Energy Bandwidth Studies for Petroleum Refining and Chemicals Manufacturing

Energy efficiency underlies American manufacturing competitiveness. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office commissioned energy bandwidth studies for the petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing sectors as reference for research decision-making. The energy bandwidth studies serve as generalized guides for energy technology advancement opportunities. These studies identify energy intensity and consumption for key manufacturing processes and the sector as a whole. Potential energy savings opportunities are identified by quantifying four measures of energy consumption for each process area: current average (year 2010), state of the art, practical minimum, and thermodynamic minimum. These measures enable prediction of current savings opportunities and future savings opportunities, with supporting detail on opportunity areas. The resulting reports provide useful guides for determining which products and processes are the most energy-intensive and offer the greatest energy savings opportunity.