March/April 2001

ISSUE FOCUS: 

System Integration

T OF ENERGY

DEPARTMEN

U

E

NITED STAT S OFA ERICA

M

A BestPractices PUBLICATION ON IMPROVING INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY

OFFICE OF INDUSTRIAL 

TECHNOLOGIES • 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

www.oit.doe.gov 

www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices

On February 19-21, more than 100

exhibitors and 1200 industry representatives attended DOE’s 4th Industrial Energy

Efficiency Symposium and Exposition in

Washington, DC. The symposium focused

on major trends, opportunities, needs, and

issues affecting Industries of the Future—

the nine basic, energy-intensive industries

that supply more than 90% of our economy’s needs for materials.

The Office of Industrial Technologies’

(OIT) Industries of the Future (IOF) initiative creates partnerships between industry,

government, and supporting laboratories

and institutions to accelerate technology

research, development, and deployment.

BestPractices supports these industries with

tools and resources to enhance efficiency

and productivity.

Keynote Speakers Share Insights 

Expo attendees heard two keynote speakers, who shared international and U.S. perspectives. Eamonn Fingleton, a Tokyo-based

author and former editor for The Financial

Times and Forbes, spoke on the subject of

his book, In Praise of Hard Industries; Why

Manufacturing, Not the Information Economy, Is the Key to Future Prosperity. Senator

Jay Rockefeller, of West Virginia, spoke of

the struggles facing industries in his state,

including unenforced trade laws.

Outstanding Individual and Companies

Recognized

One of the Expo highlights was OIT’s

presentation of awards to outstanding organizations and individuals. Awardees were

recognized for their energy management

achievements, efforts to advance the goals

of IOF partnerships, or exceptional technological advances. 

OIT awarded Plant-of-the-Year to USX

Corporation for its commitment to continuous improvement throughout its operations.

The company’s Mon-Valley Works, which

includes the Edgar Thomson Plant in BradDOE’s 4th Expo Highlights Global Competition 

and Industries of the Future

New BestPractices Energy Tip Sheets,

see page 7.

Above: Richard McCormack, publisher of Manufacturing News, leads the

Lean Manufacturing session at OIT’s Expo 4. (See

sidebar, page 2.)

Above: Author Eamonn

Fingelton presented ideas

on the future of manufacturing and the economy.

Right: Senator Jay Rockefeller gave his perspective

on the issues facing industries in West Virginia.

IN THIS ISSUE

DOE’s 4th Expo Highlights 

Global Competition and Industries 

of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Guest Column: What’s Energy 

Worth?—Assessing Marginal 

Energy Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Economic Optimization and 

Advanced Process Control to Improve

Methanol Plant Operations . . . . . . . . . . 4

Performance Optimization Tips: 

Liberal Application of a 

Conservative Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

BestPractices Tools: BestPractices 

Offers More Tips for Energy and 

Cost Savings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Energy Matters Extra Highlights . . . . . . 7

Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 (continued on page 2) 

Editor’s Note: The Motor System 

supplement scheduled for this issue 

will appear in a future issue.
2 Energy Matters, March/April 2001

ENERGY MATTERS

is published bimonthly by the

U.S. Department of Energy’s

(DOE) Office of Industrial 

Technologies. 

Information contained in the

newsletter can be reproduced

without permission provided due

acknowledgement is given (the

U.S. Department of Energy’s 

Energy Matters newsletter) and 

a copy of the publication is 

supplied to the editor.

■

EDITORIAL BOARD

Rob Boteler, representing

National Electrical Manufacturers

Association

Lynda Butek, representing 

Electrical Apparatus Service 

Association

Keith Davidson, Onsite Sycom

Energy

Glenn Hahn, Spirax Sarco

Aimee McKane, representing the

Compressed Air Challenge®

Bill Stafford, Technical Association

of the Pulp and Paper Industry

Arvind Thekdi, CSGI, Inc.

