Energy Industries of Ohio News

Energy Industries of Ohio Selected by DOE for “Partnerships to Accelerate Industrial Energy Efficiency” Program

Interest in industrial energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy has been at extremely high levels as a result of the high energy prices, particularly those for petroleum products and natural gas. While those prices have recently moderated, there is no general expectation that energy costs will approach traditional levels. In fact, unexpected developments on the international level and continued increases in hurricane activity would cause energy prices to spike again. The threat of continued high energy prices threatens the viability of manufacturers across the nation. States like Ohio and Illinois are particularly vulnerable since these states rank fourth and seventh among all states in industrial energy consumption. The proposed two-year project contains a two-pronged approach to these issues.

The first portion of this project will continue the industrial energy efficiency activities of EIO. Foremost among the activities for the coming year will be hosting Best Practices training sessions in compressed air, process heating and steam systems. These training programs, developed by the US Department of Energy (DOE), help companies identify energy saving opportunities in the operation of each of these important industrial systems. This portion of the program will also hold a “Technology Launch” event focused on the recently completed project that EIO has been conducting in cooperation with Republic Engineered Products in Lorain. This project, entitled “Improving the System Life of Basic Oxygen and Electric Arc Furnace Hoods, Roofs and Side Vents” was funded by DOE and has successfully demonstrated the first commercial use of aluminum bronze alloy in a Basic Oxygen Furnace. This alloy provides superior performance in the exhaust gases of the Furnace and is projected to last at least 5 times longer than the same equipment built of standard carbon steel. The technology launch activities will help to broadly disseminate this new development to steel companies nationwide. Energy Industries of Ohio (EIO) will be the primary contractor to the Ohio Department of Development, Office of Energy Efficiency in the conduct of this portion of the program.

The second portion of the project will take the first steps to evaluate the feasibility of using gasified coal as an industrial fuel source. Gasified coal can be used to produce a variety of products that reduce the demand for energy sources from the commercial market. These products include synthetic natural gas (SNG), Ammonia, a main constituent of fertilizers; Hydrogen, and liquid products that are essentially synthetic crude oil that can be refined further into diesel fuels, jet fuels, gasoline, lubricating oils and greases and other petroleum derived liquids.

This activity will work with large energy consuming industries throughout the state in an effort to document the parameters involved in their energy consumption. This information will then be used to identify clusters of companies that have the consumption patterns, both in terms of overall demand and demand variation that might support the installation of coal gasifiers in an “energy park” that would provide the needs of these facilities. If fully applied, this approach would relieve a portion of the industrial demand on electricity and natural gas and would result in lower prices for these important energy sources. Companies in Ohio and Illinois will be the subject of this effort.

Joining Energy Industries of Ohio and the Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency on this portion of the project will be the Gas Technology Institute, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Coal Development Office, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Cleveland Foundation. The overall budget for both portions of the project is $456,811.