated for the industrial sectors involved, namely oil refining (15% of total primary energy demand), inorganic chemicals (6%) and petrochemicals (9%).