Chuck Whelan, Dupont 

■

DOE STAFF

Chris Cockrill, BestPractices,

Motors

David Crouch, BestPractices

Communications 

Bob Gemmer, BestPractices,

Process Heating

Fred Hart, BestPractices, Steam 

Theo Johnson, BestPractices 

Program Manager

■

COMMENTS? 

Contact: 

Michelle Mallory, 

Energy Matters Editor, at 

(303) 275-3627, or e-mail 

michelle_sosa-mallory@nrel.gov

1617 Cole Blvd., MS 1609

Golden, CO 80401

For address/subscription changes,

please contact the editor.

dock, Pennsylvania, and the Irvin Plant in

West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, have made significant investments in advanced technologies that will increase productivity, while

decreasing overall energy use and the

impact on the environment.

Among the improvements at these

plants were compressed air and steam efficiency projects that employed BestPractices tools and produced exceptional

energy savings. (Read a summary about the

Edgar Thomson Plant’s efforts in the January/February issue of Energy Matters at

www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/explore_

library/energy_matters.shtml. Or access a

case study at www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/

explore_library.)

The OIT Partner-of-the-Year award went

to Dr. Carl Irwin, Director of Market

Enhancement and Program Development

for the National Research Center for Coal

and Energy at West Virginia University, in

Morgantown. Dr. Irwin has shown outstanding leadership in developing and promoting the State IOF Program in West

Virginia. 

The OIT Technology-of-the-Year was

polylactic acid polymers—a project copartnered by Cargill Dow and the National

Renewable Energy Laboratory. These polymers are biodegradable and produced

from sugar, a renewable resource.

Sessions Focus on New Business Strategies

The symposium sessions were organized

into four major “tracks”: Manufacturing

Megatrends, Technology and Environment,

Global Markets and Investment Potential,

and Human Resources. Each track focused

on helping industries make better use of

advanced technologies and other resources

to gain a competitive edge. 

BestPractices Cyber Tools

At the OIT Cyber Café, Expo attendees

sampled many of the BestPractices software tools that can help plants save money

through proper assessment, selection, and

operation of equipment. BestPractices

technical experts demonstrated how the

Pumping System Assessment Tool, MotorMaster+, 3E Plus Insulation Thickness Tool,

the Steam System Scoping Tool, and AirMaster can help improve plant efficiency

and the bottom line.

OIT’s Expo gave participants opportunities to survey the exhibit hall, network

among industry peers, explore potential

partnership opportunities, and learn about

the global challenges facing the nation’s

key industries. 

To learn about partnerships through

OIT, go to the OIT Web site at www.oit.

doe.gov. To learn about the tools and

resources available thorough BestPractices,

go to the BestPractices Web site at www.

oit.gov/bestpractices/. ●

DOE’s 4th Expo

continued from page 1

LEAN MANUFACTURING SESSION ECHOES BESTPRACTICES GOALS

The BestPractices initiative provides technical assistance to help companies boost productivity by reducing or avoiding the waste of energy and other resources. Lean manufacturing, defined as cutting all waste and increasing customer value, is a business philosophy

that merges well with BestPractices objectives. It was appropriate then, that one of the sessions presented at the 4th Industrial Energy Efficiency Expo focused on this topic.

Robert Emiliani, director of the Center for Lean Business Management and one of the session panelists, described waste as an activity or output that adds cost but does not add value

for the customer. The lean management philosophy, he maintained, can be applied at all

levels throughout an organization and not just to the manufacturing portion of a business. 

Ken Kreafle, general manager for Quality Control/Quality Engineering, Toyota Manufacturing-Kentucky, was another panelist. He stated that the Toyota Production System

focuses on people, cooperation, company-wide teamwork (as opposed to competitive

teams within a company), and process (as opposed to results). 

Finally, David Squier, former CEO of Howmet International, described how his company

employed lean management techniques, and between 1992 and 1999, increased productivity by 40%, quality yield by 37%, and on-time delivery by 78%. 

If you would like to learn about tools that can help your company reduce energy use and

improve productivity, log on to the BestPractices Web site at www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/.
Energy Matters, March/April 2001 3

Guest Column

What’s Energy Worth?—

Assessing Marginal 

Energy Costs

By Alan Karp, Manager of Business 

Development, Veritech, Inc., Sterling, VA

What’s energy worth?

