Energy Savings, Deep Decarbonization, Zero Emissions, and Improved Uniformity with the Airtorch®, MightySteam®, E-Ion, and Large Radiative Panels.

Fossil fuels are in the news. 2023 is the hottest year on record. For the first time, the global average temperature in late 2023 was more than 2 Celsius, hotter than levels before industrialization, according to preliminary data. (source citation).

MHI offers a Gamut of Decarbonization Electric Heating Products for Steel, Cement, Food and Beverages, Drying, Cement, Heat treating, Glass, Batteries, and Chemical Prices.

CO2 and other GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions must be curtailed.

• Electrification of industrial heating equipment offers one of the lowest costs per KW, making it one of the quickest impact strategies to lower global emissions.

In 2023, wildfires in Hawaii claimed 97 lives, while blazes in Canada blanketed much of the Eastern US with smoke for weeks. The Florida Keys soared to 101.19F (38.43C) in December 2023, which could be a global record as ocean heat reaches unprecedented extremes. Developing an actionable, fact-based, and implementation-ready plan that effectively balances and prioritizes the components of deep decarbonization, namely electrification, operational efficiency, clean fuels, and smart sourcing, can be a competitive advantage.

Deep decarbonization eliminates CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from any process, making it a crucial sustainability advantage.

Sustainability initiatives can help improve financial performance with high public support as these initiatives have a global impact. Companies with a high sustainability vision tend to have a lower cost of debt and appear to have better operations management. Sustainability includes: 

The deep decarbonization market for industrial heating is expected to top US $1 Trillion. When transitioning to electrical systems, it is essential to use the technologies that offer the highest efficiency  >96%—modern controls and optimized materials and design are critical selection criteria for this global effort.

 Equipment for deep decarbonization

High-efficiency electric industrial heating systems, including steam or energy-efficient convective heaters, are now available for electrifying industrial heating systems with zero CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions. Deep decarbonization is a competitive advantage. Electric systems offer many advantages in control and improved productivity in industrial furnace processes, drying and roasting, cement, steel, aluminum, magnesium, comfort heating, fuels, cement, hydrogen heating, aviation, materials heat treatment, and heating of food, milk, sterilization, and beverages.

Project Costing Principles.

The transition to a greener future has an initial price, which is recovered quickly because of the enhanced efficiencies. The longer the wait by countries and companies, the larger the costs. There are many ways to justify the returns on the capital required for new equipment to replace fossil fuel-burning equipment. Promoting deep decarbonization through electrification requires understanding the key advantages of electrification of industrial heating compared to fossil-fuel heating. The returns from rapid investments in large MW electrified equipment can be substantial. This page provides general guidelines for project costing when changing from fossil fuel heating to electric. It discusses the costs of various methods, from electrification to carbon capture. Significant social costs are incurred when using fossil fuels. Read more about the social cost of making CO2.

The most straightforward approach is to use the social cost of GHG production in any cost calculations. This could be $51 to $400 per ton of CO2, depending on the number allowed. Fossil fuels have a precise social cost (Citation 1) (Citation 2). By 2025, this could be $3,700 per ton of CO2 emissions.

Next, the operational savings can be computed by using modern electric heating systems. The benefits could be enormous. First, consider the savings from using electricity for a typical drying system. One can start with the energy benefit. An example we like to tout in the drying sector is that a 6 MW electric system replaced a 40MW fossil fuel system. The operational savings are substantial. 35MW of power in a device for the same objective could save ~US$24.5 million in electric energy costs for the year. This is an easy payback scenario.

Why does electric heating bring in better efficiencies?

Fossil fuel systems are also inherently more complex and inefficient than their electric resistance heating counterparts, with more avenues for failures. Burners require an ideal oxygen mixture that must be adequately regulated to operate efficiently, but achieving stoichiometric combustion is unrealistic, such that excess levels of air must be introduced to ensure complete combustion. This excess air is counter-productive by directing heat straight to the flue stack. However, it is a necessary loss since the exhaust temperature must be maintained above dew points to prevent the formation of corrosive mixtures, which can degrade equipment at an accelerated rate. Internally, the firetubes can be coated with soot, resulting in a lower thermal efficiency. The upkeep for these systems is extensive because of the complexity of the design — burners, fans, fuel mixtures, exhaust stack temperature, scale build-up, and pollution treatment.

