Energy and exergy analyses of energy consumptions in the industrial sector in South Africa

M. T. Oladiran, J. P. Meyer

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55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The energy-utilization over a 10-year period (1994-2003) has been analysed for the South African industrial sector, which consumes more primary energy than any other sector of the economy. Four principal sub-sectors, namely iron and steel, chemical and petrochemical, mining and quarrying, and non-ferrous metals/non-metallic minerals were considered in this study. Primary-energy utilization data were used to calculate the weighted mean energy and exergy efficiencies for the sub-sectors and then overall values for the industrial sector were obtained. The results indicate that exergy efficiency is considerably lower than energy efficiency in all the sub-sectors, particularly in mining and quarrying processes, for which the values were approximately 83% and 16%, respectively. The performance of exergy utilization in the industrial sector can be improved by introducing various conservation strategies. Results from this study were compared with those for other countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1056-1067
Number of pages12
JournalApplied Energy
Volume84
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2007

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Energy
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
  • Building and Construction

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