The answer to this

question is prerequisite to any meaningful energy analysis.

Simplistic or faulty

assumptions about

the value of steam

and power will lead to inaccurate assessments of the costs and benefits associated

with proposed operating changes or capital

projects. Conversely, proper understanding

of marginal steam and power costs can

pinpoint system inefficiencies and facilitate

the identification of economically attractive strategies for reducing energy costs.

A steam system model can be an effective tool for predicting energy costs, particularly when there are many variables to

consider. The first step is to take a look at

which factors affect energy costs. 

Examining Energy Cost Variables

To start with, energy costs are not fixed

over time. This point may need little reinforcement given the recent natural gas

price escalations and the historical volatility of crude oil prices. However, even during periods of stable oil and gas prices, a

single number often cannot satisfactorily

represent the cost of power or steam consumed by an industrial plant.

Seasonal, time-of-day, and other time

and use-related cost variations are common

to natural gas contracts and electric power

rate schedules. Such price variations may

be significant enough to warrant time averaging of several operating scenarios to

more accurately assess energy cost impacts. 

Energy cost analyses also can be significantly influenced by site-specific and usespecific factors that affect the cost of

supplying fuel, steam, and power to the

plant.

For example, the cost of producing steam

in a boiler will vary with the specific boiler’s

efficiency—which, in turn, will vary as

boiler load changes. Where boilers are capable of using a variety of purchased and/or

plant-generated fuels, steam costs will also

vary depending on the fuel being used. 

Complex Systems, Complex Energy Values

Marginal energy costs are particularly

complex at industrial sites that have:

■ Multiple, interconnected steam pressure

levels

■ Motor and turbine options for supplying

shaft power

■ Different categories of steam users. 

The latter may include “live steam users,”

which consume steam but do not return

condensate to the system, and heating steam

users, which extract energy from the steam

via heat exchangers or heating coils, but

permit cost-saving condensate recovery.

The figure below illustrates the interactions of steam and power costs for three

common scenarios:

■ Power is generated by backpressure turbines, with all exhaust steam being

used by the process. (Path 1)

■ Power is generated by backpressure turbines, but all exhaust steam is vented.

(Path 2)

■ Power is generated by backpressure and

condensing turbines, with all steam ultimately taken to condensing. (Path 3)

The figure emphasizes the fact that the

cost of generating power (or shaftwork)

and supplying steam at different pressure

levels is highly path-dependent. That is,

the cost will vary appreciably depending

on how the steam gets from where it is

generated to where it is used.

For example, medium-pressure steam

that is produced via letdown from the

high-pressure header will bear the cost of

high-pressure steam generation. Mediumpressure steam that is exhausted from a

steam turbine, however, will be less costly

to the ultimate steam user because of the

economic credit associated with the generation of shaft power.

Although the relative costs given are

strictly illustrative and vary for each set of

circumstances, they highlight the dramatic

differences in energy costs that can coexist

at many industrial sites. 

As shown, power produced by backpressure turbines can be very competitive

with purchased power—provided that the

exhaust steam is used by the process. Conversely, such power is prohibitively costly

if the exhaust steam is vented.

Purchased power is predominantly produced in large, condensing power plants.

Accordingly, condensing power generation

inside the plant competes directly with the

electric utility on an operating cost basis. 

A Model for Assessing Costs

Sorting out the complexities of steam

and power values in such systems is best

Steam and power costs for three scenarios (Paths 1, 2, and 3).

High

pressure

Letdown

Medium

pressure

Low

pressure

Relative cost

of power

Path 1 Path 2 Path 3

1

Process use

Process

Duties

20

Venting

8

Condensing

Boilers

Vent

Vent

(continued on page 7) By Reinder de Boer, GE Continental 

Controls, Inc., Houston, Texas, and 

Scott Williams and William Rump, Enron

Methanol Company, La Porte, Texas

The Enron Methanol Company, in

Pasadena, Texas, produces a methanol

product used in gasoline additives and as a

solvent for adhesives and finishes.