Electric systems are straightforward by design and easily scalable. There are no parasitic losses as there is no combustion, and highly efficient operation can occur without issue. Maintenance includes inspecting a blowdown vessel and electrical connections and ensuring no water or steam leaks. Annual maintenance involves pulling out the element to clean — a process that can be done in hours. For maintenance and downtime reasons alone, industrial facilities that want to minimize their capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX) should consider making the switch.

Summary:

• The industrial heating and transportation sectors emit almost the same amount of CO2.
• The fastest way to decarbonize is by electrifying industrial heating.
  • A 55-KW automobile typically emits one ton of CO₂ in 50 hours (or about every 2,500 miles).
  • A ~0.8 MW natural gas heater (typical size in a factory) emits one ton of CO2 ( the social cost is $51 to $400 per ton of CO2)  in just four hours.
  • One ton of CO₂ is made for every half-ton of steel produced.
• The capital costs for electrifying industrial heating per kW are lower than those for electrifying vehicles (EVs). Typically, EVs have a capital cost of US$5000/KW compared to $500-1000 for industrial heating equipment.
• Large KW to MW electrical heaters can offer much lower overall operational costs than fossil-fuel heaters when all the costs and improved efficiencies are factored in.
• Industrial electrical heaters are very energy efficient and compact—a 500C 1 MW heater is only 24″ long—and the pressure drops are low—less than 0.1 psig for the 1 MW 500C heater. Space-saving, safety from potential explosions, and lower insurance costs are benefits.
• Focussed electrification in industrial thermal equipment provides enormous momentum in the required total global decarbonization.
• Huge social costs are associated with fossil fuel combustion. Organizations are now using the social cost of carbon (anywhere from $51-$500 or more per ton of CO2 emitted) to help evaluate investment decisions and guide long-term planning that considers the full extent of how their operations impact society and the environment. Additional risk pressures are from climate-conscious cities and youth groups. The safest and most efficient route is electrification for deep decarbonization with the most efficient electrical systems. About a third of excess CO2 emissions can be equally attributed to industrial heating, transportation, and power generation sectors. 

Global temperature rise and CO2 levels are correlated. The global temperature rise promotes intense weather.

The atmospheric CO2 levels 2022 were >410 ppm+, and the temperature rise was almost ~ 1.1 C above a safe baseline. In 2024, the temperature is closer to 1.5C above the baseline. Global energy-use-related CO2 emissions grew by ~321 million tons, reaching a new high of more than 36.8 billion tons in 2022. The year 2022 was eventful when the temperatures, extreme climate zeros, and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increased. The year 2023 was the hottest on record. If we continue to use fossil fuels, the predictions are for higher CO2 and other GHGs, leading to higher temperatures and, consequently, more extreme events.

Rapid steam generation in the industrial heating sector with considerably improved efficiencies (decarbonization) can quickly reduce CO2 and methane emissions to zero. Compare the prices of the lowest price fossil fuels in various countries as of 2022 with electric power (source). The project payback is quick. 

How do you get to zero CO2 and zero NOx with the lowest capital cost? Electrifying industrial heaters with high efficiency, high temperature, compactness, and quick on-off features without idling are now readily available. If you have requested a quote for heaters or steam units, please get in touch with MHI for project cost recovery periods. The capital cost per KW for industrial electrification is estimated to be far lower than that for electric vehicles.

Is there enough electricity available? We think so – even without counting the novel rapid advances in electricity production by sustainable and rechargeable means. Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation worldwide. Electric grids have become more efficient all over the world. The efficient use of power may be required as the demand escalates. An efficient use, for example, is using a car battery for other purposes when an EV is not in use – which is almost 90% of the EV’s daily cycle. Efficient use also means using less energy for an objective like Duct Heaters, i.e., with a low-pressure drop of only 0.1 psi for 1 MW instead of 1 psi with traditional inefficient electric heaters.

How much CO2 emission is prevented by electrification? The total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels depend on the fuel and other factors determining the combustion quality (please see the emissions table for specific fuels on the right). The electrification of industrial heating can entirely reduce these rapidly. Typically, using 1 KWh (3,600,000 Joules) of electric energy instead of fossil fuel energy for industrial heating can save at least ~0.18 -0.5 kg of CO2 equivalence from being emitted on average by a heater. Other GHGs like NOx, methane, SO2, or particulates emitted during fossil fuel combustion are even more potent than CO2 and are simultaneously reduced with electric energy use. These gases can be clubbed into a CO2 equivalence. For example, any NOx emitted is approximately 298 times more potent than the amount of CO2 (in weight) – methane emissions are 25 times equivalent to CO2 in weight.

