Selection of priority energy efficiency practices for industrial steam boilers by PROMETHEE decision model

Energy is one of the most important components in the socio-economic development processes of countries. The share of the manufacturing industry in total energy production in the world is 37 and 30% of this is used in steam production in industrial steam boilers. Therefore, industrial steam boilers should be one of the industrial processes considered first in the manufacturing industry to increase the energy efficiency and cleaner production implementations. In addition, selecting the most suitable one among the many practices is very effective in increasing the savings and benefits. At this point, energy efficiency practices (EEPs) that can be applied in industrial steam boilers need to be evaluated by using an analytical decision-making model. In this study, EEPs commonly applied in industrial steam boilers were investigated. These EEPs were evaluated by using PROMETHEE decision model, one of the multi-criteria decision-making models (MCDM) according to total eight criteria such as potential energy saving opportunities, initial investment and operating costs, applicability, technology accessibility, economic savings potential, environmental benefit, cross-media effects, and payback period. As a result, some EEPs such as reuse of condensate, maintenance and repair of steam traps, insulation of steam boilers, and distribution systems were found as priority EEPs. Surprisingly, it was concluded that heat recovery from waste flue gases, economizer installation, and heat recovery from blow down have lower priority. The results showed that prevention-oriented practices were higher priority than pollution control and recovery practices.