Recently, the company applied an

advanced process control system that has

significantly contributed to a reduction in

the plant’s operating costs, including a

2.4% reduction in net energy costs. 

The plant’s single train design uses a

Lurgi synthesis loop, which consists of four

major systems: feed gas preparation,

reforming, synthesis, and purification. One

of the main uses for energy at the plant is

to generate steam for the reformers.

Another energy use is to operate major

equipment, such as compressor turbines

and pumps. The heat recovery section of

the reformers contributes to the generation

of steam. Controlling the steam-to-carbon

ratio in the feed and maintaining the steam

header pressures can reduce the steam use

per unit of methanol produced.

In addition to energy for steam generation, the reformers also consume a large

amount of fuel gas as an energy source. By

controlling the temperature profiles in the

reformers, this usage can also be reduced. 

The Case for Advanced Process Controls

Petrochemical processes, such as those

required for methanol production at Enron,

are excellent applications for multivariable

control and optimization because of several market and operating factors that

affect plant operations and profitability.

Some of the key factors include:

■ Dynamic market supply and demand

effects on feedstock (natural gas) and

product prices 

■ Capacity and throughput limitations

■ Variability of gas feedstock rates, quality, and composition

■ Environmental requirements. 

As a result, there is an opportunity to

push a plant to its maximum operating

capacity and economically optimize operations in the face of constantly varying conditions. The need to optimize operations is 

even more apparent with roughly 6 million

tons of new capacity online in the last 2

years. In addition, impending MTBE legislation poses potential stress on the market.

With this in mind, energy reduction and

yield improvement are necessities to

remain globally competitive. Enron considered these factors and decided to implement an advanced process control and

optimization system at this facility. 

Process Improvements and Savings

By applying the advanced process control and optimization system, Enron

achieved energy savings and productivity

improvements in the these areas:

■ Steam reforming

■ Methanol reaction

■ Purification section

■ Secondary or autothermal reformers

■ Purge and loop control.

As a result, net energy use decreased by

2.4% per gallon of methanol produced.

The payback period for the project was 5

months.

4 Energy Matters, March/April 2001

Economic Optimization and Advanced Process Control 

to Improve Methanol Plant Operations

(continued on page 5) 

Figure 1. Primary reformer outlet temperature before and after advanced control.

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

7/20/99 7/24/99 4/21/00 4/25/00

Reformer Outlet Temperature

Pre-advanced control Advanced control on 

Degrees F

Figure 2. Net energy use in the production of methanol was reduced 2.4% after 

implementation of advanced process controls. 

94%

96%

98%

100%

102%

104%

7/20/99

Net energy

7/24/99 4/21/00 4/25/00

Net Energy Use

Pre-advanced control Advanced control on 

Percent pre-advanced control

8-period moving average (net energy)
Energy Matters, March/April 2001 5

Performance

Optimization Tips

Liberal Application of a

Conservative Principle

By Don Casada, 

OIT BestPractices

Program

A little puzzle: Can

you give me some

feedback about what

Newton’s third law of

motion has in common with the following items?

1. The economic model of supply and

demand

2. Loudspeaker squealing

3. The Chernobyl nuclear reactor

4. The California electricity crisis

5. Wasted energy in industrial plant operations

Here’s a clue: The answer is in the

question. Let’s discuss each item and look

for a common thread.

Newton’s third law of motion says that:

For every action, there is an equal and

opposite reaction. If I push (or pull) on an

inanimate object, it pushes (or pulls) back

with a reactionary, or balancing force,

exactly equal to the one applied.

1. The economic model of supply and

demand deals with the interrelationship

between supply, demand, and price. In a

stable market of widgets, supply and

demand are matched. Then something happens to create a shortage of widgets, and

competition for the scarce resource grows. 

We would expect prices to increase

enough to cause an initial reduction in

demand. But the new, higher price may

also attract more suppliers, and prices may

reverse. The cycling iterates, but always

seeks a balance between the competing

forces.