Emissions can occur even before the combustion process when using fossil fuels, e.g., during the transmission or transportation of GHG gases.

Both CO2 levels and global temperatures are rising. The generation rate of new entropy is rising.

Visualization of how global warming increases the probability of extreme events? Extreme heat-related events increase by shifting and flattening the curve.

Today, a loss of $300 per ton of CO2 equivalence emission is not an unreasonable number to add to project costs. By placing a value on carbon emissions, decision-makers can purchase electrical industrial heaters with an excellent projected return on capital. Such calculations are shown here. One can expand upon traditional financial decision-making tools with such cost adders and create accurate and proper metrics for measuring investment decisions. As a rough rule, 1 MW of energy production with electricity instead of fossil fuels could save anywhere from 0.2 – 0.5 tons of CO2 emission equivalent per hour. The best option for decarbonization is to quickly change to electrical, industrial heating systems with zero CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions. Kilowatt-to-megawatt electrical systems are available today with good payback scenarios when considering energy at $0.06 per kWh and only partially including the social cost of emissions.

New electric heater equipment often pays back quickly when considering the CO2 emission costs of using fossil fuels for heating. Several organizations are now using the social cost of several hundred dollars per ton of CO2 emitted to help evaluate investment decisions. 

In addition to the severe cost of CO2 emitted, one should also consider the following factors for a payback analysis:

• The efficiency of thermal transfer. What is the actual energy conversion efficiency to theoretical efficiency? Typically, electrical heaters offer 30% better efficiency than combustion heaters. The MHI Airtorch® systems offer more than 95% efficiency, depending on the model. Process Gas Heaters Comparison Table.
• Pressure drop. Some large MHI models have a pressure drop at 1000C of as low as 0.1 psi (~3wc). High-pressure drops for large flows lead to a higher blower price and PV-energy waste and costs.
• Control systems. Reasonable control with high-sensitivity instruments offers an excellent turn-down ratio with intelligent cascade electronics, allowing for versatile controls. MHI uses the best SCRs and electronics that exceed typical industry standards.
• Materials and Design. What is the best temperature rating of the Airtorch? Depending on the model, MHI Airtorch® systems offer 1200°C exit temperatures. A higher temperature-rated Airtorch® will perform better and last longer even at a lower temperature.
• Productivity vs. Temperature (in pdf format). Higher temperatures typically lead to faster outputs.
• Improvement of over 30% in energy efficiency compared to …..(click here for case studies)
• Request Information on an Electric Airtorch

The costs of burning fossil fuels are increasing rapidly.

Can one capture CO2 from the air and store it? As of today, direct capture costs are prohibitively high. The range of costs varies between $250 and $600/ton CO2, depending on the chosen technology. Some solids and liquids can absorb CO2. Plants remove carbon dioxide from the air naturally, and trees are especially good at storing CO2 removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide naturally. Amines, algae, zeolites, salt solutions, water, and hydroxides can capture CO2. Activated carbon can also absorb CO2. The captured carbon dioxide can be used to make valuable compounds, but the CO2 may be given off again when used! Various reports detail the difficulties and dangers of CO2 capture.

If we add the carbon capture cost to the dangers of CO2 capture and the asset reduction cost of emitting CO2, the actual cost of emitting CO2 could be extremely high for industrial heating. To limit global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, current estimates indicate that compared to 2020, the troposphere has to lose or have removed  ~1 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year by 2030.   Even if the CO2 can be collected from power plants and stored through sequestration, there are two potential problems. The first is cost, and the second is the very high risk of leakage. Carbon sequestration projects can involve storing CO2 in underground reservoirs, which raises the risk of leakage and acidifying water.

Economic: Electric methods are generally more efficient than fossil fuel combustion for heating. Regardless,  it is essential to use the most efficient electrical systems. Improving energy efficiency can lower utility bills, create healthy jobs, help stabilize electricity price volatility, and improve the climate with lower CO2 emissions for any objective. Several attractive loans are available for curtailing anthropogenic carbon emissions with new equipment, i.e., reducing the emissions of various forms of carbon – the most concerning being carbon dioxide – associated with human activities. These activities include burning fossil fuels, deforestation, land use changes, livestock, fertilization, etc., resulting in a net increase in emissions. The payback period for new equipment for decarbonization is attractively small when one includes the high social cost of CO2 emissions from alternate methods. Contact MHI for your decarbonization system needs (free).

