Environmental Energy Technologies Division News...R esponsible for about 40% of global energy...

Responsible for about 40% of global energydemand, the industrial sector is the world’s domi-nant energy user followed by buildings, trans-

portation, and agriculture. Berkeley Lab’s EnvironmentalEnergy Technologies Division approaches industrialenergy issues from a multitude of perspectives, rangingfrom basic R&D to understanding the driving forcesbehind historical or future industrial energy-use patterns.Our work encompasses basic as well as high-tech indus-tries and examines the economic and environmentaldimensions of industrial energy use and the potential fornew technologies to improve the quality and efficiency ofindustrial processes and the health and productivity ofworkers.

In addition to front-line research, Berkeley Lab staffpossess an interdisciplinary set of talents and resourcesfor analysis and modeling. The Division can also applysophisticated research instruments, and partner with facilitiesand shops in the rest of Berkeley Lab to develop or refine man-ufacturing technologies.

Industry-Focused Projects in EETDEETD has developed nondestructive techniques for testing paperquality without interrupting the manufacturing process (page 3).Through rapid detection of manufacturing problems, laser ultra-sonics can save energy and time while minimizing the volumeof defective product.

Fundamental research in our Combustion Group has led tothe development of two new gas-burner technologies that offerbetter flame quality, more complete combustion, reduced ener-gy costs, and lower emissions (page 4). Promising applicationsidentified across a wide range of scales and applications includefurnaces and gas turbines for electric power production.

The Applications Team has discovered considerable energy-efficiency potential in high-technology industrial settings, suchas cleanrooms and laboratories (page 11). Efforts have focusedon developing a design guide for laboratory-type facilities andidentifying opportunities for savings through a holistic perfor-mance-assurance approach. The work has also involved devel-oping a high-efficiency fume hood for laboratories.

Other EETD work focuses on the interior environment inwhich industrial processes occur—and where both humanhealth and equipment performance can be at stake. A projectperformed by our Indoor Environment Department has evaluat-ed the risk of electronic circuit failures induced by small air-borne particles that defy conventional air-filtration systems (page5). As the trend toward miniaturization continues, electronicsbecome increasingly susceptible to short circuits caused by smallparticles.

Carbon monoxide in the workplace is a hazard whose mag-

Energy for Industry

In this IssueEnergy for Industry 1Laser Ultrasonics for Paper Quality 3Low-Emissions Burner 4Avoiding Particle Depositionin Small-Scale Electronics 5

Thermal Managementfor Automobiles 6

Energy-Efficiency Improvementsfor U.S. Steel Industry 8

INEDIS: Global Networkfor Industrial Energy Analysis 9

Development Banks and IndustrialEnergy Efficiency in India 10

High-Tech Buildings 11Working within Marketsto Affect Change 12

Carbon Monoxide Occupational Sensor 13

Materials End-Use Efficiencyto Reduce Industrial Energy Demand 14

Research Highlights 15

The mission of the Environmental Energy TechnologiesDivision is to perform research and development leading to better energy technologies and market mechanisms to reduce adverse energy-related envi-ronmental impacts.

Environmental Energy Technologies Division NewsLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Summer 1999

Advanced Technologies Energy AnalysisBuilding Technologies Indoor EnvironmentAir Quality

continued on page 2

Special Issue

EETD NEWS LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY SUMMER 19992

Environmental Energy Technologies DivisionNews

Published Quarterly

Vol. 1, No. 2

Executive Editor

Evan MillsManaging Editor

Allan Chen

Assistant Editor

Ted Gartner

Contributing Editors

Jeff Harris

Dale Sartor

Production/Design/Graphics

J.A. Sam Webster Mayers

Sondra Jarvis

Copy Editors

Linda Comer

Ann Kelly

Circulation

JoAnne Lambert

The Environmental Energy Technologies Division News ismade possible in part by support from the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiencyand Renewable Energy, Office of Building Technology,State and Community Programs.

Readers are free to reprint or otherwise reproduce arti-cles at no charge, with proper attribution to the Environ-mental Energy Technologies Division News. Text andgraphics can be downloaded electronically from ourWorld Wide Web site.

This publication was created in QuarkXPress on aPower Macintosh G3 of Garamond and Futura.

