Energy Efficient Manufacturing

Chapter 16Energy Efficient or Energy Effective Manufacturing?

S. A. Shade* and J. W. Sutherland

Purdue University

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

Abstract

As has been noted elsewhere in this book, there is growing attention to the environmental consequences associated with energy production owing to the wide-scale use of petroleum and coal-based energy resources (energy carriers). In addition, the cost of using energy is often significant due to the challenges in recovering fossil fuel resources (e.g., fossil reserves are less accessible, available in politically unstable areas, or require more expensive extraction technologies), relatively expensive renewable energy, implementation of emission control technologies at power generation facilities, etc. To control costs and comply with governmental regulations, industrial enterprises, including companies in the manufacturing sector, are facing increasing pressure to reduce their energy consumption throughout a product’s life cycle. These pressures are driving manufacturers to reduce the amount of energy required to create their products and also to deliver products (e.g., automobiles, airplanes, and appliances) and services that consume less energy during their use phase. To serve this interest, this book has discussed energy consumption issues related to manufacturing, and strategies for reducing energy use in manufacturing. A number of topics have been addressed including energy use in a variety of manufacturing processes, ...