Fuel is used for many things across the United States by both manufacturers and consumers. What percentage of fuel burned by U.S. manufacturers is consumed to raise steam?
- 45%
- 38%
- 33%
- 27%
The answer…
1. 45% – Over 45% of all the fuel burned by U.S. manufacturers is consumed to raise steam. Steam is used to heat raw materials and treat semi-finished products. It is also a power source for equipment, as well as for building heat and electricity generation. But steam is not free. It costs approximately $18 billion annually to feed the boilers generating steam.
Many manufacturing facilities can recapture energy through the installation of more efficient steam equipment and processes. A typical industrial facility can realize steam savings of 20% by improving their steam system. If steam system improvement were adopted industry-wide, the benefits would be $4 billion in fuel cost reduction and 32 million metric tons of emission reductions.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