2. Loudspeaker squealing occurs

because of problems in location of a

microphone and the loudspeaker. The figure on page 6 shows a situation where a

microphone is positioned directly under a

speaker. A small sound into the microphone will be amplified and sent through

the speaker. The higher volume sound will

repeat the cycle. The distance between the

speaker and the microphone will affect the

frequency, but the existence of the closed,

self-amplifying loop is the primary cause of

the squealing. 

3. The Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe was largely the result of a fundamental design flaw. Its reactor core was

designed to have a positive power reactivity coefficient1. That is, as the nuclear

(continued on page 6) 

Enron found that the primary reformer

contributed to the majority of fuel savings.

Implementing balanced firing control

between the north and south reformer

tube-banks minimized the temperature differences, bringing the entire reformer

closer to optimal conversion. This also

minimized the potential for damage to catalysts and tubes in the radiant section of

the reformers, which can be caused by

excessive temperatures. 

Figure 1 shows the tighter control of primary reformer outlet temperature. The temperature deviation was reduced from ± 4°F

to ± 2°F.

More uniform temperatures also prevent

carbon deposition in the reforming tubes.

This moderation of conditions increases the

lifetime of the reforming tubes, improves

methane conversion for a given energy consumption, and allows lower steam-tocarbon ratios. Moreover, the average outlet

temperature was reduced by 6°F, resulting in

reduced fuel gas use, as shown in Figure 2.

In addition to the financial and energy

savings gained by implementing advanced

process control strategies, the new system

will reduce plant alarms, previously caused

by deficient control of and slow response

to process excursions. The system achieves

this reduction by responding to predicted,

future constraint violations, acting continuously to prevent their occurrence.

Potential for Other Applications

Enron’s example shows advanced

process control and economic optimization

have many potential benefits to the

methanol industry. Results from similar

processes (e.g. ammonia synthesis) have

achieved project paybacks of 4 to 7 months.

Projected energy savings for methanol

plants surveyed range from $750,000 to

$1.5 million annually, depending on the

nameplate capacity of the plant and raw

material prices. In current studies, methanol

prices ranging from $0.30 to $0.50/gallon

($100 to $168/ton) have been used. ●

To learn more about this project contact

Reinder de Boer, Project Manager, GE Continental Controls by phone at 713-978-4413,

or e-mail reinder.deboer@indsys.ge.com.

Economic Optimization

continued from page 4

HOW ADVANCED PROCESS CONTROL TECHNOLOGY WORKS

A multivariable control system simultaneously manipulates more than one variable to

achieve a certain goal or set point. A model predictive control system uses algorithms to

compute a sequence of manipulated variable adjustments by predicting the future behavior of the process.

Typically, a multivariable control software program can be installed on a personal computer to interface with the field controllers through a supervisory control and data acquisition package. The conventional control system, which may contain an assortment of

customized control blocks, is replaced by one centralized computer program that

includes the multivariable and model predictive control system.

A successful multivariable control system includes several key functionalities, including: 

■ A modular controller structure with nonlinear predictive models and nonlinear multivariable constrained controller optimization

■ Limits on the movement of adjustable variables

■ Adaptability with tuning constants and variable scaling and weighting

■ Economic optimization with instrument failure detection, process-variable filtering

health and status checks, and an informative and usable operator interface.

The development of the advanced process control system in this case study was supported

by the Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois (now the Gas Technology Institute).
6 Energy Matters, March/April 2001

power in the core increased, it tended to

cause a further increase. So, once an

excursion started, it was self-propagating.

4. The California electricity crisis is a

result of several cause and result factors,

including:

■ A significantly increased demand coincident with minimal new capacity

■ Retail price controls for two major utilities (fixed selling prices well below the

utility purchase costs)

■ Utilities were prohibited from entering

into long-term contracts

■ Heavy dependence on natural gas generation (and at a time of soaring natural

gas prices)

■ Independent power producers who

weren’t being paid.

Feedback on the Puzzle

Before we discuss the fifth item, I’ll give

you my answer to the puzzle. All the items

on the list, like Newton’s third law of

motion, either have or should have a properly controlling feedback system.

