An energy management method for the food industry

This article presents a method aimed at tracking energy saving opportunities in the food-processing industry through a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches. On the one hand, the top-down modelling method aims at correlating the measured energy consumptions with the final products and auxiliaries as well as at allocating the energy bills among major consumers. This approach will, therefore, set priorities for energy saving actions. On the other hand, the bottom-up approach, which is based on the thermodynamic requierements of the process operations, is used to define the energy requierements of these consumers. A comparison of the measured consumptions and the energy requierements enables the identification of energy saving opportunities. In the case study presented in the article, these opportunities have been evaluated using thermo-economic modelling tools and range from good housekeeping measures and optimised process operations to energy saving investments.