Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction Strategies:A Case Study of Foundry Plant in Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a foundry or metal casting company. The primary sources of emissions used to analyze were the production processes, energy consumption, and associated GHG emissions, focusing on electricity usage from handling raw materials to producing the finished product. Various production units used electricity, including furnaces, casting equipment, and other systems. This process followed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and relevant emission factors to calculate the amount of GHG emissions caused by electricity use. Key emission hotspots were identified, and actionable strategies to mitigate its environmental impact through GHG reduction were also proposed. The collected data showed that the average electric power consumption for the entire plant in 2022 and 2023 was 7,503,225 and 6,806,179 kWh, respectively, for the casting product. Foundry plants emitted 3,725,145 and 3,125,480 kg CO2eq from their electricity consumption in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The average carbon intensity is 0.489 kg/kWh; however, the carbon intensity of iron-casting production varies based on the production process, raw material, and energy mix. It found that induction melting furnaces consumed more electrical power than other production processes, accounting for 71.22% of total electrical power consumption and 67.28% in the plant. Optimizing furnace efficiency and installing a solar rooftop as a captive power plant could reduce the electrical power consumption.