CO₂ emissions from a steel mill and a petro-chemical industry

The CO₂ emissions and energy flows of a steel mill A (mill A) and petro-chemical industry B (PCI B) in southern Taiwan were investigated in this study. And the feasibility of integrating the energy flows of mill A and nearby waste management plant E (WMP E) was also evaluated in order to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the CO₂ emission. The results show that the annual energy consumption of mill A and PCI B were 6,045,518 and 11,957,543 KLOE (kiloliter of crude oil equivalent), respectively. Mill A utilized less than 5% of Taiwan's total annual energy consumption, but it used high CO₂ emission coefficient fuels and accounted for 8-9% of Taiwan's total CO₂ emission inventory. However, the energy efficiency was improved, and at least 15% of total steam produced in mill A came from waste heat recycling. By recovering waste heat in mill A, 63,420 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO) consumption was prevented, and thus 177,513 tonnes of CO₂ were not emitted. Furthermore, WMP E is able to produce about 578,993 tonnes of process steam (17.6 kg/cm2G × 275°C) annually. These results show that creating a steam-network between mill A and WMP E can not only reduce the amount of energy consumed by the industrial park, but also brought an extra benefit of 95 million NTD/yr for WMP E. This is the first study of an innovative steam-network at an industrial park in Taiwan, and the results of this work can further be applied in other locations to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions.