Presented at the Materials Science & Technology 2005 Conference and Exposition, September 25 – 28, 2005, sponsored by ASM International, The American Ceramic Society, Association for Iron & Steel Technology, The American Welding Society, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society:

Energy Savings through Accurate Temperature Measurement

Keywords: energy, energy savings, process control, productivity, pyrometer, temperature measurement, SpectroPyrometer, yield

Inaccurate temperature measurement in the process industries wastes energy. If the product does not meet quality specifications because of poor temperature control, the energy used both in producing the feedstock and in processing it is wasted. Often, the energy to recycle the scrap adds to the burden. If the product is overheated but quality is maintained, the energy wasted is that used to raise the temperature of the feedstock and process environment above the ideal. This energy waste is substantial: process overtemperatures of 10% are common. A new type of pyrometer, an expert system multi-wavelength instrument known as the SpectroPyrometer, has greater accuracy and is accurate more often than conventional instruments. Through its increased accuracy, the new pyrometer has been seen to pay for itself in days. Substantial energy savings, more than 4% of the total energy burden, have been generated from productivity increases.

Examples of processes where energy has been saved by increasing productivity are shown.