Essentially all real-world processes

require feedback-type control. We continuously rely on feedback from our native

senses to control almost everything we do,

from brushing our teeth to driving a car. 

Negative feedback is implicit in Newton’s third law. Forces in nature always seek

balance. Likewise, the economic model of

supply and demand, which is also based on

empirical observation, includes combinations of negative feedback mechanisms that

tend to restore balance.

Both the loudspeaker and the Chernobyl reactor are examples of positive

feedback designs, where an imbalance

reinforces itself out of control. Any time a

positive feedback dominates, bad things

tend to happen because balance is fundamentally lost. 

It’s interesting that in the physical world,

negative feedback is a positive thing, and

positive feedback is a negative thing.

As to the California electricity crisis—you

are certainly free to draw your own conclusions. But to a remote, casual observer like

me, it appears that artificial constraints

imposed on time-proven, market-negative

feedback mechanisms, such as prices,

demand, and supply, are prime factors. 

Which leaves us with one last item on

our original list:

5. Wasted energy in industrial plant

operations, in my experience, involve factors that,

somewhat like the California situation, either:

■ Inhibit the natural, negative feedback control mechanisms that seek balance, or 

■ Misdirect the feedback to

the result, rather than the

source, of the imbalance

between supply and demand.

Inhibited feedback

If one end user in the

plant gets an insufficient

supply of plant utilities, such

as compressed air, steam,

and water—even if only for

10 minutes a month—the

utility staff will certainly hear about it. And

that’s fine—it is negative feedback from the

user to the supplier. But if there is more

pressure or flow rate, the user will take

care of that by bypassing or throttling the

supply. A direct result is the utility staff

operates more equipment than needed for

normal operating conditions. But the

higher costs that result from meeting the

single end user’s infrequent need aren’t

borne solely by that end user, because utility bills are an overall plant burden. Thus,

there is inherent minimization of negative

feedback from the supplier to the user,

resulting in a loss of balance.

However, balance can be encouraged

by other mechanisms. First, there is submetering. The closer the energy/cost meter is

to the end user, the more likely it is he or

she will be held accountable. Second, a

review of the plant’s entire consumption

pattern can identify the “bad actors” in the

facility. Both of these approaches help

compensate for the missing “equal and

opposite force” and can result in more efficient use of resources.

Misdirected feedback

Controlling flow rate by a throttled valve

or damper is an example where feedback

addresses a supply and demand imbalance

at the end of the process. Controlling flow

rate with a valve or damper is analogous to:

■ Driving a car with the gas pedal “to the

metal” and then regulating speed with

the brake, or 

■ Putting on sunglasses in a room where

the lights are too bright. 

Using a variable speed drive or on/off

operation to control flow rate are examples

where the imbalance is addressed at the

source. They are analogous to our more

common methods of controlling speed (gas

pedal) and lights (dimmers or switches).

Operating reviews and plant assessments

can help identify misdirected feedback.

OIT’s BestPractices offers prescreening and

opportunity scoping tools for different system types, such as pumping and steam. You

can find these tools on the BestPractices

Web site at www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices. 

Feedback Worthy of Emulation

The few natural laws that we have been

fortunate enough to decode from empirical

observations, like Newton’s third law of

motion, are cornerstones for our technological energy world. But they have much

to teach us in a more liberal sense. 

The evidence consistently shows that

the designer of the universe has consistently

incorporated negative feedback control into

its physical and biological operations. And

one can’t help but to be amazed at how

smoothly and efficiently it works. We

human designers and operators might be

well served to consider the importance of

appropriately applying negative feedback if

we’re interested in working more smoothly

and efficiently in our own, more limited

scopes of responsibility. ●

E-mail Don Casada at doncasada@icx.net.

1 All U.S. reactors are required to have a negative

power reactivity coefficient, which means their power

is self-limiting.

Performance Optimization Tips

continued from page 5

Speaker and microphone loop.

