E3S Web of Conferences 10 , 00138 (2016) DOI: 10.

1051/ e3sconf/20161000138
SEED 2016

Energy efficiency in the agricultural and food industry illustrated with the
example of the feed production plant

Jacek Gembicki1,a
1
Szk oła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejsk iego w Warszawie Wydział Inżynierii Produk cji

Abstract. Energy efficiency is an indicator specifying the amount of saved electric energy thanks to implementation
of suitable systems and solutions aimed at reducing the energy consumption in a production plant. Effective use
of electric energy or heat energy is intended to reduce the amount of energy required to manufacture products and
provide services. Decreased demand for electric energy in the production plant by only a few percent’s may result
in considerable savings which in turn assure increased production profitability. If we reduce the energy consumption,
it will translate into reduced pollution generated and emitted to the environment. Thanks to this, the plant may limit its
negative impact on the surrounding. The feed industry is known to consume much amount of energy for the purposes
of production. This energy is intended for pre-processing of substrates, actual production and preparation of ready
product to be taken over by the customer. Farmers use fodders to feed their animals. Quality of fodders (feeds) and their
ingredients determine health of farm animals, which has a direct impact on the quality of products we consume, and
consequently on our health. An thorough analysis of feed production plants and reduction of their energy consumption
should translate into improved effectiveness. Saved energy allows producing high-quality products and using
ingredients of higher quality, which in turn may influence competitiveness of prices of ready products.

1 Introduction
2 Description
The plants producing animal feed which belong to the
Energy efficiency and renewable energy are considered
group of agricultural and food processing plants form
to be two pillars of well-balanced energy policy. Both
a manufacturing-technical-organizational structure.
strategies must be developed simultaneously in order
The structure of these production plants is dependent upon
to stabilize and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and
materials being processed and products these materials
other pollutants.
form. It entails application of various production
Efficient energy consumption is essential and results
technologies relevant to particular production facilities.
in hindering the rise of the demand for energy so that rising
Feed production plants mostly receive electric energy, and
supplies of pure energy may cause serious reductions
only a small percent of plants produces electric energy
of the use of fossil fuels.
which is consumed to supply the entire plant, whereas the
Many countries acknowledge the fact that energy
surplus of generated energy may be sold to other entities.
efficiency brings benefits for national safety because
The issue of optimizing the energy consumption
thanks to this we may limit importing energy from abroad
in these production plants has been popular for many years
and may hinder the pace of using the domestic sources
and implemented in certain production facilities. The main
of energy.
reason for optimizing these plants is the need to lower
Energy efficiency stands for the amount of saved
costs of particular energy carriers, which may directly
energy established by means of measuring or estimating
cause the profits of the plant to rise. In addition, if we
the consumption before implementing the means intended
decrease the energy consumption, we will support the local
to improve the energy efficiency and after implementation,
eco-climate by reducing the emission of atmosphere
with simultaneous assurance of normalization of external
pollutants, reducing the noise and producing green energy,
conditions affecting the consumption of energy
which may well be resold to local residents.
(Resolution of the EU Commission no. 651/2014 of 17
Energy optimization process in feed production plants
June 2014 approving certain types of aid in accordance
may be a multiple-step process and should engage the
with the internal market pursuant to the art. 107 and 108
entire plant, starting from production halls, through
of the Treaty (CELEX: 32014R0651)
technical rooms or storage rooms, ending up with offices.
Effective use of energy is aimed at reducing the amount
of energy required to provide products and services. When
it comes to feed production plants, it refers to various

a Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 10 , 00138 (2016) DOI: 10.1051/ e3sconf/20161000138
SEED 2016

fodders which can be divided into fodders of plant origin, also reduce energy losses. Similar effects assures voltage
animal origin or mineral feed. optimization. In the feed industry (but not only) are used
There are many reasons encouraging us to improve many pumps and compressors of various shapes, sizes
energy efficiency. If we limit the energy consumption, we with a wide range of intended uses. Their efficiency
reduce operation costs and consumers may increase depends on numerous factors, but it can be improved
savings, provided that energy savings exceed additional by implementing enhanced inspection of processes and
expenses related to implementing energy-efficient improved maintenance [2]. Compressors are widely used
technologies. to provide compressed air which is then applied
For example, the building thermal insulation assures on production lines to transport substrates or ready
the use of reduced amount of energy for the purpose products. Feed production plants generate steam water and
of heating and cooling in order to reach and keep the electricity for further own use [3]. When electric energy
comfortable temperature. The use of fluorescent lamps is generated, the heat, being a side effect of the process,
or skylights reduces the amount of energy but assures may be collected and used to generate steam, to heat areas,
as strong illumination as traditional bulbs provide. or for other industrial purposes. The conventional
The improvement of energy efficiency is frequently generation of electric energy is efficient in ca. 30%,
feasible thanks to more efficient technologies whereas a simultaneous generation of heat and energy
or production processes. (also referred to as cogeneration) processes up to 90%
There are many reasons convincing us to improve of fuel into usable energy [4].
energy efficiency. Limited use of energy results in reduced
operation costs and may lead to savings in the production
plant on condition that the energy-related savings exceed
additional costs related to implementing energy-efficient
technologies. Additionally, it serves to limit the emission
of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and in effect
brings other benefits.
The figure 1 shows the impact of the feed production
plant on the local agro-ecosystem. It includes products
manufactured by the plant, as well as the influence on the
neighbourhood through emission of waste water, noise and
carbon dioxide.

