This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Energy Efficiency Training Program Prepared by Energy Efficiency through Product & Process Design Prepared by Plastics Industry Manufacturers of Australia (PIMA) in partnership with Australian Management Academy (AMA); executed in collaboration with EcoProducts

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Energy Efficiency through Product & Process Design Module 8 – Energy Efficient Manufacturing Process Design © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency 3

Key Points 1.Saving energy through process design 2.Designing energy efficient processes 3.Energy efficient process equipment 4 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Saving Energy through Process Design Energy savings can be obtained by process design for new or existing products Investment in energy efficient equipment Improvement of existing equipment Automation Typically provides 15% energy saving © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency 5

Energy Saving through Process Design Energy Cost $100 28% $72 Process Optimization 15% saving Process Design 15% saving TOTAL (cumulative) 28% saving Product Design Process Design Process Optimization 6 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Designing Energy Efficient Processes 1.Understand where energy is being used 2.Measure energy use 3.Analyze energy use 4.Compare to benchmarks 5.Identify opportunities © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency 7

Designing Energy Efficient Processes Where will energy being used? What will the energy be used for? How much energy will be used? Can it be used more efficiently? Could energy be supplied more efficiently? Where is energy being wasted? Can waste energy be reduced? Can waste energy be recovered? 8 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

System Design Looking at the whole energy use of a plant back to the primary energy sources to identify environmental impact system efficiency = 60% x 95% x 35% = 20% primary energy use is 5 times applied energy 9 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Primary Processes Pick the most energy efficient primary process option: –injection –extrusion + cutting + assembly –sheet extrusion + thermoforming + trimming 10 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Primary Processes Integrate processes to avoid extra heating/cooling cycles: –Direct sheet extrusion/thermoforming –Direct compounding/injection –Requires high volumes to justify high capital 11 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Example Peguform GmbH –Automotive door module –Compounding + Injection moulder with integrated foamed in place PU gasket –300 MWh/year energy saving –Additional savings from logistics simplification 12 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Primary Process 13 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Primary Processes Use the right size process –Minimum size machine for the required output Clamp tonnage Injection unit size Extruder screw diameter Dryer size Multi-cavity tooling can increase energy efficiency 14 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Primary Processes But it may be more efficient to run a larger machine slower than a smaller machine ‘flat-out’ 30% GF PA-6 compounded at 2,100 kg/h 15 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Injection Moulders Electric servo injection moulding machines use much less energy than hydraulic machines 16 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Injection Moulders Typical energy savings of 30% - 60% –No hydraulic pump operating continuously –No cooling for hydraulic system –Simultaneous movements allow faster cycles –High accuracy may reduce rejects –Lower peak demand Capital cost is higher 17 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Injection Moulders Application example Energy Saving Medical product (inhaler)58% Medical component product (in polystyrene) 60% Automotive connectors33% – 66% Cap (stack tool)28% – 64% Flower pot40% 18 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Example Gerresheimer AG Medical Plastics Systems Division, Pfreimd, Germany –Replaced 15 hydraulic injection moulding machines with all-electric machines. –Saving 900 MWh of electricity per year. –Co-generation plant installed to save 28% of primary energy consumption. –Heat recovery systems installed on compressors at several plants 19 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Other Developments Integrated energy monitoring –E.g. Krauss Maffei Energy Analysis Tool instantaneously logs machine energy consumption Energy regeneration from braking force –E.g. Wittmann Battenfeld EcoPower system uses braking energy for barrel heating 20 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Secondary Processes Integrate primary and secondary processes –Insert moulding vs moulding + assembly –Low pressure moulding with surface materials –In-Mould Decoration Avoid packing, moving, storing, unpacking Also requires high volumes to justify high capital 21 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Secondary Processes Painting & coating processes –Drying ovens and tunnels can be high energy users –Gas may be more efficient than electric heating –Infra-red or halogen lamps with tailored emission spectrum can be more efficient than convection heating –'Effects' materials 22 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Motors Electric motors are most efficient when operated near rated load –Don’t over-design with oversized motors High-efficiency motors 2–3% more efficient –Always worth the extra cost for energy savings 23 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Motors 24 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Electric Motors AC motors are more efficient than DC motors AC motors run at a speed set by the electricity supply frequency (50 Hz) 25 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Variable Speed Drives Can be used on most motor driven equipment Allows speed of AC motors to be varied Variable Speed Drives (VSD) can give 50% energy savings on motors drives 26 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Variable Speed Drives Hydraulic pumps on injection moulding machines run continuously and have excess capacity to meet peak demand Pump still draws 50% - 75% of rated power under low load VSDs can reduce the pump speed when demand is low 27 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Automation Process automation can save energy –Faster cycling –Better reproducibility –Less downtime –Process integration Automated clip insert loading 28 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Example AGRU Kunstofftechnik GmbH –Pipe extrusion plant with up to 15 diameter changes per week –Installed Krauss Maffei QuickSwitch System –100 MWh/year electricity saving due to reduced change-over time 29 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Dryers Drying is a major energy consumer –30% of energy use in PET processing New technologies use less energy –Moretto Flowmatik Zeolite drying uses less energy for regeneration Controls minimize airflow –Maguire Low Pressure Dryer Vacuum assists moisture removal Claim 70-80% energy saving, 6 x faster 30 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Dryers Eliminate or minimize energy use for drying Use dry material from sealed bags Use correctly sized, energy efficient driers Do not over-dry. Minimize time & temperature 31 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Granulators Are they needed? –Hot runners can eliminate Design granulators correctly –Use correctly sized equipment –Granulate sprues, runners & cut-offs immediately –Avoid off-line granulating –Avoid cooling, then re-drying and re-heating –Turn off granulators when not operating 32 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Compressors Compressed air is an expensive energy source Find an alternative Systems need correct design –Compressor selection –Reservoir size –Distribution pipes Variable speed and variable displacement compressors can provide good savings 33 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Cooling Systems Design cooling systems for energy efficiency –Chillers can use a significant amount of process energy –Design cooling channels in tools properly to increase thermal transfer and reduce pressure loss –Very low tool temperatures may not speed up cycle times for thick wall parts 34 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Cogeneration On-site generation of electricity plus heat and chilled water (tri-generation) 35 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Cogeneration Widely used in Europe –EU 20% target for 2010 –Up to 50% in Scandinavia Low penetration in Australia – About 5% (1.5% in sugar industry) –High capital and operating cost –Higher electricity cost vs grid –Need demand for heat energy 36 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Cogeneration But becoming more viable –Plant costs and operating costs are reducing –Gas cost vs rising electricity cost –Absorption chillers provide chilled water efficiently –Energy companies will supply and operate EPA Melbourne trigen plant 386 kW electrical power 290 kW chilled water 230 kW hot water Est. 80% thermal efficiency 37 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency

Summary There are significant opportunities for energy saving through process design Process design should use a systematic approach to achieve energy efficiency Many new technologies offer energy savings 38 © Australian Management Academy and Eco Products Agency