Conservação e gerenciamento de energia em sistemas de vapor

Abstract

The availability of energy resources of a country defines its socioeconomic development, making it essential to efficient and sustainable use of these resources. According to the National Confederation of Industry, 82% of energy savings opportunities are in thermal processes and not in electricity consumption. Steam is one of the energy sources used by the industry because of its high energy content, low cost and easy to obtain. In Brazil, the vapor corresponds to 54% of total energy demand in the industrial sector, accounting for about 20% of national energy consumption. Studies indicate that it is possible to contain waste inputs in the order of 30% at zero cost and still reduce energy consumption by up to 20%. However, the implementation of a program of conservation and energy management depends on recognizing and applying the basic concepts of thermodynamics, recognizing the quantities and qualities of energy flows and relative impact of the parameters in the processes, the technical staff active in the process. This reverses the need for training materials and provide the necessary knowledge and sufficient to energy management. This paper proposed a diagnosis of this context using sample space as an export industry and large academic engineering. We identified a need to concatenate into a single material engineering basic concepts and procedures for quantifying energy (energy balance) and qualify it (exergetic balance), culminating in a guide for energy in steam systems. The resulting manual was submitted to the academics interviewed, increasing by 58.8% motivation in studies and was approved by 88.2% as a reference document. The document, which presents the essential steps for energy audit of an industrial unit was even suggested for training the body of the unit's industrial partner. In conclusion, we obtained a reference material for students and professionals interested in streamlining the generation, distribution and efficient use of steam.