Ordering InformationIf you would like to receive this newsletter, pleasewrite to:

EETD NewsMail Stop 90-3058

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Berkeley, CA 94720 USATel: (510) 486-4835Fax: (510) 486-5394

Email: [email protected] newsletter may also be found on theWorld Wide Web at http://eetd.lbl.gov/news/

PUB-821 Vol. 1. No. 2, Summer 1999

This work was supported by the U.S. Department ofEnergy under Contract No. DE-AC-03-76SF00098

Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Lab-oratory is a multiprogram national laboratory man-aged by the University of California for the U.S.Department of Energy. The oldest of the nine labora-tories, LBNL is located in the hills above the campusof the University of California, Berkeley.

With more than 3,800 employees, LBNL’s totalannual budget of nearly $330 million supports awide range of unclassified research activities in thebiological, physical, computational, materials, chem-ical, energy, and environmental sciences. The Labo-ratory’s role is to serve the nation and its scientific,educational, and business communities throughresearch performed in its unique facilities, to trainfuture scientists and engineers, and to create pro-ductive ties to industry. As a testimony to its success,LBNL has had nine Nobel laureates. EETD is one of13 scientific divisions at Berkeley Lab, with a staff ofmore than 300 and a budget of $36 million.

Division DirectorMark D. Levine

Communications Marcy Beck

Applications TeamDale Sartor

Advanced Energy Technologies Donald Grether

Building TechnologiesSteve Selkowitz

Energy AnalysisStephen Wiel

Indoor EnvironmentJoan Daisey

Air QualityNancy Brown

nitude is not well known. A new occupational sensor developedin partnership with QGI can help alert workers and managerswhen CO levels are too high (page 13).

In many cases we work directly with individual firms toimprove their products. In a recent example, researchers fromBerkeley Lab’s Engineering Division and EETD assisted VisteonAutomotive Systems in developing a new generation of energy-efficient automobiles. The work focused on reducing vehicleheating and cooling requirements through the use of advancedinsulation and window systems (page 6).

Our analytical work includes in-depth sectoral studies of ener-gy-savings potential in industry, exemplified by the Energy Analy-sis Department’s assessment of the U.S. steel industry. They foundthat implementing 47 technologies and process improvementscould lead to a cost-effective 18% energy savings (page 8).

To help address the fact that national and international indus-trial energy-use patterns are poorly understood, Berkeley Lab ishome to the International Network of Energy Demand Analysis inthe Industrial Sector (INEDIS). The project links research groupsfrom around the world that are collecting data to establish solidbaselines, analyze trends, evaluate policies, and assess the poten-tial for new technologies (page 9).

Research at Berkeley Lab also explores the special problemsand needs of developing nations, which use more than half of theworld’s industrial energy and collectively exhibit a demandgrowth rate three times that of industrialized countries. A recentproject examined the role currently and potentially played bydevelopment banks in industrial energy efficiency. Our in-depthcase study from India pinpointed the opportunities and barriers(page 10).

With an eye to ensuring that new technologies reach wide-spread use, we address the “downstream” processes of technolo-gy diffusion and market transformation. This is exemplified byour Industrial Policy Group’s current efforts to develop collabo-rative approaches to improving decisionmaking and operationsand maintenance infrastructure in the compressed air, paper andpulp, and industrial pumping marketplaces (page 12).

Finally, on page 14, EETD research explores how materialsend-use efficiency can indirectly help reduce energy demand inthe industrial sector.

—Evan MillsEvan [email protected](510) 486-6784; fax (510) 486-5394

continued from page 1

EETD NEWS LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY SUMMER 1999 3

How can paper’s strength and flexibility be measured with-out touching it? What’s more, how can it be done whenthe paper is moving at 30 meters per second (65 miles

per hour)? EETD’s Paul Ridgway and Rick Russo are developing a laser-

based ultrasonic technique to answer these questions. This tech-nique measures paper’s mechanical properties nondestructivelywhile it’s on the papermaking machine, or “web.”

Because paper’s strength, fiber orientation, and flexibility can-not be measured while the sheet is moving on the web, industryanalysts rely on measurements of samples cut from the ends oflarge paper rolls. The delays that result from having to adjust theprocess variables cost manufacturers significant time and money. Amonitor of paper strength installed on the web would allow real-time feedback control of the process, resulting in valuable savingsin feedstock and energy. Such a strength sensor must make non-destructive measurements on paper moving at production speeds.This is the goal of the “Laser Ultrasonics for Paper” project.

Ultrasound is used to probe fiber orientation and to test ten-

sile and compressive strength, bending stiffness, and other impor-tant mechanical properties of paper. Ultrasonic analysis usingcontact transducers is gaining credibility in the papermakingindustry; in fact, contact-based techniques for measurement onmoving paper have been in development for over 25 years.Commercial systems are just now becoming available for heavypaper grades; however, the pressures required to operate contacttransducers damage lighter grades of paper.

