Regardless of the business or industry, the key to increasing revenue is to reduce your costs. For asphalt storage and blending facilities, energy consumption is a major part of that cost equation. If you can increase your plant’s energy efficiency, you can increase your revenue.
3 Ways to Increase Your Asphalt Plant’s Energy Efficiency
When we think about energy efficiency, insulation is normally the first thing that comes to mind, but thermal protection is just one of the ways you can reduce energy consumption and save money.
Insulation
Many asphalt storage facilities are simply not insulated properly when they are built, and even if they were, insulation deteriorates over time. Properly insulating both your asphalt storage facility and the equipment can significantly reduce energy costs. In fact, just one to three inches of insulation around exposed pipes can reduce heat loss by thousands of BTUs a day, saving you tens of thousands of dollars each year.
In addition, asphalt storage tanks should contain at least four inches of insulation. Older tanks should be inspected for deterioration and reinsulated, if needed.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Dust, dirt, grime, oil buildup and damaged insulation can cause your asphalt blending equipment and other machinery to work less efficiently and use more fuel. In time, the buildup can cause components to fail, and failures can lead to process shutdowns, which also cost money.
A regular cleaning, maintenance and re-insulation plan is integral to improving energy efficiency, extending the service life of your equipment, and reducing costs. It’s also important to include employee training in your maintenance plan. Establish how and when equipment should be maintained and emphasize the importance of prioritizing maintenance issues to avoid plant downtime.
New Equipment
In some cases, insulation, cleaning, and maintenance simply are not enough. Much like a house built in the 1950s, your asphalt storage facility may not have been built with energy efficiency in mind. Depending on the age of your equipment, new storage tanks and asphalt blending systems can increase energy efficiency enough to offset the cost.
In addition, newer and more technologically advanced asphalt storage tanks and blending skids typically need fewer repairs, reducing downtime and saving you money.
Increase Your Asphalt Plant Revenue with ECF
Conserving energy is the goal of any heated facility, and with more than 28 years of experience in heated liquid terminal construction, ECF can provide proven solutions to maximize your asphalt plant’s efficiencies.
We install a wide variety of insulation and jacketing for pipes, tanks and equipment, and offer custom design-build services to upgrade your current asphalt storage and blending systems. Contact us online or call 314.241.8500 for a quote.