A Multi Faceted Approach To Energy Conservation In Foundries

The ongoing energy crisis and the lack of efficient energy conservation practices in most industries in India is of growing concern. To address this issue, this research investigates into the possibilities of finding a solution towards reducing the energy wastage in foundries. An energy audit was conducted towards this purpose by identifying key areas which were compressed air, raw materials and furnace. The audit started by studying the compressed air system. The faults present were identified and remedial measures were arrived upon. The audit then focused on the raw materials where the inventory and raw material usage was studied. Sand wastage was found to be a significant problem which was tackled by developing and using a new system which eliminated the problem. The thermal aspect of the audit was then conducted by observing the energy consumption of the furnaces. The energy wastage due to various factors was then quantified and improved designs were created, showing better energy usage. These simple initiatives taken in a small scale foundry could give rise to cost savings of around 10 lakh rupees per year and energy saving of 58 MWh. Such initiatives prove that scope for energy conservation in foundries are immense and simple steps are sufficient. When the world is undergoing energy and environmental crisis, such precendence as shown in this paper is very essential to emulate by all sectors. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.