Laser Ultrasonics (LUS) is a noncontact, nondestructivemethod that recently has been used to analyze paper’s mechani-cal properties. A short (less than a microsecond) pulse of laserlight generates ultrasonic waves by either a thermal expansion oran ablation shock wave or both. The ultrasonic wave propagatesalong the paper sheet and is detected at a known distance (sev-eral millimeters) using a noncontact interferometric technique.The time-of-flight of the wave over the known distance gives thepropagation velocity of the wave. The wave velocity is theoreti-cally related to elastic properties, which in turn are empiricallyrelated to strength properties.

Laboratory SimulationShown schematically in Figure 1, the LUS system for movingpaper is composed of three parts: a “web simulator” and genera-tion and detection systems. A photograph of the system is shownin Figure 2. The web simulator, designed by Berkeley Lab engi-neer Sam Mukherjee and built by machinist Steve Ferreira, rotatesa paper belt at up to 30 m/sec. The generation system consistsof a pulse Neodymium Yittrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd-YAG) laserand associated optics.

The key components of the detection system are a commercialMach-Zender interferometer, a rotating mirror, and control elec-tronics. The rotating mirror moves the interferometer probe beamwith the paper, effectively stopping the paper motion withrespect to the detection spot. An optical encoder is used to trackthe mirror’s rotational position. An adjustable delay circuit,designed and built by Berkeley Lab engineer Paul Barale, triggersthe firing of the generation laser pulse so that the ultrasonic waveis detected when the detection beam is in position on the papersurface. Measurements are made on paper moving at up to 30meters per second, the highest production speeds used in thepapermaking industry.

Further development goals include optimizing laser generationwavelength and pulsewidth; extending the method to measureultrasonic velocities in all directions in the plane of the papersheet; interfacing the system to a computer for control, data acqui-sition, and signal analysis; and eliminating the rotating mirror.

—Paul Ridgway

Paul Ridgway Rick [email protected] [email protected](510) 486-7363; fax (510) 486-7303 (510) 486-4258; fax (510)486-7303

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of IndustrialTechnologies, with direction provided by the Agenda 2020 American Forest Prod-ucts and Paper Industry Sensors and Controls Task Group.

Laser Ultrasonicsfor Paper Quality

PaperMotion

PhotodiodeTrigger

Interferometer

DetectionBeam

Optical Encoder;SynchronizedRotating Mirror

Computer

Laser:Pulse Generation

Figure 1. Schematic of the experimental system.

Figure 2. The apparatus.


Combustion is a critical cross-cutting technology for indus-trial processes, electric power production, material synthe-sis, space and water heating, and transportation. Maximiz-

ing the benefit of combustion while minimizing emissions ofharmful pollutants poses large technological challenges.

An EETD team has been conducting fundamental research intothe nature of combustion and its interaction with turbulence thatexists naturally in all combustion devices. It has patented twonew concepts that may have a significant impact on the designsof next-generation, low-emission burners. Both technologiesexploit lean premixed combustion, which is fast becoming thetechnology of choice for reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emis-sion and increasing combustion efficiency. Initial laboratory stud-ies have shown the two new burner technologies to be highlyeffective, producing emissions far below some of the most strin-gent clean-air standards, with no particulate emissions.

One technology, an inner-ring flame stabilizer, was developedfor a National Aeronautics and Space Administration project toinvestigate open-flame behavior in the absence of buoyancy. Theother, a low-swirl burner, was developed as a versatile laborato-ry tool for studying turbulence-flame interaction processes.

The Ring StabilizerThe ring stabilizer is an extremely simple device that can be fit-ted inside a burner port. This ring maintains a stable premixedflame under both fuel-rich and -lean conditions. Unaffected byturbulence, the stabilizer helps produce more complete combus-tion, thereby lowering emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) andhydrocarbons (HC), while its ability to support ultra-lean pre-mixed combustion lowers the production of NOx.

The Low-Swirl BurnerAll conventional swirl burners are high-swirl burners. In 1991,EETD’s Combustion Group developed a prototype low-swirlburner that uses small air jets to swirl the premixed flow insidethe burner tube. The low-swirl technology leaves the center coreflow undisturbed and produces a divergent flow above the burn-er exit. Flow divergence provides a highly effective means for sta-bilizing lean premixed combustion because it enables the flameto settle where the local velocity equals the flame speed. A vaneswirler (with angled guide vanes) has been developed that elim-inates the need for air jets and is much more suitable for com-mercial use because of its simplicity.

