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Energy
Melting is the most energy-intensive operation in the metalcasting industry, accounting for about 55% of the total energy use in foundries. Opportunities exist to increase energy efficiency and productivity through technology upgrades and process changes. With today’s energy prices, impressive energy savings do not always require major capital investments in new equipment.
Inefficiencies in melting may be found in stack losses, inaccuracies in temperature measurement, conduction and radiation losses, poorly-fitting charge well covers and doors, temperature imbalance when adding cold metal to the charge and improper handling procedures.
Reduce energy use by
- Tuning burners for optimum efficiency
- Combustion air pre-heating where feasible
- Careful placement and monitoring of thermocouples
- Maintaining insulation and refractory
- Adjusting door and well closures for a tight fit
- Using charge pre-heating
- Properly managing the furnace charging process
Process heating and compressed air systems are two areas that may hold efficiency improvement opportunities.
Advanced Melting Technologies: Energy Saving Concepts and Opportunities for the Metalcasting Industry The study examines current and emerging melting technologies and discusses their technical barriers to scale-up issues and research needed to advance these technologies, improving melting efficiency, lowering metal transfer heat loss, and reducing scrap. (2005, PDF: 52 pp, 1.9 MB)
Efficient Process Heating in the Aluminum Industry Aluminum producers can cut process heating energy use 10 to 30% by improving operations in five areas: heat generation, heat transfer, heat containment, waste heat recovery and enabling technologies. (PDF: 8 pp, 285 KB)
Energy Use in Selected Metalcasting Facilities - 2003 This report provides an energy benchmark for various metalcasting processes. It describes process flows and energy use by fuel type and processes for selected casting operations. It also provides recommendations for improving energy efficiency in casting. (2004, PDF: 81 pp, 729 KB)
Industrial Technologies Program This U.S. Department of Energy program has supported many collaborative research projects for the metalcasting industry. Several of these projects have produced energy-efficient metalcasting technologies that are now commercially available, while other projects are working on emerging technologies that are likely to be commercially available in the near future.
Energy Case Studies
AMCAST Industrial Corporation
A plant-wide energy assessment at AMCAST Industrial Corporation that produces 20 to 25 million pounds per year of aluminum products led to the identification of 12 projects that have a combined potential annual savings of $3.7 million and a three-month payback.
Compressed Air System Improvement Project Saves Foundry Energy and Increases Production In the late 1990s, Indianapolis Casting Corporation optimized its compressed air system. Annual compressed air energy and maintenance savings were $395,000, with a simple payback of slightly more than two years.
Ford Cleveland: Inside-Out Analysis Identifies Energy and Cost Savings Opportunities at Metalcasting Plant
A plant-wide energy assessment at this facility that produces 300,000 tons per year of finished iron products led to the identification of 16 projects that have a combined potential annual savings of $3.3 million, along with two longer-term projects that would save an additional $9.5 million.
Metlab Plant-Wide Assessment
As a result of the plant-wide assessment at this commercial heat-treating facility, Metlab has set goals to reduce energy use and associated emissions by 20 to 30 percent, reduce plant discharges by 50 percent, and increase productivity by 10 to 20 percent. To achieve these goals, Metlab has prepared a plan that will produce an annual savings of approximately $528,400; with a capital cost of $820,000, the plan will pay for itself in 1.8 years.
Implementation of Metal Casting Best Practices
The project examined cases where metal casters had implemented ITP research results and the benefits they received due to that implementation. In cases where casters had not implemented those resultes, the project examined factors resposible for that lack of implementation.
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