Energy systems management and greenhouse gas reduction

The efficient use of energy provides the double benefits of controlling both energy costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The industrial sector comprises about one third of United States GHG emissions, so presents an attractive opportunity for utilizing advanced design, operation and control strategies to minimize energy consumption while optimizing overall systems performance through the implementation of cogeneration, heat recovery, adaptive controls and other advanced techniques. One of the barriers to the utilization of these techniques is a lack of suitable design and analysis tools to guide their effective implementation. This paper presents an approach for optimizing overall systems design and operation using the principles of energy systems management to control energy usage and thereby reduce associated GHG emissions. Copyright (2008) by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. All rights reserved.