Low-swirl burners with vane swirlers offer the same ability tosupport ultra-lean premixed combustion as their air-jet predeces-sors. A unique feature of the low-swirl burner is that the flame iscompletely detached from the burner such that the burnerreceives almost no thermal stresses. In the photograph, a plasticlow-swirl burner is firing at about 16 kW.

Potential for CommercializationThe flame stabilizer ring insert and the low-swirl burner are invarious stages of testing in laboratory studies to establish theirpotential for commercial use. When a multiport ring burner wasfitted to a domestic forced-air furnace, the resulting emissions

were well below air-quality standards for NOx and CO, and thesystem efficiency was increased by 5%. A low-swirl burner testedin a 15-kW spa heater produced the same results.

The low-swirl burner has been successfully scaled to furnaceapplications. In tests conducted in a furnace simulator at the Uni-versity of California (Irvine) Combustion Laboratory, a 10-cmburner was operated with an output of up to 600 kW. Emissionswere low: at 600 kW—typical burners operate from 10kW to 100MW—the burner emitted only 12 parts per million (ppm) of NOx,20 ppm of CO, and <1 ppm of HC. The test conditions will beextended beyond 1.5 MW. Recently, the potential of using thelow-swirl flame stabilization method in gas turbine combustorswas confirmed at the Solar Turbines test facility in San Diego.Successful firing of a “low-swirl injector” prototype under typicalgas turbine conditions shows that this new combustion conceptwill also be applicable to power generation systems.

These combustion technologies offer direct and simple meansto achieve ultra-low emissions. In addition to their low emissionsand high efficiency features, the main economic advantage willbe their potential for significant first-cost savings compared tocurrent low-NOx burners that use complicated processes such asflue gas recirculation, selective catalytic reduction, or sophisticat-ed burner materials. Add to this simple flow controls and the abil-ity to support stable, lean premixed flames free of loud rumbleand instabilities. Operating with high combustion efficiency, ahigh turndown of at least 15:1 (turndown is the ratio of the high-est operating power to the lowest operating power), and lowpressure drop, the burners can be scaled to different capacities tomeet the varied needs of commercial and industrialproduction.

—Robert ChengRobert [email protected](510) 486-5438; fax (510) 486-7303

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Laboratory TechnologyResearch Program.

Low-Emissions Burners

A burner built from inexpensive plastic pipe shows the adaptabil-ity of the low-swirl burner (left). The ring stabilizer keeps theflame steady (right).


The deposition of particles from indoor air on circuit boardsin electronic equipment reduces the electrical isolationbetween conductors, sometimes causing electrical short

circuits. This is the finding of EETD researchers, who believe that,over time, deposited particles may be responsible for failures intelephone-switching and other electronic equipment. Circuit fail-ures caused by indoor air pollutants cost U.S. telephone officesroughly $200 million annually, but given the amount of electron-ic equipment in use throughout the U.S., the overall total costsmay be much higher. Protection of electronic circuits againstindoor air pollutants is an important issue for industrialeconomies, which increasingly rely on smaller components ininformation-processing equipment. As miniaturization increasesand electrical conductors are placed closer and closer together,the products are increasingly susceptible to this problem.

To keep spaces clean, air-handling systems remove large (2 to20µm) particles, including fibers, which are generated bymechanical wear on materials or derived from biological sources.Smaller particles (<2µm), generated by combustion or photo-chemical gas-to-particle conversions, often pass through filtersand are carried into buildings with out-door air but may not be removed effi-ciently by the air filters.

Risks to IndustrySuch fine-mode particles produce agreater threat to indoor electronicsbecause they can be deposited on bothvertical and horizontal surfaces. More-over, when voltage is applied, electri-cal forces enhance the deposition oncircuitry. Above all, such particles tendto be hygroscopic—i.e., able to attractor absorb moisture from the air. Asmuch as half the fine-particle mass in a building is from hygro-scopic particles. When the environment reaches a critical relativehumidity (roughly 50 to 65%), the deposited particles deliquesce(become liquid by absorbing moisture) and become electricallyconductive.

Some of the electrical conductors in modern electronic equip-ment, like the “legs” of surface-mounted chips that connect thechip to the circuit board, are directly exposed to ambient air inthe workplace. When particles accumulate, producing bridgesbetween adjacent conductors, and relative humidity runs high,electric current may leak or produce short circuits.

Discovering the Nature of DepositionAndres Litvak, a graduate student working under the guidance ofAshok Gadgil and Bill Fisk of the Indoor Environment Depart-ment, conducted an experimental study with a view toward bet-ter understanding particle deposition and failure rates of elec-tronic circuitry. The findings will allow the prediction and pre-vention of failure rates (as a function of ventilation and filtrationscenarios).

