This module explains the concept of an energy balance.

It is an important methodology
that the tool uses to derive the breakdown of energy among the different end-uses
within a plant. This background theory will help you understand the way the technical
assessment tools works, and why it requires the information it does for the various fuels
and equipment. In the exercise you will perform an energy balance manually. The toolkit
does the calculations automatically, but the exercise will ensure a good understanding of
the concept.

Study boundary
The boundary of the study is defined by the energy purchased and utilized within the
process of Ammonia production
Energy purchased and sold
Energy purchased accounts for energy utilized as a fuel only. Energy used for
feedstock production (such as ammonia) is not utilized in the energy balance, but in
the energy intensity determination to be discussed in module 8
On-site energy generation, such as renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass is
included
Energy sold or sent to another process train is accounted for in the assessment, only
if it uses one of the purchased fuels to generate it (eg. Natural gas generating steam,
of which some is used and the remaining sent to another process train)
Utilized energy
Equipment capacity, operating hours and number of equipment define the utilized
energy
The variable conditions such as the operation of maximum capacity is required
Equipment with large capacity are detailed and for smaller pieces of equipment,
such as hp motors, the averages of the operating hours and capacities are
preferred
For smaller or numerous equipment with similar characteristics, averages of
equipment load, such as on-off time, partial load applied to motors are used to
determine the average capacity or average operating hours
Losses during equipment operation are not included in this study

This figure shows the flow of energy within the study boundary.

For the Energy Balance, it is important to ONLY list energy used as fuel, and EXCLUDE
energy used as feedstock in the production of ammonia.

The energy balance accounts for where the energy flows within a plant. As the graph
demonstrates the energy entering the plant (on the left) is equal to the amount of
energy used by various equipment within a plant (on the right). The energy balance uses
this comparison of purchased energy to energy consumed to determine the energy
used by each end-use or equipment type. The following slides explain that process in
detail.

 The energy content of the purchased fuel is evaluated against the energy consumed by
each end use.
The adjustment factor is the ratio of energy consumed to energy purchased.
The adjustment factor is calculated for each fuel type
Once the adjustment factor is determined, the gaps in the energy consumed by
inventory of equipment can be noted.

The lower heating value (LHV) is required to determine the fuel energy content to use in
the Energy Balance tab. The LHV for some fuels may vary in energy content so the
default values in the toolkit can be overwritten if necessary.
The sold energy is the summation of the energy content of the sold fuels. For sold
energy products such as steam, the energy value of the steam is allocated to the type of
fuel used to generate the steam, with an adjustment applied to account for the
conversion of fuel to steam. This adjustment is assumed to be 0.9, which is typical of
boilers and reformer conversion.

Self-generated energy is the total steam and electricity generated on-site.

Net-imported energy is the net purchased energy minus self-generated energy
The energy used by fuel type is determined by summing the energy use per equipment
end-use for that fuel type.
The adjustment factor is the ratio of net imported fuel to utilized fuel for each fuel, and
should always be less than one.

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The adjustment factor is the ratio of net imported fuel to utilized fuel for each fuel, and should
always be less than one because of the following assumptions:
Equipment is assumed to be 100% efficient.
The hours of operation are applied directly to operating time without adjustment for
load factors applied to equipment.
Equipment capacity is assumed to be the rated capacity.
If the adjustment factor is much greater than one, the following should be reviewed to address
this:
Review quantity of purchased energy (may be too high).
Review the hours of operation of equipment using the fuel with the discrepant
adjustment factor.
Review the capacity rating of equipment using the fuel with the discrepant adjustment
factor.
Review the quantity of equipment using the fuel with the discrepant adjustment factor.
Review the firing time and efficiency of equipment where this is reported, such as for
boilers and ovens.
Investigate whether all equipment using this fuel have been accounted for.
When the adjustment factor is close to one, then all purchased energy is being accounted for by
all reported equipment.
If the adjustment factor for steam as a fuel is much greater or less than one, review the
following:
That the source of the steam has been correctly identified in TA2
That the fuel used as steam has not been generated using another source fuel
accounted for elsewhere (e. g. natural gas generated steam) and therefore added twice
in the energy balance

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Link:
02 A2A Training module 4 activity

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Notes:
- useful conversion factors are provided on the same worksheet.
- Enter answers into shaded cells in Tab A.4.1

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Note: results are also shown in tab B 4.1 of the Excel workbook

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In previous modules you have learned some of the theory and methodology used by the
toolkit. In this module you will start using the toolkit as if you are doing an assessment
for a plant. There will be a demonstration of how to fill in the technical assessment, and
an exercise in which you will receive information from a hypothetical plant, and use that
information to fill in the technical assessment.

The purpose of the technical best practice (TBPs) assessment is to determine which TBPs
are implemented at the plant, and to develop benchmarks for the plant. The
benchmarks highlights the areas where opportunities exist to implement TBPs, and
indicate the potential that still exist to implement TBPs.

The technical best practice (TBPs) assessment is part of the first step in the Continuous
Improvement Cycle.

The Energy Technical Assessment questionnaire collects information on energy

purchased and the energy used by equipment in the plant. The questionnaire includes
questions pertaining to the overall energy use, production, characteristics of the
equipment, and the presence of energy efficiency measures. The Excel workbook
includes the following sections:
Section A gathers general information regarding the facility production and
procurement of energy.
Section B is specifically related to generic equipment, such as cooling, heating and
motive power.

Section C outlines types of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems specifically
associated with occupancy comfort.
Section D is an overview of system practices, other major energy consuming
equipment, and the implementation of emerging technologies.
Section E collects data on ammonia production practices only.

This is the index as seen on the tab labeled Index. Click the description to navigate
directly to that tab.
The end uses referred to in the Index Table are:
Process: Energy end uses applicable to the manufacturing processes and generic to
different manufacturing plants.
Comfort: Energy end uses that support the comfort of the employees, such as lighting,
space heating and cooling, and air ventilation to maintain appropriate air quality for
employees.

Other: Energy end uses applicable to processes not covered by process and
comfort end uses, and non-generic energy end uses specific to the processes in a
specific manufacturing sector.

Link:
Module 5.1 Video

There may be numerous pieces of equipment under each type, and it is recommended
to categorize this by size. Up to six ranges of equipment sizes can be entered, by
providing weighted average equipment capacity values and average hours of operation
for each range.
For example, if there are 25 motors ranging in size from 0.3 to 0.5 kW, operating
between 500 to 6000 hours per year, the average range of equipment capacity would
be:
Average range [kw] = (motor power *kw]) x (motor hours of operation [h])
(hours of operation *h+)

The hours of operation entry would be the average hours for all the motors in that
range.

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Boilers require special consideration when grouping together. As can be seen in the
boiler section of TA3, since boiler type /economizer must be selected from a drop-down
menu, if there is more than one boiler for that line, they must be of the same
type/economizer.
However, it is rare that you will need to group boilers together, since there is sufficient
space to enter information for four boilers and facilities rarely have more than four.

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Links:
03 A2A Training module 5.1 activity
04 A2A Training module 5.1 activity incomplete assessment

Notes:
- The technical assessment is partially filled in, but not complete. You must use the
missing information found on Tab A 5.1.1 to complete the technical assessment.
- For the pumps: Two sizes ranges are missing in the TBP assessment. You must group
the pumps together into size ranges, and calculate weighted values of the pump ratings,
and finally enter this into the correct cells in the assessment
- For the boilers: Five boiler sizes are given, therefore two of the boilers must be
grouped together and weighted values of boiler ratings must be calculated. Also, for the
economizer entry, you must decide if "ntf" or "no economizer" must be selected.

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Now that you have completed the training activity for module 5.1 on your own, the
answers and issues will be reviewed.
Some of the Technical Assessment that require data entry will be shown in the
subsequent slides. You can also open the completed assessment to see the filled-in
assessment:
05 A2A Training module 5.1 activity - Completed Assessment
The solutions to the weighted average calculation are shown in Tab B 5.1.1 of 03 A2A
Training module 5.1 activity

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The purchased energy information should be entered on tab TA2 as shown above.

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The boiler section is filled in as shown. The 17.6 MW boiler is a weighted average of the
15MW and 20MW closed fire tube boiler (see the weighted average calculations on tab
B 5.1.1 of 03 A2A Training module 5.1 activity).

