A review of energy use in the food industry

The US food and kindred products industry of Standard Industry Code (SIC) 20 plays a vital role in the US economy and in foreign trade due to its large size, growth, and diverse products. The objective of this study was to conduct a review of the energy use and trends in the food industry, the fifth largest user of energy within the SIC 20 sector. Energy use in the food industry is examined by cost of fuels and electricity in all SIC 20 industries, energy use by fuel type in the top SIC 20 energy consuming industries. Examination of energy use in the food industries reveals energy intensive industries that may have the most incentive to reduce energy costs by implementing energy efficient processing methods. Wet corn milling is the most energy intensive industry in the SIC 20 sector with a 15% share of the total energy used. The beet sugar industry is second in energy use (7%), while soybean oil mills, malt beverage, and meat packing plants take about 5% each of the total energy use in this sector. In order to determine which processes in an individual plant are energy intensive or inefficient, energy analyses must be performed.more » Processes and unit operations in the food industry vary in complexity and energy consumption. In this report, processes are defined as procedures using one or more unit operations. The most energy consuming processes and unit operations in each SIC sector are presented. Process heating and cooling was the most energy consuming process in the food industry taking up 44.6% of the total energy input. Boiler losses accounted for an average of about 22% of energy inputs. Wet corn milling, soybean oil milling, and the dairy industry are industries that have many opportunities for energy conservation and waste minimization. These industries are illustrated and opportunities for improvements discussed.« less