Microphone

Speaker

Feedback

Amplifier
Energy Matters, March/April 2001 7

Letters to the Editor 

Energy Matters welcomes

your typewritten letters and

e-mails. Please include your

full name, address, organization, and

phone number, and limit comments to 200

words. Address correspondence to:

Michelle Mallory, Letters to the Editor

NREL, MS 1609

1617 Cole Blvd.

Golden, CO 80401

E-mail: michelle_sosa-mallory@nrel.gov

We publish letters of interest to readers

on related topics, comments, or criticisms/

corrections of a technical nature. Preference is given to articles that appeared in

the previous two issues. Letters may be

edited for length, clarity, and style. ●

Check Energy Matters Extra for more on system integration. Two OIT fact sheets

describe cutting-edge control technologies

that could lead to improved productivity,

product quality, and cost and energy savings

for industry. Find out about wireless telemetry architecture technology being developed

to provide building blocks for intelligent

industrial process control systems. Also

learn about flame image analysis that will

allow aluminum manufacturers to capture

video images and other information for optimal control of natural gas-fired furnaces.

In addition, two articles from Plant Services magazine present valuable ideas on

managing plant processes. The first

explores the issues to consider when

upgrading an older control system. The

second discusses the importance of managing the knowledge necessary to design,

build, operate, and maintain a plant. 

You’ll also find details on upcoming

compressed air training classes cosponsored by the Compressed Air Challenge®

and the Iowa Energy Center at Iowa State

University. And link to the seven new BestPractices Energy Tips Sheets discussed

above.

Log on to Energy Matters Extra at www.

oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/explore_library/

emextra. ●

EXTRA 

BestPractices Tools

BestPractices Offers 

More Tips for Energy and

Cost Savings 

What do small leaks in compressed air system and uninsulated pipes in steam systems

have in common? Both of these power system inefficiencies are energy and economic

savings opportunities waiting to happen. 

The latest in the series of BestPractices

Energy Tip Sheets highlight specific actions

as well as descriptions of approaches for

steam and compressed air system improvements. Impress management by presenting

these approaches to improve efficiency

and spur cost savings in your facility. These

tip sheets present formulas that will allow

you to calculate the projected savings and

illustrate examples of plant audits and prevention programs. The new measures will

guide you to not only improve your plant’s

efficiency, but also its productivity. 

Find seven new tip sheets with specific

“how-to” methods including: 

■ Minimize Compressed Air Leaks: Compressed air leaks can waste 20%-30%

of a compressor’s output. Use this tip

sheet to learn the importance of a leak

prevention program, discover ways to

detect leaks, and determine leakage

rates according to orifice size. You’ll

also find an example of a chemical

plant that undertook a leak prevention

program and its estimated cost-savings. 

■ Install Removable Insulation on Uninsulated Valves and Fittings: High-temperature piping or equipment should be

insulated to reduce heat loss, reduce

emissions, and improve safety. Learn

about the importance of insulated pipes

in steam systems and how to project the

energy savings (Btu/hr) that can be

achieved when removable insulated

valve covers are applied. You can also

calculate the annual fuel and dollar savings that can be achieved with these

applications. 

■ Eliminate Inappropriate Uses of Compressed Air: Because compressed air

generation is an expensive utility, its

appropriate use can make a cost-effective difference. Find out which uses of

compressed air are inappropriate, and

then discover corrective actions or

alternatives. This tip sheet presents an

example of an automobile assembly

plant, describes what plant personnel

identified as inappropriate compressed

air uses, and discusses the actions taken

by this company to improve efficiency. 

Order these newly published BestPractices Energy Tip Sheets through the OIT

Clearinghouse by calling 800-862-2086, or

download them from the BestPractices Web

site at www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/

explore_library/. ●

served by a “full thermodynamic cycle”

costing for steam that includes:

■ Deaerator steam impacts

■ Backpressure turbine expansion impacts

■ Nonfuel cost impacts, such as cooling

water usage, makeup water and treatment

costs, pumping costs, and fixed costs.

Although the costs and interactions of

very simple steam and power systems may

be readily apparent, such is not the case

with many industrial sites where multiple

steam generators and users and many

operational “degrees of freedom” exist.

