Resource Efficiency in the Chemical Industry
type: CreativeWork
description: Industry is responsible for 40\% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which drive anthropogenic climate change. It is also an important consumer of energy and materials, accounting for 40\% of final energy consumption. While other sectors such as power generation, heat and transport are expected to reduce emissions in the near future, industry is often harder to decarbonise. Efficiency in the use of both materials and energy can be a powerful tool for addressing a wide range of industrial emissions mechanisms, but these approaches are often pursued separately. Exergy analysis is a powerful assessment tool that can combine material and energy efficiency approaches into one, while also accounting for resource quality as well as quantity. This thesis investigates how exergy analysis can be applied in industrial sites to achieve real resource and emissions savings. Production of ammonia and syngas through the steam methane reforming (SMR) process are chosen as the case study, given the high production volume, resource consumption and emissions arising from this industry. This thesis develops a comprehensive exergy analysis methodology and applies it to a detailed ammonia plant simulation at various level from the site to the equipment-level. Specific modelling choices are made, to allow for disaggregation of exergy inefficiencies according to the mechanisms they are caused by. The approach considers multiple aspects such as exergy calculations, flow visualisation, efficiency definitions and other metrics. In addition, network theory is used to assess the ammonia site using network analysis metrics, taking into account the complex nature of the site. The results show that SMR is the main source of inefficiency with an exergy efficiency of 68\% and exergy destruction of 165 MW, followed by the ammonia synthesis and water gas shift plants. The SMR plant is then investigated in detail. The two main combustors and two heat exchangers are the highest contributors to exer…
abstract: Industry is responsible for 40\% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which drive anthropogenic climate change. It is also an important consumer of energy and materials, accounting for 40\% of final energy consumption. While other sectors such as power generation, heat and transport are expected to reduce emissions in the near future, industry is often harder to decarbonise. Efficiency in the use of both materials and energy can be a powerful tool for addressing a wide range of industrial emissions mechanisms, but these approaches are often pursued separately. Exergy analysis is a powerful assessment tool that can combine material and energy efficiency approaches into one, while also accounting for resource quality as well as quantity. This thesis investigates how exergy analysis can be applied in industrial sites to achieve real resource and emissions savings. Production of ammonia and syngas through the steam methane reforming (SMR) process are chosen as the case study, given the high production volume, resource consumption and emissions arising from this industry. This thesis develops a comprehensive exergy analysis methodology and applies it to a detailed ammonia plant simulation at various level from the site to the equipment-level. Specific modelling choices are made, to allow for disaggregation of exergy inefficiencies according to the mechanisms they are caused by. The approach considers multiple aspects such as exergy calculations, flow visualisation, efficiency definitions and other metrics. In addition, network theory is used to assess the ammonia site using network analysis metrics, taking into account the complex nature of the site. The results show that SMR is the main source of inefficiency with an exergy efficiency of 68\% and exergy destruction of 165 MW, followed by the ammonia synthesis and water gas shift plants. The SMR plant is then investigated in detail. The two main combustors and two heat exchangers are the highest contributors to exer…
author: Michalakakis, Charalampos
language: eng
keywords: Industry, Exergy, Energy, Materials, Efficiency, Resources, Emissions
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/250ca277-731a-4a6c-9f8b-65a88592a13c/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2021-07-01
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:28Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.72552