(566e) The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Electronic Process Control On Chemical and Petroleum Industries

The environmental and economic benefits of electronic process control on chemical and petroleum industries

Do Yong Lee¹, Yuan Chang¹, Eric Masanet^1,2

¹Northwestern University, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois, USA, 60208

²Northwestern University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois, USA, 60208

Abstract

Process control is one of the most important factors in the chemical and petroleum refining industries for optimizing economic, environmental, and safety performance. Moreover, process control is critical because it helps to produce high value-added products using more flexible and complicated processes. The vast majority of process control systems rely on electronic components and logic. 

The negative impacts of electronics, such high life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensities, have been studied widely and receive much attention in the research and policy communities. However, electronic process controls can also bring environmental benefit through improved process productivity, improved energy and resource efficiencies, and reduced downtime. Major chemicals processing systems that benefit include combustion systems where controls improve heat generation and reduces emissions from petroleum refineries, thermal system where controls optimize the operation temperature for the process such as a distillation, and motor systems where controls adapts appropriate motor speed to save energy, among other examples.

This study aims to quantify both the environmental costs and benefits of electronic control systems on the US chemical and petroleum process industries. The energy savings and emission reductions associated with electronic control system are calculated based on database unique database of major industrial plants in the United States, which was compiled based on hundreds of large plant energy audits under the US Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now program from 2007-2011¹. This study further considers regional impacts, whereby foreign countries could have negative impacts (e.g., where electronics are manufactured and recycled) while the US benefits from reduced energy use, emissions, and human health impacts via control system applications. The model and results can be used by manufacturers and policy makers to better understand the life-cycle environmental costa and benefits of electronics controls in US industry, and to incentivize greener procurement practices for electronics controls to minimize localized impacts overseas while maximizing environmental and economic benefits to the nation.

References:

¹See Save Energy Now: Energy Assessments http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow