Over the past 25 years equal portions of increasing demand, less exploration, no new refineries, tighter emission regulations, more cars sitting in traffic jams, no nuclear energy, 25%+ of our production facilities in hurricane prone areas and a host of other reasons which I am sure you can add to the list total up to not much being done. Add to that impractical solutions like electric cars, without recognizing that it takes lot of energy to make electricity, and hybrid cars with $4000 battery packs that might last 75,000 miles, plus what do we do with all the batteries which have be disposed of in a responsible manner?
My all time favorite is the hydrogen solution. A quick look at the periodic table of elements will confirm that hydrogen is number one in the table and the most reactive of elements. There is no free hydrogen in nature. It has be to liberated from a material such as water with enormous amount of electrical energy consumed as just one possible source of free hydrogen. Hydrogen also has a nasty habit of burning as in the Hindenburg disaster.
What is my point in these issues I have raised? The simple solution is to consume less as a starter. If you have a steam system in your facility, you have a great opportunity right now to save a lot of money, reduce energy consumption, cut water use, and lower plant emissions. Similar savings are possible in your compressed air, water, vacuum and other plant utilities.
We will devote most of this issue to ideas and proven techniques to help you reduce your plant energy bill.
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