Eighteen dummy surface-mounted chips and six television setswere installed in an exposure chamber. The chips were connect-

ed to surface trace conductors on circuit boards by their conduc-tive legs, then mounted (some vertically and others horizontally)in an environmental chamber. A range of voltages was thenapplied to the circuits. After careful cleaning of the circuits, theelectrical isolation between the legs was measured as a functionof the relative humidity of the surrounding air. Particle concen-trations inside the chamber were then increased using a systemthat generated ammonium sulfate particles (average diameter of0.48 µm) and were maintained at 500 times greater than “normal”for 281 hours, yielding the equivalent of 16 years’ worth of nor-mal particle exposure.

ResultsSurprisingly, no television malfunctions were observed at any rel-ative humidity. The lack of deterioration may possibly beexplained by the elevated temperatures inside the television sets,which prevented the relative humidity from exceeding the criticalrelative humidity for deliquescence. Also, the spacing betweenelectronic conductors in the TV sets was larger than that in mostmodern electronics.

On the circuit boards, the highestlevels of accumulated particles wereobserved between the legs of surface-mounted chips with a voltage differen-tial—especially on the sharp edges andin the sharp bends of the legs. Howev-er, particle accumulation was alsoobserved between legs that weregrounded. Particles bridged adjacentlegs, but in uneven patterns. Fiberswere observed within some of the fin-er agglomerations of particles, appar-ently facilitating the formation ofbridges between conductors.

Electrical isolation between the adjacent legs of chipsdecreased after particle exposure. The isolation between legswith a differential voltage decreased by approximately threeorders of magnitude. In some instances, the electrical isolationdecreased to a point known to cause failures of electronic cir-cuits. On one circuit board, a short circuit caused visually obvi-ous damage. Researchers proposed a change in the geometries ofthe legs that eliminated the sharp bends in the conductors asso-ciated with particularly high localized particle deposition.

As equipment shrinks to meet new demands from industry,particle deposition will cause a certain percentage of equipmentfailure. Understanding this process under varied conditions canhelp avoid catastrophic and costly failures in an industry that willbe increasingly developing unique electronic solutions.

—Ted Gartner and William FiskWilliam [email protected](510) 486-5910; fax (510) 486-6658

This research is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Effi-ciency and Renewable Energy.

Avoiding Particle Depositionin Small-Scale Electronics


Visteon Automotive Systems, the EnvironmentalEnergy Technologies Division, and BerkeleyLab’s Engineering Division are collaborating on

a research project to create the world’s first thermallyinsulated car. With EETD-developed insulation insidebody panels and insulated window units, the thermallyinsulated car will have better gas mileage than a con-ventional car and stay cooler in the summer andwarmer in the winter.

The aim of this automotive thermal managementproject is to develop technology that helps reduce acar’s total weight by 40%. That is the ultimate goal ofPartnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV),a federal/private-sector research collaboration that thisproject is part of. The 40% weight reduction, along withother improvements, will raise the gas mileage of a Tau-rus to 80 miles per gallon without a loss of performanceor decreased occupant comfort.

This is the first time a car manufacturer is studyingthermal insulation for passenger comfort. Adding insu-lation to the car allows its heating, ventilation, and airconditioning system to be smaller, reducing the car’sweight and improving mileage. Insulation can alsoextend the range of electric vehicles by reducing the load on theirbatteries. The insulation and window film reduce heat gain orloss, smoothing out the temperature peaks and troughs inside thecar, keeping it comfortably cooler or warmer, and reducing mate-rial degradation caused by ultraviolet light.

Project researchers are collaborating with Visteon. The Ther-mal Management Project is associated with the United StatesCouncil for Automotive Research (USCAR), the research consor-tium funded by Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors tostrengthen the domestic auto industry’s technology base, as wellas the PNGV initiative.

In February, Visteon sent the Berkeley Lab research team afactory-new white Taurus. The car was stripped down to sheetmetal within two hours by a technician.

The windshield was modified by applying a spectrally selec-tive solar-control film to the inner surface. The Berkeley Lab teamfabricated double-pane insulated glazing units for the side win-dows. The insulated glazing units have spectrally-selective film onthe inner surface of the outer pane and low-emissivity film on theinner surface of the inner pane. The solar control film consists ofmultilayer thin-film plastics, which create a narrow-band-pass fil-ter that rejects ultra-violet and infrared wavelengths. The result ismuch less heat gain into the interior of the car and less degrada-tion of interior surfaces. The low-e film suppresses radiative heatloss, helping to maintain comfortable conditions in the passengercompartment in both hot and cold weather.

