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In today’s world, the idea of energy usage is always being discussed, but not many people realize just how much energy is used in manufacturing. In this article, industrial energy use will be detailed before explaining different ways that consumers and manufacturers can help.
 

Energy Use Per Industry

To better understand how much energy is used in manufacturing, it’s important to first understand energy use per industry.
 

The British thermal unit (BTU), which is a unit of heat, explains how much energy is needed to raise 1 pound of water by 1 degree. For reference, a household lighter might put off around 3,200 BTUs.
 

Another unit that’s used is called a million tons of oil equivalent (MTOE), which relates how much oil would need to be burned to create the same level of energy.

The following categories will highlight the main source of energy consumption per industry:
 

Petroleum

Petroleum or gas industries mine, refine, produce, and manufacture gas products. It’s a very wide umbrella that contains different types of companies.

In the petroleum industry, process heating made up for 48% of its consumption in 2019. Its total usage was 4,398 MTOE. This accounts for the largest consumption of energy in any industry across the market.
 

Chemical

Chemical sites manufacture and use chemicals in a variety of applications. They accounted for 3,617 MTOE in their energy consumption in 2019. The majority of their consumption was through combined heat and power, which accounted for 24% of their total.

 

Metal

The metal industry needs incredibly high temperatures to operate. As expected, this results in a high amount of energy used annually. In 2019, the metal industry used 2,217 MTOE. It spent 56% of its total energy on process heating.
 

Paper

The paper industry spans from the mill to the final production of paper products. The industry used 1,812 MTOE of energy in 2019 and spent 34% of its energy on combined heat and power.
 

Food

Food and beverage manufacturing used 3,161 MTOE in 2019. This industry spent around 36% of its total energy on conventional boilers.
 

The Big Picture

Going through the figures for each industry is startling. A vast majority of energy use comes down to three major categories: process heating, conventional boilers, and combined heat and power.
 

To cut the energy cost or consumption of these three categories would result in a complete shift in how much energy is used in manufacturing.
 

Types of Energy Used

It’s important to point out that many different types of energies can be used. In 2019, a majority of energy came from natural gas, petroleum, electricity, coal, and renewables.
 

• Natural gas: 10.63 quadrillion BTUs

 

• Petroleum: 8.87 quadrillion BTUs

 

• Electricity: 3.25 quadrillion BTUs

 

• Renewables: 2.5 quadrillion BTUs

 

• Coal: 1.12 quadrillion BTUs
   

As one might expect, renewables are the cleanest energy option on this list. Comparatively, in 2000, 1.93 quadrillion BTUs of renewables were used.
 

This indicates that the industry is on the right path, but it needs to be a larger contributor. Renewable energy comes from pulping liquids, which come from the environment.

 

Why Is Energy Use So High?

Manufacturing facilities simply need a lot of energy. They have large buildings that run energy-dependent processes. Additionally, a lot of sites have machinery that idles 24 hours a day, every day. Industrial machinery sometimes can’t be turned off at all, so that results in a lot of energy spent annually.
 

These industries also employ a lot of people. All of these individuals have their own level of energy consumption that compiles with the company’s consumption. To make matters worse, they often use out-of-date equipment that uses much more energy. There’s a lot that can be done to improve their energy use.
 

What Can Be Done?

There are industrial and personal decisions that can be made to reduce how much energy is used in manufacturing.

 

Recycling

One of the easiest ways to reduce energy consumption is to reduce the amount of virgin material used in an operation.
 

In nearly every industry, there’s an ability to reuse or reduce the virgin material used. Especially in the plastic, metal, and paper industries, opting for recycled material will immediately cut down their energy consumption while still creating a viable product.
 

Reducing Consumption

Consumers can help by reducing consumption and other simple methods. A lot of people wonder why we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and it’s a simple but upsetting answer: The manufacturing industry won’t spend the money to sufficiently reduce its energy consumption on its own. Consumers need to step in and help save the environment.
 

By using fewer products, consumers can prompt the demand for these products to go down. In turn, industries will make fewer products and use less energy. This also explains why people upcycle — take products that would otherwise be thrown away and put them to new use. The same concept holds.
 

Routine Maintenance

If manufacturing facilities focus on maintaining their equipment, less energy will be wasted. A lot of process equipment is slowly falling apart and becoming less efficient with the energy it uses. Fossil fuels will be wasted running this equipment without routine maintenance. The idea of using a machine until it doesn’t turn on anymore wastes much more energy than people might realize.
 

Clean Solutions

As mentioned earlier, switching to cleaner alternatives will help with overall energy usage. Renewable energy sources are significantly less dangerous to the environment. Some countries even incentivize the use of renewable resources and give industries a financial kickback.

 

 

House of Trash by Miniwiz
 

Recycled Construction

Finally, these industries need to understand the importance of fitting recycling into their operation. For example, there is a project in Milan, Italy, aimed at showcasing recycled and upcycled construction, art, and manufacturing. The idea behind the project is to show different ways that manufacturing companies can reduce their energy waste and help the world.
 

Conclusion

Although it’s startling to understand how much energy is used in manufacturing, there is an opportunity to help reduce this energy waste. If consumers do their part and urge manufacturing companies to do the same, the world will see less energy wasted annually.
 

Miniwiz works with different industries to transform metals, plastics, glass, and other types of waste into sustainable materials that can be repurposed for construction, fabrics, furniture, and more. Contact us to learn how our solutions can help your efforts toward renewable energy growth.

Read More : It’s Not All About the Materials: Here’s How to Upcycle Using Minimal Energy, Resource and Expense.

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