Abstract
Energy saving and industrial pollution have become increasingly important issues,
therefore the identification and adoption of more energy efficient machines and industrial processes
are now industrial priorities, and worthy topics for further
development through academic research. Polymeric materials are a
major raw material, finding widespread application to a range of
current industrial machine components as well as multiple products
and packaging found in our daily life. Polymer extrusion serves as
a particular example of polymer processing techniques,
representative of others in as much as there are analogous
intermediate stages in the processing. Processing techniques which
require such intermediate stages include
the manufacture of blown film, blow moulding, thermo-forming, and
injection moulding. Hence, the study of polymer extrusion is a
representative paradigm for a wider range of processing
techniques. Since polymer processing is an energy intensive
process and accounts for a huge share (maybe more than 1/3) of the
materials processing sector, any improvement to the process would
contribute significantly to global energy savings. This work
presents a review of studies, which focus on, or appertain to, the
energy consumption of extrusion related polymer processing
applications. Typical energy demand and losses during processing
are considered, and possible approaches for improving the process
energy efficiency while maintaining the required end product
quality are considered. Overall, this work provides a detailed
discussion about how and where energy is utilized; how, where and
why energy losses occur; and sets out approaches for optimizing
the process energy efficiency.
therefore the identification and adoption of more energy efficient machines and industrial processes
are now industrial priorities, and worthy topics for further
development through academic research. Polymeric materials are a
major raw material, finding widespread application to a range of
current industrial machine components as well as multiple products
and packaging found in our daily life. Polymer extrusion serves as
a particular example of polymer processing techniques,
representative of others in as much as there are analogous
intermediate stages in the processing. Processing techniques which
require such intermediate stages include
the manufacture of blown film, blow moulding, thermo-forming, and
injection moulding. Hence, the study of polymer extrusion is a
representative paradigm for a wider range of processing
techniques. Since polymer processing is an energy intensive
process and accounts for a huge share (maybe more than 1/3) of the
materials processing sector, any improvement to the process would
contribute significantly to global energy savings. This work
presents a review of studies, which focus on, or appertain to, the
energy consumption of extrusion related polymer processing
applications. Typical energy demand and losses during processing
are considered, and possible approaches for improving the process
energy efficiency while maintaining the required end product
quality are considered. Overall, this work provides a detailed
discussion about how and where energy is utilized; how, where and
why energy losses occur; and sets out approaches for optimizing
the process energy efficiency.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 15 May 2021 |
Keywords
- Energy consumption
- Energy losses
- Energy savings
- Polymer extrusion
- Process monitoring
- Process control
- Materials processing
- Energy efficiency
- Industry 4.0
- Circular economy
- Dynamical systems