Figure 1. Feed production plant in Agro-ecosystem Figure 2. Energy-material flows in the feed production plant
(prepared by the author) (prepared by the author)
3 Literature review The figure 2 shows the example of material flow in the
It has been proved that energy efficiency is a cost- feed production plant. A typical manufacturing process
effective economy building strategy and does not is showed there, starting from supply of substrates used
necessarily require increased energy consumption. to manufacture a fodder/feed, through particular processes
Modern and energy-efficient equipment consumes a way related to the substrates, and ending up with ready product
less energy than other old-type devices. Advanced boilers in the form of animal feed [5].
and furnaces may operate at high temperatures but The feed industry uses large amounts of energy
consume less fuel. They are more efficient and generate to supply various manufacturing processes. Many of these
less substances which are harmful to the environment. processes require large amounts of heat and mechanical
Electric motors usually operate at the regular speed, energy which derive from natural gas, oil and electricity.
but drives of variable speed allow setting the required Since manufacturing processes are so diverse,
velocity [1]. Thanks to this, it is possible to save from 3 it is impossible to describe all available methods
to 60% of energy, depending how the engine is used. of assuring energy efficiency in the feed industry.
Engine elements made of superconductive material may A crucial role is played by specific technologies and

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E3S Web of Conferences 10 , 00138 (2016) DOI: 10.1051/ e3sconf/20161000138
SEED 2016

mechanisms implemented in production plants [6]. a detailed system model by means of which we can carry
Nevertheless, we may distinguish an array of processes out a precise simulation showing weak links of the system
and energy-related services which can be put into use and their improvement [8]. In order to indicate possible
in feed production plants. methods of assessing the energy management, in the first
place it is necessary to isolate areas and then conduct their
analysis to draw conclusion influencing the decisions
related to improvement of energy efficiency in the
production plant [9].
How to save energy:
• Suitable (full) use of electric motors in terms of power
• Increased use of production machines during
continuous operation
• Reasonable use of lighting installation
• Use of thermal insulation of receivers and buildings
• Reduced number of energy conversions (e.g. replacing
water steam with hot water),
• Heat recovery (recirculation)
• Shortening the length of transmission lines of heat
carriers.

Figure 3. Feed processing system (http://www.scielo.br)

Energy forms and carriers:
• Energy in the form of heat (heating, thermal
sterilization, evaporation),
• Energy of compressed air (pneumatic transport,
packing),
• Electric energy used for motor drives,
• Mechanical energy (grinding, mixing, cleaning,
transporting, separating, dosing).
The energy-manufacturing system of agricultural and
food processing plants is a separate and internally arranged
system of elements with a structure assuring specific
production purposes. To examine this sort of system, it is Figure 4. Energy Pyramid (legendpower.com)
necessary to get familiar with the manufacturing processes
in a given plant and to see and measure places which 4 Summary
energy is used in. Such assessment of energy management To have an insight into energy consumption in animal feed
in the plant should provide information on energy carriers production plants, it is necessary to choose relevant testing
wear, method of use and tips on how to improve it. methods and specify which of them are the most effective,
The knowledge of the energy carriers wear may be used in and provide credible and reliable results. Thanks
many ways, either to implement new solutions to a suitable testing method, we are able to estimate the
or modernize existing ones in order to make them more energy consumption and if it is too high, we may try
effective. The question arises of whether the existing to implement relevant processes in order to reduce the
testing methods, used to specify chances for reduction aforementioned consumption. If the process turns out to be
of energy carriers wear and specification of improvement effective, we may increase profits of the production plant,
actions, are sufficient and whether have been used and thus become more competitive on the feed market.
in a proper way. Aside from basic features, the method When discussing the issue of energy consumption, it is not
should be justified from the scientific and technical point only about the use of electric energy but also thermal
of view [7]. energy. If we lower the demand for thermal energy
We distinguish two basic methods. The top-down or if we use it in a better way, we will be able to reduce the
method is concerned with the top-down approach and emission of greenhouse gases to the environment, and for
limits itself to analyzing input and output parameters. this reason the production plant will have lower influence
In this method processes occurring inside the system on the local eco-climate.
in question are not considered. The main advantages of this To sum up, if we test the energy consumption and
method is among others low costs, simplicity, easy attempt to reduce it, the feed production plant and
monitoring and forecasting of energy consumption, as well its surrounding will benefit from it. We should remember
as considerable flexibility and versatility. In turn, however that it is of paramount importance to get familiar
the bottom-up method focuses on a precise and in-depth with the entire manufacturing process and the plant
analysis of the production process, thanks to which we can structure, as well as estimate potential improvement costs
improve energy efficiency. Plus, it is possible to develop and forecasted profits in order to make sure

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E3S Web of Conferences 10 , 00138 (2016) DOI: 10.1051/ e3sconf/20161000138
SEED 2016

the improvement pays off. Thanks to such balance, we will

learn if the modernization is profitable or not.
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