Gas-Filled PanelsBerkeley Lab’s patented gas-filled panel (GFP) insulation has ahigh performance-to-weight ratio. Adding two to five centimetersof insulation increased the weight of the car door by only 120grams. The weight savings achieved by GFPs over other insula-tion options allowed the installation of double-pane windows,

which were essential to achieve the overall goal of thermal per-formance.

GFPs use thin polymer-film cellular baffles and low-conduc-tivity gas filling to create a lightweight device with extraordinarythermal insulation properties. GFPs are essentially hermetic plas-tic bags that can take on a variety of shapes and sizes. GFPs canbe up to three times as effective as conventional foam insulation,depending on the type of gas used.

Low-emissivity coatings for residential windows were pio-neered by EETD and window manufacturers in the 1970s and1980s. Spectrally selective low-e coatings reflect far-infrared radi-ation (for example, the sun’s heat), preventing it from warmingan interior space. These energy-efficient coatings are now claim-ing growing shares of the market for residential and commercialbuilding windows.

Berkeley Lab Engineering Division’s Deb Hopkins, Daniel Tür-ler, and Phil Rizzo, EETD’s Brent Griffith and Howdy Goudey,and technicians in five of the Lab’s shops worked around theclock to retrofit the car by their March deadline. Goudey and Riz-zo manufactured GFPs in EETD’s infrared-thermography lab, afacility designed for developing and testing insulation and win-dow technology [see sidebar on page 7]. With Türler, theyinstalled the panels in the car body.

In this widely collaborative effort, everyone involved had tohelp out with the production of GFPs; never before had so manypanels of the experimental insulation been assembled. BerkeleyLab’s Technical Services Division was instrumental in providingtechnical support as needed. The Plastics Shop made the con-toured interior pane of the dual-pane glazing systems installed onthe back and side windows; the Coating Shop manufactured cus-tomized plastic parts with aluminum coatings; the RefrigerationShop drained and tuned the car’s air conditioner on short notice;and the Carpentry Shop made shipping crates to deliver the mod-

Thermal Management for Automobiles

Researchers designed customized gas-filled panels to fit the car’s interior.


ified doors and parts to Detroit.Hopkins, Türler, and Goudey went to Detroit in March. There

they reinstalled the parts in another Taurus. Another team thentested the thermal characteristics of the refit Taurus in an envi-ronmental chamber under hot and cold conditions, as well asunder driving conditions.

The retrofitted car was also tested in environmentally con-trolled wind tunnels under driving conditions for hot (55°C) andcold (-18°C) temperatures. The thermal performance of the vehi-cle exceeded design goals; using advanced insulation and win-dow technologies reduced the vehicle’s heating and cooling loadsby 80 and 75%, respectively.

With the first phase of Berkeley Lab’s work complete, the teamplans to use EETD’s infrared thermography facility to evaluate theheat flow in the car’s interior and refine and improve the designof the insulation.

—Allan ChenDeb Hopkins Daniel Tü[email protected] [email protected](510) 486-4922; fax (510) 486-4711 (510) 486-5827; fax (510) 486-6046 http://car.lbl.gov

The IR ThermographyLaboratoryBerkeley Lab’s Infrared Thermography Laboratory (IR Lab) con-ducts detailed experiments on the thermal performance of win-dows and other insulated systems. Its facilities have also beenused to study a variety of other technologies such as lighting,roofing materials, and photovoltaic tiles. During a typical experi-ment, a specimen is placed between two environmental cham-bers that simulate a long, cold winter night. Besides generatinginformative thermal images, the experiments collect several typesof quantitative data with high spatial resolution. These data areuseful for understanding subtle details in the thermal perfor-mance and for validating computer simulations of heat and fluidflows. Thermography experiments in the IR Lab use an infraredimager to produce qualitative thermal images, or thermograms,that help visually interpret how heat is flowing through the spec-imen. The infrared thermograms are also processed to extractnumerical data to perform quantitative thermography that pro-duces a database of the distribution of surface temperatures onthe warm side of various specimens. A traversing system is alsoused to measure the distribution of air temperatures and veloci-ties near the specimen. The IR Lab houses a machine-tool shoparea that supports fabrication efforts. Other types of research,such as nondestructive evaluation, are also conducted in the IRLab.