Electrifying industrial heating could be the most rapid method of addressing CO2 emissions in the near term.

Summary of Energy Cost Factoring CO2 emissions:  When one includes the social cost of CO2 production, the price of one KWh of electric or combustion energy starts converging. The CO2 emissions per million kilojoules of energy used range from 50.4 kg for natural gas to 68.8 kg for jet fuels. The social cost of emitting industrially produced  CO2 is estimated at $51-$414/ton, rising rapidly with time. Adding climate cost to combustion heating increases the price of all fossil fuels on average by at least ~$300 or more per ton of CO₂ with a high of $414+/ton  (i.e., corresponding 2 to 4 US cents per kWh that could be added to the average price of toxic fossil fuel energy costs).

Increased energy efficiency from electrification can lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants and decrease water usage. Converting from a 16MW  combustion heater to an electric Airtorch could save over 30% energy and several millions of dollars in climate-reduced asset and insurance costs. A 30% improved efficiency is typically noted in electric heater devices over combustion (fossil-fuel) heaters.   For example, a 14.2 MW combustion gas heater could be replaced with an 11 MW electric Airtorch. A savings of ~$48,000 daily (assuming 1 KWh ~10 US cents).

Productivity:  MHI systems adjust to optimize the energy required by drawing only the necessary power and accelerating productivity at the optimal highest temperature. A higher temperature significantly adds to the production rate. More power equates to a higher energy delivery per unit of time. Conventional furnaces have fixed heat loss; the higher power will mean that you deliver heat faster to reach the required Temperature. An underpowered system will struggle to get to the Temperature.

Emissions from Natural Gas. The emissions from natural gas-fired boilers and furnaces could include nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), trace amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM).

MHI Airtorch® models are designed for low thermal energy loss. Simultaneously, thelow-pressure-energye-energy loss. MHI Airtorch® models offer high-temperature input, which benefits duct heaters and ovens that quickly replace natural gas heating. This is the best method for decarbonization.

For the best energy saving, the following tips could be helpful depending on the application:

• Energy-saving Tips

  1. If less energy can be used for the same objective, it will substantially reduce CO2 emissions. Modern light generators (bulbs) produce the same visible light intensity with much less energy. So does an Airtorch (process air and gas generator)  or a modern decarbonized steam generator.
  2. Improved practices. There is no need to pressurize compressors and bleed them every day, as pressurization leads to substantial energy demand. If using high-volume air flows, ensure the pressure drop is the least.
  3. Reclaim waste energy. Contact MHI.
  4. An electric Airtorch device is almost always much more efficient than a fossil-fired heat exchanger. Opt for modern electric machines; they generally use less energy for the same objective than a machine with a combustion source.   For example, we have shown that an 11MW electric Airtorch® for the same heating objective can replace a 16MW gas heater. Or use an electric instant steam generator instead of a conventional boiler. Or implement methods to conserve the quality of energy. 
  5. Did you know that saving 5MW of power in a device for the same objective could save over US$3.5 million in electric energy costs for the year?
  6. There are additional benefits with the MHI Airtorch. The pressure drops for electric Airtorch devices are lower than those of traditional heat exchanger devices.   For a 2000 SCFM flow, saving ~5 psi in pressure drop equals about 30 KW in power savings. This is almost a saving of $25,000 per year, assuming a price per kWh of 10US cents.   
  7. Upgrade equipment. Replace old furnaces and devices with the most modern emissivity heaters, crisp controls, safe insulation, and high productivity. Process at higher temperatures to achieve the same objective and glean profits from higher productivity. Many thermal process outputs accelerate exponentially with Temperature.
  8. Productivity vs. Temperature (in pdf format)
  9. Clean, smartly cleaning chemicals pack a lot of energy, but it comes from somewhere. Please keep them clean without adding new chemicals or contaminants. Save energy with high-temperature steam.
  10. The temperature uniformity with electric air heating is considered substantially superior to large dies’ flame heating. Some examples are discussed below.

      

      

      Aluminum Melting Overview

      
      
      

      18 Bar

      

      

      High Power Airtorch

      

      OAB Electric Steam Generators. Decarbonized.

ContinuouOvenrn with Airtorch

Click here to view typical applications.

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