Emerson Exchange 365

Industrial Energy Blog

243 posts

Quantum Cascade and Tunable Diode Laser Technologies Simplify Analyzers for Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems 27 days ago

Activity

Solving Boiler Drum Level Swings

Jim Cahill

Effectively controlling the drum level in an industrial boiler helps to maximize overall energy efficiency. When the drum level varies it can not only impact boiler efficiency, but overall reliability due to unplanned shutdowns. Mark Coughran Process Control Consultant Emerson’s Mark Coughran shared a story with me about a major North American university that was having difficulty with one of the boilers that supplies…
- 9 Sep 2014
Sustainable Energy Efficiency User Guide

Jim Cahill

For many process manufacturers, energy is one of the largest components in overall operating costs. Improving efficiency can provide ongoing savings. Emerson’s Bob Sabin shared a new user guide with me, Sustainable Energy Efficiency, which is available for download. For European manufacturers and producers, the EU Energy Efficiency Directive 2011/172 (referred to as the EED) […] Read the full text.
- 2 Jul 2014
Finding Areas for Energy Efficiency Improvements

Jim Cahill

Managing the consumption of energy in a large, industrial plant can be a daunting challenge. There are systems for steam, air, fuels, and water and often these don’t have the measurements needed to see the trends in consumption and waste. The team responsible...
- 10 Mar 2014
Meeting the European Union Energy Efficiency Directive

Jim Cahill

March 7 is fast approaching if you want to get the 200 Euro discount to the April 1-3 Emerson Exchange conference in Stuttgart, Germany. One of the presentations you’ll want to catch is on the implications of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. Emerson...
- 4 Mar 2014
Managing Energy Consumption

Jim Cahill

Process manufacturer’s operating budgets typically require 25-30% be spent on utilities—energy for steam, air, fuel, and water. For energy intensive industries such as steel manufacturing and refining, these costs can be in the tens to a hundred million...
- 15 Jan 2014
Energy from Municipal Waste Project Update

Jim Cahill

In an earlier post, Plasma Gasification-Municipal Waste as a Power Source, we highlighted this process as an effective way to create energy from waste. I received news from Emerson’s Barbara Hamilton that the Industrial Energy consulting and global project...
- 12 Dec 2013
Industrial Energy Team Peels Reliability like an Onion-Part II

Jim Cahill

Emerson’s Jennifer Sandstrom explores reliable combustion air flow in today’s post. Last time, we started to talk about how Emerson’s Industrial Energy group deconstructs a problem to create a reliable solution. Again, remembering the very definition...
- 14 Nov 2013
Optimizing Steam Usage in Oil and Gas Processing Complexes

Jim Cahill

Utility management is a large part of the oil and gas industry and boiler management and steam balancing is often an overlooked factor for upstream and downstream processing. Steam optimization helps to reduce boiler loads, streamlines process efficiency...
- 17 Oct 2013
Industrial Energy Team Peels Reliability like Onion!

Jim Cahill

Having reliable process manufacturing operations begins with reliable components and reliable control strategies to handle changing conditions. Emerson’s Jennifer Sandstrom, a senior industrial energy consultant, highlights the role of consultants in...
- 8 Aug 2013
Improving Boiler Emissions and Efficiency

Jim Cahill

As I ponder how to better control temperature on my BBQ pit smoker with minimal instrumentation & controls, I saw a great email on wood burning boiler control. Emerson’s Barbara Hamilton, a Senior Industrial Energy Consultant, recently visited a paper...
- 17 Jun 2013
Processes for Sustainable Energy Efficiency Programs

Jim Cahill

In my “listening channels”, I saw that Emerson’s Sam Thiara, a member of the global Energy Solutions team, was in the Middle East region for an Energy Conservation forum. He noted that he had recently developed an article for a newsletter for a process...
- 22 May 2013
Energy Efficiency Webinar Tomorrow

Jim Cahill

I saw a tweet from Emerson’s Nick Taylor of a webinar tomorrow, Energy Efficiency Management – Reducing Energy losses does not always require big investments. Nick will be co-presenting with Emerson’s Danny Vandeput, who leads the IEC 62591 wireless efforts...
- 20 Mar 2013
Turbine Generator and Steam Header Control

Jim Cahill

While at Emerson Exchange Düsseldorf a few weeks ago, I “live blogged” many of the presentations, including Power and Utility Saves Fuel and Reduces Energy. I asked Emerson’s Scott Pettigrew, a Sr. Energy Consultant on the Industrial Energy industry team...
- 20 Jun 2012
2011 Emerson Exchange – Instant ROI with Steam Trap Monitoring

Jim Cahill

Emerson’s Melissa Stiegler presented Instant ROI with Steam Trap Monitoring. The session abstract: It is a large undertaking to manage an entire system of steam traps. This company had many traps that needed to be tested regularly but testing regularly...
- 25 Oct 2011
Optimizing Combustion Performance

Jim Cahill

I saw a tweet from Control magazine editor-in-chief Walt Boyes, which alerted me to a presentation that I needed to get my hands on. Emerson’s Bob Sabin, a member of the industrial energy team, was kind enough to provide me a copy. You may recall Bob...
- 22 Sep 2011
Energy Efficiency Process Improvements

Jim Cahill

A quick look at the headlines shows energy prices continuing their high levels. For most process manufacturers, energy is one of the highest operating expenses. I was in meetings last week with several of the industry consultants highlighted on this blog...
- 5 Jul 2011
Greenhouse Gas Monitoring In, Energy Efficiency Out

Jim Cahill

Over at ControlGlobal.com’s Sound Off! Editors’ Blog is a post, Greenhouse Gases– There’s a Pony in There Somewhere! #carbondioxide #control #pauto #globalwarming #ruminants. The post by Control magazine Editor in Chief Walt Boyes highlights Emerson’s...
- 20 May 2011
Surge Control Considerations in Centrifugal Compressors

Jim Cahill

Any process manufacturer that has centrifugal compressors knows about a condition known as surge. Emerson’s Pete Sharpe described it to me: Surge is a condition that occurs on compressors when the amount of gas they are trying to compress is insufficient...
- 13 Apr 2010