Analysis of these steam systems requires a

model that is easy to use, yet sufficiently

rigorous to capture all significant cost factors and system interactions.

Configuring and applying such models

in industrial steam systems typically offer

significant opportunities for cost savings.

Frequent areas of opportunity include the

reduction, if not elimination, of steam

venting, optimization of available turbine/motor options, and identification of

rapid payback projects to further rationalize steam system operation. Proper energy

costing is key to identifying appropriate

cost-saving measures.

Alan Karp has more than 30 years of experience in industrial process analysis, design,

and engineering, including extensive technical and economic evaluation of industrial process heat and power systems.

Veritech supplies energy-related software

and consulting services to process industries. For questions or comments on this

article, contact him at 703-435-7885 or

info@veritech-energy.com. ●

Guest Column

continued from page 3
INFORMATION

CLEARINGHOUSE

Do you have questions about 

using energy-efficient process

and utility systems in your industrial 

facility? Call the OIT Information Clearinghouse for answers, Monday through

Friday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (EST).

Fax: 360-586-8303, or access our 

homepage at www.oit.doe.gov/

clearinghouse.

HOTLINE: 800-862-2086

DOE Regional Support Office 

Representatives

■ Tim Eastling, Atlanta, GA, 

404-347-7141

■ Scott Hutchins, Boston, MA, 

617-565-9765

■ Brian Olsen, Chicago, IL, 

312-886-8579

■ Gibson Asuquo, Denver, CO, 

303-275-4841

■ Chris Cockrill, Seattle, WA, 

816-873-3299

■ Joseph Barrett, Philadelphia, PA, 

215-656-6957

This document was produced for the Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a DOE

national laboratory.

DOE/GO-102001-1290 • March/April 2001

T OF ENERGY

DEPARTMEN

U

E

NITED STAT S OFA ERICA

M

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper

containing at least 50% wastepaper, including

20% postconsumer waste

COMPRESSED AIR CHALLENGE TRAINING PROGRAMS

■ May 8, 2001, in Ames, IA, (Part I, Fundamentals)

■ May 9-10, 2001, in Ames, IA (Part II, Advanced Management)

■ May 22, 2001, in Cedar Rapids, IA (Part I, Fundamentals)

■ May 23-24, 2001, in Cedar Rapids, IA (Part II, Advanced Management)

For more information, please log on to www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/take_class/

calendar.shtml. 

SPIRAX SARCO/AEE ENERGY EFFICIENCY EXPOSITION AND WORKSHOP

■ May 9-10, in San Diego, CA

■ August 24-26, in Atlanta, GA

For more information, please log on to www.aeecenter.org/shows/.

ACEEE SUMMER STUDY ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRY

■ July 24-27, 2001, in Tarrytown, NY

For more information, please call the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

(ACEEE) at 202-429-8873.

INTEGRATED ENERGY EFFICIENCY CONGRESS/FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND

MAINTENANCE EXPO

■ August 29-30, 2001, in Cleveland, OH

For more information, please log on to www.aeecenter.org/shows/.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES CONFERENCE

■ October 16-17, 2001, in Atlantic City, NJ

For more information, please log on to www.eetech.org, or call 609-499-3600, extension 3.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Boulevard

Golden, CO 80401-3393

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U.S. Postage

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Golden, Colorado

BestPractices

The Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT)

BestPractices initiative and its Energy Matters newsletter introduces industrial end

users to emerging technologies and wellproven, cost-saving opportunities in motor,

steam, compressed air, and other plantwide systems. For overview information

and to keep current on what is happening

office wide, check out the newsletter—The

OIT Times—at www.oit.doe.gov/oit-times.

Coming Events

COMING NEXT ISSUE: 

The next issue of Energy Matters focuses on the volatile energy market, with discussion on

the implications for industrial users, solutions, and actions.

To keep up-to-date on OIT training and other events, check the calendar regularly on

Energy Matters Extra at www.oit.doe.gov/bestpractices/explore_library/emextra.