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| Issue date:01/12/2008 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Dec 2008 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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Cost control prevails in the textile sector and energy consumption remains a major factor affecting the bottomline of manufacturers in Asia
by Staff Reporters
At the recent technical workshop on adoption of energy efficient process technologies and energy management practices in the textile sector and implementation of the Energy Conservation Act, organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of India in July 2008, energy efficiency was the central issue and pointed way forward for Indian textile manufacturers.
India annually consumes petroleum products equivalent to Rs 400,000 crore every year and an effective saving of just 2% in a year by all stakeholders can lead to a national saving of Rs 8,000 crore, according to the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) of India.
Electricity consumption in an integrated textile factory (source: PCRA) |
Established on behalf of the government of India and Ministry of Petroleum Natural Gas, the PCRA has been working for the development and deployment of strategies for energy conservation and environment protection in the major sectors of economy.
The PCRA found that 48% of the total commercial energy production in India is consumed by the industrial sector. Of which, the textile industry accounts for 10.4% of the total industrial consumption.
The textile industry was identified as an energy intensive industry under the Energy Conservation Act (2001). The cost of energy as percentage of the manufacturing cost in textile industry varies between 12%-15%, including both electrical and thermal energy. The energy cost is next to the raw material cost and comparable to labor cost, the PCRA found.
Heat consumption in an integrated textile factory (source: PCRA) |
“Hence, energy conservation in a textile mill plays significant importance and is a priority area for maximising profits,” said G K Medhi, Jt. Director of Research & Development at the PCRA.
The estimated energy saving potential for the Indian textile industry is 15%.
About 80% of the required energy is currently in the form of heat. Thermal energy required per meter of cloth is 4,500-5,500 Kcal. An estimated 80%-90% of the electricity is used to generate power for driving pumps, motors and drives. Electrical energy required per meter of cloth is 0.45-0.55 kwh.
Areas to make savings
The PCRA listed out a number of ways to reduce energy consumption for different textile manufacturing factories.
At a spinning factory, automatic power factor correction system with capacitors, as well as energy-efficient transformers, motors and lighting systems can be installed to improve energy efficiency.
Synthetic flat belts for spinning ring frames can help save energy, in addition to energy-efficient fans and AC variable frequency drive for fans in humidification plants.
Similar measures can be conducted at a weaving factory in the areas of motors, lighting systems and fans for humidification plants.
More can be done at a wet processing factory by, for instance, replacing inefficient boilers and traditionally non-energy-efficiency pumps. Heat recovery potentials should be explored, whereas wastewater in fabric dyeing be recovered and reused. Low-liquor-ratio jet dyeing machine takes less energy to drive, and solar thermal heating can be used to generate low-grade heat (40°C-100°C).
Moreover, heat utilization from effluent can be explored and use of steam be improved for higher efficiency. Efficient electricity use for a wet processing factory also lies in the areas of lighting, electric motor and electric heating.
How to better utilize existing machines?
R Bhatia, General Manager of India-based Conzerv Systems, emphasized that “measure, detect and control” are three basic approaches of smart energy management at the production floor.
Ring frames, TFOs (two-for-one twisters) and other machinery at a spinning factory consume significant energy, so it is necessary to monitor individual machines, Mr Bhatia said.
Energy consumption in a two-for-one twister at various speeds (source: Conzerv Systems) |
In ring frames, energy consumption is relative to yarn count and there can be substantial increases with finer yarn counts. Additionally, high speeds in some machines result in higher energy usage. A factory manager needs to observe the actual power consumption in every stage of operation, especially when there is a large number of machines and when there are different yarn counts and speeds. He also needs to calculate the cycle time of the operation during power failures, number of interruptions and yarn cuts. Thus, an ideal cycle time during normal operation can be determined.
The change in duty cycle during both load and unload times should be observed. When the load duration increases, efficiency is declining.
Every 4℃ rise in air temperature intake results in a higher energy consumption by 1% to achieve equivalent output. Hence, cool air intake leads to a more efficient compression, according to Conzerv Systems |
A thorough energy audit can determine ideal duty cycle and manufacturers can enjoy more cost-saving benefits with an energy management system, Mr Bhatia added.
The motor also consumes substantial energy and money at the floor. Efficiency enhancement can be done by:
Switching off equipment when not needed
Providing better controls, e.g. with a variable speed drive (VSD)
Maintaining voltage levels and minimising phase unbalance.
There is a large room for energy efficiency in air compressor, according to Mr Bhatia. When an air compressor operates, energy is largely wasted as heat, and to a lesser extent, into friction and noise. The overall efficiency of compressed air is 10%-20%.
New regulation gets effective in China next April
China’s new energy efficiency regulation will take effect in the country from April 2009.
The Chinese authorities stated that saving energy was one of the national policies of China, as well as a top priority in its energy development strategy, and that the country would explore more ways to attain this objective.
According to the authorities, this regulation will first emphasize some heavier energy-consuming industries, including metal-making, non-ferrous metals, construction materials and chemical engineering. Nonetheless, industry associations within the Chinese textile and apparel industry were calling for related enterprises to get prepared – and not without reason.
The Chinese authorities were reported to have launched investigations in major textile and apparel production provinces, to examine the extent of energy consumption within the industry.
Moreover, in order to encourage local governments in promoting energy savings in all aspects, the state for the first time placed the annual energy-saving target as one of the criteria assessing the achievement of each provincial-level government (including governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and special municipalities, e.g. Shanghai) under the new regulation. The State Council of China and related divisions of local governments will jointly monitor the energy-efficiency efforts across the nation to ensure proper execution of the new regulation, according to the Chinese government.
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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