The IR Lab helps improve the energy efficiency of buildings,appliances, and automobiles by aiding in the development oftechnologies with high thermal performance and by improvingthe analysis of complex heat-flow situations. Current areas ofinterest include improving the edges and frames of windows, val-idating computer programs that simulate window performance,and analyzing localized surface heat transfer coefficients. Eventoday’s highest-performance windows need improvementbecause edge heat losses can reduce overall performance by upto a factor of two. Figure 1, an example of hollow and foam-filledvinyl windows, shows that the better-insulated vinyl foam-filled

windows lose less heat.Studies performed by IR Lab researchers have also been used

to measure the thermal characteristics of roofing materials. Roofmaterials that are good reflectors of heat help reduce the needfor air conditioning inside homes and small commercial build-ings. In Figure 2, thermograms of photovoltaic roof tiles helpdetermine the effect of tile design on solar cell operating tem-peratures (cooler photovoltaics are more efficient).

—Brent GriffithBrent [email protected](510) 486-6061; fax (510) 486-6046http://windows.lbl.gov/facilities/irlab/

Figure 1. Thermograms ofhollow (left) and foam-filled(right) vinyl windows, show-ing higher interior surfacetemperature and reducedheat loss in the latter.

Figure 2. Ther-mograms of photovoltaic roof tiles.

Berkeley Lab researchers Daniel Türler and Deb Hopkins at workin Detroit.


According to a first-of-its-kind study by EETD researchers,the U.S. iron and steel industry could cost-effectivelyreduce its energy use by 18% while producing the same

amount of iron and steel. The reduction in energy use wouldresult in a 19% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases,according to the study, which examined the steel industry’s cur-rent practices and the potential costs and savings of adopting 47retrofit technologies.

Ernst Worrell, Nathan Martin, and Lynn Price, of Berkeley Lab’sEnvironmental Energy Technologies Division, authored the study.It is the first in a series of assessments of various U.S. industriesand a product of the team’s effort to develop a national and inter-national database of industrial energy use. With the help ofexperts throughout the world in the International Network ofEnergy Demand In theIndustrial Sector (INEDIS)network (see followingarticle), EETD’s study isone of the first to assessthe cost-effectiveness oftechnologies to improvethe industry’s energy effi-ciency. Improving energyefficiency of the steelindustry not only reducesits energy costs and pollu-tant emissions, but canalso make the industrymore competitive.

Among the world’seight largest steel-produc-ing nations, South Korea,Germany, and Japan havethe most energy-efficientsteel industries. SouthKorea’s industry is themost energy-efficient,using fewer than 20 gigajoules (GJ) per metric ton of steel in 1994(the higher the energy intensity, the lower the energy efficiencyof the industry). The U.S. stands at slightly over 25 GJ/metric ton(1994). Reviewing the industry as a whole, U.S. steel plants arerelatively old and production has fluctuated dramatically in therecent past. Steel production in the U.S. peaked at 136 millionmetric tons in 1973, and then fluctuated between 1974 and 1982,when production crashed to 68 million metric tons, due to weak-ened global demand for steel as well as the closure of older, lesscompetitive mills. Except for a couple of periods of decline, pro-duction began to grow slowly again and by 1998 reached 98 mil-lion metric tons.

Between 1958 and 1994, the U.S. steel industry modernized—closing open-hearth furnaces, increasing use of continuous cast-ing, introducing new energy-efficient electric arc furnaces—andimproved its energy efficiency. Even so, additional technologiesexist to reduce energy use for steel production. The report’s 47energy-efficient measures range from technologies that are spe-cific to the steel industry to general process improvements that

are widely adaptable to different industries. Examples of the for-mer category include direct fuel injection in the blast furnace,scrap preheating in the electric arc furnace, and thin slab casting.General process measures include improved process mainte-nance and the use of an energy-monitoring and control system toregulate a steel plant’s energy use.

For example, thin slab casting consolidates the casting and hotrolling steps of steel production into one, dramatically reducingenergy use by 5 GJ per metric ton, due to energy and materialsavings. Although investments are estimated at $135 per metricton, production costs are reduced by $25 to $36 per metric ton.This results in a simple payback period of just over three years.Several U.S. plants use this technology, but many more couldimplement it.

Many of the othertechnologies described inthe report are in a similarstate of deployment: theyare used in steel indus-tries throughout theworld, including the U.S.,but the wider use ofsome of these technolo-gies in the U.S. wouldhelp improve competi-tiveness and energy effi-ciency.