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This screen shows the second table of boiler information to be entered.

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After reviewing all of the tabs of the technical assessment, these are some of the issues
that could be found that should be brought up with plant personnel.

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The issues found on the energy balance tab (TA 11) are shown in this slide.
The high adjustment factor for natural gas indicates that the plant purchased much more
natural gas than is being accounted for by the equipment natural gas consumption. This
is an issue that should be discussed with plant personnel. It may be that some
equipment was missed, equipment capacities or hours were incorrect, the quantity of
natural gas purchased was incorrect, or other reasons.
The energy balance showed that gasoline was purchased, however no equipment was
entered that uses gasoline. This is another issue that should be discussed with the plant.

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This module explains the ammonia specific components of technical assessment, and
the ammonia specific library.

The ammonia subsector energy use and best practice assessment is presented in section
E of the Energy Technical Assessment questionnaire. Up to five such types of equipment
can be detailed, in order of energy use.

Link:
Module 5.2 Video

The library organizes energy efficiency technical best practices by end use and several
process levels. Each energy savings measure is entered in a separate tab with its
associated parameters, providing the energy savings, the fuel type saved, and a detailed
description of the measure along with the reference sources of information.
This section is intended to provide more detail and supplement Module 3. The focus will
be specifically on the Ammonia library.

Profile type: each measure is classified as either technology, operating, behavioural or maintenance.
Level (1 to 5): further describe each measure based on which part of the plant and which category of equipment the
measure is relevant to. This allows the user to filter the measure list on the Index tab by a variety of criteria.
Relative implementation cost: each measure is rated as high, medium or low to indicate the relative cost of
implementation:
High there would be significant investment to implement the measure. A detailed economic feasibility study
would generally be required. Most measures in this category would involve the replacement of large equipment, or
large retrofit projects.
Medium may involve inexpensive equipment replacement or retrofits. An economic feasibility study is generally
advisable.
Low little or no capital cost would be required. Often involves behavioural changes and only a rudimentary
economic assessment may be needed.
Relative implementation difficulty: each measure is rated as high, medium or low to indicate the relative difficulty of
implementation:
High the implementation of the measure involves complex change to the plant. The measure may involve redesign,
and a detailed engineering feasibility assessment would be required.
Medium may involve small equipment replacement or simple retrofits. A less extensive technical feasibility
assessment is usually required.
Low relatively easy to implement the opportunities and most often involves maintenance related opportunities
and/or behavioural changes. Technical feasibility studies are generally not required.
Energy type: four energy types are listed: natural gas, electricity, refined petroleum products, and other. Measure
savings are shown for each fuel type. As illustrated in Exhibit 20 (boiler economizer), some measures show savings
for more than one energy type. This indicates that there are multiple energy source options for the given end-use;
the savings will be calculated for the energy source selected in the Technical Assessment, not all of the energy
sources listed in the library. For the measures which may save other types of energy than those listed, the fuel type is
entered in the Other fuel line.
Savings percentage: the amount of energy that would be saved for that particular fuel type. The savings is given as a
percentage of the end-use consumption (not the total plant energy use). Savings are dependent on site specific
conditions and the savings indicated in the measure library provides only typical values, or ranges of savings for
implementation of a specific measure, as guidance. These values are reported in literature or obtained from industrial
experts. Savings are provided per opportunity and are not additive. Furthermore, interactive effects will reduce the
total potential savings if more than one opportunity is implemented.

Description: explanation of the measure, and the means by which the measure saves
energy.
Reference Sources: the source of the savings percentage and measure life.

Links to libraries:
08 A2A Training module 5.2 activity - Ammonia Library
09 A2A Training module 5.2 activity - Generic Library
The questions shown in the slide are also found in tab A 5.2.1 in the exercise file:
07 A2A Training module 5.2 activity

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Links:
05 A2A Training module 5.1 activity - Completed Assessment
09 A2A Training module 5.2 activity - Generic Library
07 A2A Training module 5.2 activity

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Note: the potential energy savings is calculated automatically by the report card (as will
be seen in a subsequent module), however, it is important to understand the
calculations and origins of the numbers used.

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