In partnership with the Eletrobras/National Program for  Energy Conservation (Procel) and the Petrobrás/ National Program for the Rational Use of Petroleum Derivatives and Natural Gas (Conpet), CNI acts as the coordinator for the Industry category of the National Awards for the Conservation and Rational Use of Energy.

Granted by the Ministry of Mines and Energy since 1993, the awards seek to motivate the development of projects towards the adequate and efficient use of energy. They are a way of public recognition of effective measure directed to reduce the consumption of energy and fighting wastefulness.

Benefits accrue on the one hand to the environment and on the other to the winning companies who gain prestige from investing in the future of the country's energy. In addition to being honored in a ceremony with national visibility, those selected gain the right to use the Procel seal.

Classes in the Industrial Catalogue

The National Awards for  Energy Conservation and its  Rational Use on industrial projects are divided into three classes:

•    Energy : awards industries that achieve a proven reduction in specific consumption and/or a reduction in the demand for energy at times of peak demand;
•    Petroleum Derivatives and Natural Gas: this class considers industries that have achieved a proven reduction in specific or global consumption of petroleum derivatives and/or natural gas or have made rational use of petroleum derivatives or natural gas in substituting other strategic sources of energy  such as diesel or liquefied petroleum gas (GLP). This class also involves projects that co-generate electricity from natural gas or petroleum derivatives; and•    Alternative Energy: grants recognition to industries that achieve a proven reduction in specific or global energy consumption using alternative forms. Also eligible for the award are projects that substitute natural gas, petroleum derivatives or electricity with alternative forms of energy provided that they demonstrate that no harm is done to the environment. Furthermore, projects may be considered which in the co-generation of electricity make use of fuels of vegetable origin, biomass, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy or other materials with the exception of natural gas and petroleum derivatives.

The selection of award winners takes into account the following aspects:

Qualitative Criteria:
•    Presentation of the technical project report (clarity, contents, objectivity and degree of detail given);
•    Originality;
•    Existence of a permanent energy management system;
•    Environmental benefits;
•    Operational and working conditions;
•    Potential for application in other activities or industries; and
•    Other benefits not related to energy.

Quantitative Criteria:
•    Percentage of the reduction obtained in specific energy consumption;
•    Total energy savings;
•    Cost/benefit ratio;
•    Period necessary to obtain a return on investment;
•    Reduction in the contracted demand, when applicable;
•    Ratio between the average amount of energy saved and average total consumption in the period just before the actions were implanted;
•    Reduction of operating and/or maintenance costs;
•    Monthly values of the power factor; and
•    Increase in the load factor.

Award Winners

2006

Winners for the year: 2005 | 2006

Petroleum and Natural gas derivatives

Alternative forms of Energy

Electricity

Petroleum and Natural gas derivatives

Class: Petroleum and Natural gas derivatives 2006

1st Place: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale do Rio Doce Company)
Optimizing the process for producing high-silica pellets at the HispanoBras plant in Espírito Santo - led to an increase in the average productivity of AS05 pellets and in the specific consumption of oil to around 41.5%, while maintaining the very same energy matrix with no alterations in the specific consumptions of natural gas or vegetable carbon (charcoal). The actions undertaken produced total fuel oil savings of 733.5 TPE/ month.  

Special Mention: Itagres Revestimentos Cerâmicos S.A
In a partnership with Engineering consultants of APS Engenharia de Energia, Itagres developed and executed a project for recovering heat from gases issuing from kilns 3 and 4 to be used in the driers installed in the polishing line of their Santa Catarina plant. Natural gas consumption was reduced by more than 95%.

In addition to reducing costs and the volume of gases being released to the atmosphere, the project brought with it benefits through a reduction in the number of hours spent in the maintenance of the burners in the polishing driers and an improvement in heat-related comfort for employees working in the sector, thanks to the reduced use of natural gas burners. The result was an overall reduction of 25,164 cubic meters per month in natural gas consumption.

Alternative Forms of Energy

Class: Alternative Forms of Energy 2006

1st Place: Fuga Couros Jales (Hides)
The project  "Use of Renewable Source Fuels in Boilers" developed by this São Paulo based industry is directed at the total substitution of regular fuel oil by another fuel of animal origin, refined, filtered and used in the same boilers without any need for adaptations. Many advantages were obtained, among them, reducing environmental pollution to a minimum rate and reducing soot formed by the boilers during steam production, as well as an improvement in conditions for carrying out maintenance during the opening and inspection of boilers.

It should be noted that no investment was necessary as the tallow used brought no costs to the company, being one of the solid residues that it re-cycles. With the savings obtained, Fuga Couros Jales company launched another production line to export toys for domestic dogs.

Electricity

Category: Electricity 2006

1st Place: Caterpillar Brasil
 Established in Piracicaba, inland of São Paulo, the industry created the project “6 Sigma – Melhoria na Utilização de Energia na Planta CBL” (6 Sigma – Improvements in Energy Use at the CBL Plant). Outstanding among the measures taken were the substitution of 262 standard motors by others of the high performance type and the substitution of two 160 KW compressors by models that were 25% more efficient. By the end of the project, electricity savings amounted to 10,283 MWh/year which corresponds to about 14% of the plant's total consumption.

2nd Place: Cervejaria Kaiser Nordeste S/A (Brewery)
The project "Energy Efficiency in Beer Production" which was developed at the Feira de Santana plant, in the state of Bahia, led to a reduction of 16.7% in the productive sector's specific consumption. It all started with the setting up of an electricity team directed at cutting losses occurring in the consumption of that plant.

The adopted measures, which were decided together with employees in all departments, included switching off the reverse osmosis plant and the refrigerated water compressor during peak periods; the 162 kWh cold compressor every three hours; the air conditioner units in the quality control sector; the administrative area and the maintenance sector for one hour a day.

3rd Place: Sociedade Michelin Indústria e Comércio
Located in the municipality of Itatiaia, in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the company is responsible for producing metal reinforcing materials used in the manufacturing process of heavy duty tires and touring tires. The work regime is round the clock and annual production is around 20 thousand tons.

The "Perenizar" project is the result of the creation of an organizational culture where individual actions become part of an aggregate of the gains obtained with each new proposal. The company was eventually able to reduce its contracted demand for electricity by the amount of 137.2 kW.

Special Mention: Anglo Gold Ashanti Mineração (Mining)
The project that received special mention consisted of substituting a 3.8 MW electric boiler for a system of inductive heating with a power rating of 0.51 MW in the process of extracting gold. The new equipment, in addition to introducing greater energy efficiency and productivity, significantly reduced the levels of risk posed to the staff safety and lowered operating and maintenance costs.

The reduction in specific electricity consumption was around 73% in the circuit directly associated to the process while the overall energy saving was around 2,184 MWh/year. In turn, the reduction in demand was 690 KW and the time needed to obtain a complete return on investment was 1.61 years.