ENERGY AUDIT :

Thermal Energy Audit
Thermal energy is generally obtained from firing of a fuel. The heat carrying mediums such as steam, Thermic fluid, hot air etc. forms the system that controls energy utilization. Thermal energy audit analyses the generation distribution and utilization system and highlights the gaps in energy performance. The report also provides firm actions to eliminate or minimize energy use for a given application or improve energy efficiency.

1. Fired equipment analysis
Boiler, Thermic fluid heater or hot air generator are fired equipment. The performance criteria of these equipment is measurable through its efficiency. There are standards, like BIS or DIN which provide guideline for performance evaluation of fired equipment and are used for efficiency evaluation. The report provides firm actions to improve efficiency. Possibility of fuel substitution for cost reduction is studied in detailed

2. Distribution System analysis
Heat losses through improper insulation and energy loss due to pressure drops in the pipeline are the two major causes of energy loss in distribution system. The TEA studies the entire system for its distribution effectiveness and suggests remedial action for improvement.

3. Analysis of Utilization of thermal energy
This is the most critical part of a TEA and requires process expertise ECPL provides a demand-supply analysis and energy level analysis to determine gaps in the performance specific design solutions like.
 Heat Wheels
 Heat Pipes
 Heat Pumps
 Thremocompressor etc. are studied against the present use. Process modification aiming at not only energy performance but also increase in throughputs is suggested for improvement in overall productivity.

4. Waste Heat Recovery
This is an integral part of the TEA and ECPL also offers exclusive services for Waste Heat Recovery. It is therefore listed under a separate heading.
The report contains energy conservation opportunities with their cost benefit impact.

Electrical Energy Audit
Electrical energy is the most extensively utilized form of energy due to its ease of utilization. The high energy level, electrical energy is used through mechanical devices like pumps, blowers, agitators etc. There are two distinct parts of electrical energy audit

Electrical System analysis
This part covers supply and distribution of electrical energy and losses associates with the electrical system inefficiencies. Common factors evaluated under this part are
 Tariff analysis
 Transformer loss analysis
 Power Factor improvement
 Lighting and auxiliary equipment
 Demand Management and reduction
 Cable size and rating analysis
 Motor efficiency analysis
 Power Quality study
(not included in normal energy audits)

Additionally the study may include
 Redundancy analysis and selection of appropriate backups mechanism (like DG sets sizing & selection)
 Disaster management planning for preventing electrical failures
 Electrical system adequacy and safety analysis

The report includes Gap analysis and (Design solutions) and exact remedial actions to be taken for system improvement.
 

EXERGY AUDIT

Exergy available energy is the thermodynamic measure of usefulness of any energy form. Typically, it is denoted by energy level and in a broad sense, it is denoted by temperature or pressure of a fluid. However, there are several manifestations of exergy concentration difference, or affinity towards a common component can lead to large energy transfer. Cooling tower is the best example where water at lower temperature than dry bulb temperature of air transfer energy to air and gets further cooled. This would be against laws of thermodynamic if we stick to the conventional energy level concepts
During the process, we loose several such opportunities of useful energy transfer due to lack of proper analysis ECPL has devised a specific methodology for capturing these potential energy gains. These mere concepts are used to standardize certain products / system
The Exergy Audit goes way beyond the conventional utility performance evaluation and provides dimensions of energy management that are still uncaptured. It separates processes from each other by the available energy content and also measures the availability loss during the process operation. If available energy (exergy) loss has accrued, than the process can be modified to extract useful energy out of it. Some of the applications of exergy products are
 Caustic dilution refrigeration system
 Vapour absorption heat pumps
 Thermo compressors
 Mechanical vapour re-compressors etc.

ECPL shall provide a detailed report with analysis of exergy loss points and potential for achieving energy cost reduction through improvement in exergy efficiency of the system. The principle of exergy can apply to any and all chemical process and unit operations like
 Drying
 Exothermic and Endothermic reactions
 Distillation
 Evaporation
Any operation that involves heating, cooling, phase change even chemical concentration change can use exergy principles for energy conservation
 

BLUE PRINT AUDIT

Energy efficient plant at the design stage is the concept behind blue print audit. The process equipments are generally oversized in order to avoid any operational failures. The equipments during regular operation are always underutilized compromising on efficiency. This is one of the several reasons spending more energy. The audit at design stage can verify the design considering operational as well as energy aspects.

