Electrification of Industrial Processes as an Alternative to Replace Conventional Thermal Power Sources

Yecid Muñoz-Maldonado, Edgar Correa-Quintana and Adalberto Ospino-Castro ()
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Yecid Muñoz-Maldonado: Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga 680008, Colombia
Edgar Correa-Quintana: Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga 680008, Colombia
Adalberto Ospino-Castro: Department of Energy, Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: The electrification of industrial processes offers sustainable opportunities for reducing carbon footprints and enhancing energy efficiency in the chemical industry. This paper presents an overview of recent research developments in incorporating electrical energy as a replacement for conventional thermal sources like gas and coal in industrial sectors. A literature review was conducted, identifying 70 relevant articles published until September 2020. The topics cover applications for industrial hydrogen generation processes and others, heat pumps, heat pumps, vapor re-compression systems, electric and magnetic fields as heat sources, nanoparticles for improved heat exchange, and ionized gases (plasma) in heating systems. While the application of industrial electrification shows promise globally, its sustainability depends on the efficiency and cost of electrical energy production and transportation at the regional and national levels. Among the various technologies, heat pumps integrated with vapor re-compression systems (VCR) for chemical processes, particularly in industrial distillation product separation columns, appear to be the most viable and widely applicable for waste heat recovery in the near future. Other technologies like electrochemical, plasma, microwave, magnetic, and electric field heating are still in the early stages of development or are limited to specific pilot or laboratory-scale processes.

Keywords: chemical process electrification; heat pumps; electric–magnetic fields; microwaves; plasma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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