PROCESS AUDIT

Capacity enhancement, De-bottlenecking, trouble shooting. ECPL has a team of qualified chemical engineers having specific expertise in chemical process unit operations. It is observed that equipment sizing, parameters setting, dependent process operations create artificial bottlenecks in the plant operations. ECPL’s services help to de-bottleneck and increase plant throughputs. Specific problems related to quality of product and purity is addressed.
The services are useful to
 Convert batch plants into continuous operations
 Capacity enhancement
 Troubleshooting and quality improvement
 Debottlenecking
The report provides roadmap for achieving the targeted performances. There are specific control parameters which when optimized leverage plant performance. The report shall provide target setting and supplement it with design engineering of the retrofit.

POWER QUALITY STUDY

This study can be an integral part of electrical energy audit or can be conducted separately. The power quality study is a Quadra polar methodology. These four quadrants of electrical energy usage, when considered together provide the most optimum design. The four quadrants studied are.
 Electrical safety
 Electrical energy conservation
 Power quality, including harmonic study, voltage and current unbalances study power factor etc.
 Statutory compliance as per electrical inspector also rules

ECPL has portable instruments required to study the performance of any electrical facility. These instruments provide voltage, current, P. F., 1st to 50th harmonic cycle details, and other electrical parameters.

The PQA report contains measured values, detailed analysis and remedial actions to improve power quality of a facility. These services have been successfully used for
 Improving redundancy of the system
 Preventing electronic components and failure
 Enhancing plant safety
 Disaster management planning
 Reducing maintenance problems
 

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

Design and engineering is a very crucial stage in setting-up and/ or expansion of a plant. It requires thorough understanding of process. The understanding of interdependency of process parameters and operational practices can only lead to hazard free plant. We believe that perfection in the design not only save operational cost but also capital investment.

PROJECTS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY

Retrofit projects are always a challenge to implementation teams. Though apparently easy, there are hidden problems, like availability of shut down, that significantly delay implementation. It has been observed that very well defined projects become non-starter due to such non technical issues. ECPL has a vast experience in this area and has successfully implemented such projects in the given time frames with minimum shut down period. We help our customers to achieve the project targets including energy cost reduction on a demonstration project basis..

WASTE HEAT RECOVERY

Heat is wasted in industry in various forms and at various levels significant quantum of energy is wasted at a very low level where it is difficult to recover. Typical example is refrigeration condenser heat at 40° C or condensate at 75-80° C. These heats are difficult to recover as well as the cost benefit does not support the investment. ECPL critically studies these sources of waste heat and provides solutions for recovery. The solutions could comprise of
 Regenerators or recuperators
 Heat pipe heat exchanges
 Heat Wheels
 Heat pumps
 Thermo compressors etc.

Some of the applications where waste heat recovery can be effectively done are as follows:
 Furnace high temperature exhausts
 Distillation column condenser vapour
 Evaporator condenser
 DG Set cooling water
ECPL provides services for decision support with evaluation of alternatives, their cost benefit and technical due diligence of the possible alternatives
ECPL also provides back up services for
 Design and engineering of the system
 Selection of vendor and technology
 Capacity matching between Waste Heat source and the plant requirement
 

WATER AUDITS AND ZERO DISCHARGE SYSTEM

Water is a precious commodity and scarcity of Water is making it imperative to look for alternative method of recovering water. The steps involved in water audit
 Quantification of water usage
 Characterization of effluent
 Segregation of effluent
 Designing specific technical solutions to treat the effluent and recycle water back to the system

Typical applications of water recycling projects are
 Designing sewage treatment plants
 Treating boiler and cooling water blowdown and recovery of chemicals
 Stoppage of heat and water loss in DG cooling towers
 Rain water harvesting
The ECPL team has required portable instruments to measure water flow rates inside a pipe without disturbing the pipeline. These instrument coupled with design expertise for water recycling, ECPL report have provided guidelines for water recovery upto 100%
Zero Discharge system, is a logical extension at water audit where ECPL provides design solution for 100% water recovery and all the impurities are converted into salable or recoverable solids or by products. These solutions are very attractive for effluents having high concentrations of dissolved solids

MECHANICAL SHAFT POWER AUDIT

Majority of electrical energy is consumed through mechanical equipment like pumps blowers and chillers. The potential to save energy is multifold in mechanical equipment as compared with electrical system associated with it. The final savings are reflected in the electrical energy bills, hence it is included as a parrot of EEA

Following systems are studied for the salt power reduction – potential
 Refrigeration and air conditioning
 Air compressors
 Cooling towers
 Water Pumping system
 Air blowers (and AHU’s of ventilations)
The report contains gap analysis between the actual energy performance and benchmark for the equipment. Energy conservation opportunities are listed along with their cost benefit analysis.