EETD’s researchersranked the individualtechnologies and prac-tices, which were orga-nized in a so-called ener-gy-savings supply curve,depicting the potential ofenergy efficiencyimprovement as a func-tion of the costs to

achieve these savings (see Figure). An energy-savings supplycurve can schematically represent information on the selectedpractices and technologies, as well as help to identify low-costopportunities.

The study team plans to investigate the energy efficiency ofother U.S. industries, including cement, pulp and paper, chemi-cals, and petroleum refining. They are also working to assessenergy-efficient measures that are applicable to many differentindustries, such as steam production and distribution systems.

— Allan Chen, Ernst Worrell, and Lynn Price

Ernst Worrell Lynn [email protected] [email protected] (510) 486-6794; fax (510) 486-6996 (510) 486-6519; fax (510) 486-6996

“Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions Reduction Opportunities in the U.S. Ironand Steel Sector,” Berkeley Lab Report No. LBNL-41724, is available from ErnstWorrell and Lynn Price or at http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/IEUA/IEUA.html.

This research is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Energy-Efficiency Improvementsfor the U.S. Steel Industry

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1994 weighted average price of fuel ($2.14/GJ)

18% of primary energy usefor total U.S. steel productionin 1994

Energy savings (GJ/tonne)

Cost of Conserved Energy Discount Rate=30%

($/GJ)

The first supply curve for energy savings in the U.S. iron and steel industry. Thefigure shows that using a hurdle rate of 30% for investments, we can improveenergy efficiency cost-effectively by 18% by adopting all commercially availabletechnologies that fall below the weighted average price of fuel.


INEDIS: Global Networkfor Industrial Energy AnalysisThe objective of the International Network for Energy

Demand Analysis in the Industrial Sector (INEDIS) is tostrengthen the analysis of industrial energy use. Energy-use

patterns in the industrial sector, the largest global energy user, arepoorly understood. INEDIS, begun in 1998, consists of researchgroups from various countries who are collecting data on indus-trial energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, and con-ducting trend analyses, policy evaluations, and technology assess-ments. The European Commission (ENRICH-programme, DG-XII)and Berkeley Lab (USA) have provided seed funding, while anumber of individual projects have provided funding to collectand analyze industrial energy use for specific countries.

Within the manufacturing sector, a subset of industries existsin which the energy required to produce a unit of economic out-put is three to five times greater than the average energy requiredfor industry overall. In this subset of energy-intensive industries,raw materials are transformed or converted into intermediate andfinished products, accounting for 40 to 80% of manufacturingenergy use depending on the country. Efficiency or technologyimprovements that can reduce energy demand in these key raw-materials industries will play an important role in reducing glob-al industrial energy demand and greenhouse-gas emissions.

INEDIS focuses on a number of specific industrial sectors aswell as cross-cutting issues. Network participants compile,exchange, and analyze data on energy use and efficiency for par-ticular industrial subsectors (see Table 1).

Global Energy Demand DatabaseTypes of quantitative data and information collected by INEDISinclude national time-series data of energy consumption by fuel,output by process type and product types, and the shares of keyproduction technologies. The database also contains data ontrade, economic output, and factor costs (e.g., energy prices,labor costs). The database will be accessible to all network mem-bers through the World Wide Web. An electronic discussiongroup on industrial energy issues is available for members.

Special Topic ReportsThe strength of a network is its ability to bring togetherresearchers, analysts, and industrial professionals to engage incollaborative analyses of key industrial topics, including interna-tional assessments of energy efficiency in industry, energy-effi-ciency research and development, trends in energy use in sector-

specific process technologies, energy-efficiency policy effective-ness, and industrial ecology.

Participating OrganizationsThe institutes that initiated INEDIS have developed international-ly accepted methodologies for comparisons of energy efficiencyand energy-efficiency developments. Around 20 institutes andinternational organizations are currently part of INEDIS (see Table2). The network organized the recent International Workshop on“Industrial Energy Efficiency Policies: Understanding Success andFailure” in The Netherlands; a copy of the proceedings is avail-able.

INEDIS is interested in adding other members to increase itsgeographical coverage and to strengthen its industrial energyanalysis work.

Visiting ResearchersINEDIS researchers are encouraged to collaborate on industrial-sector analyses and to spend time at other INEDIS organizationsto exchange data and information. Over the past two years, EETDhas hosted visiting researchers from Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico,The Netherlands, and Portugal and will be hosting a visitor fromSouth Korea in the near future. LBNL scientists have collaboratedon various projects with the visiting researchers.

—Ernst Worrell and Lynn PriceErnst Worrell Lynn [email protected] [email protected] (510) 486-6794 Phone (510) 486-6519 fax (510) 486-6996 fax (510) 486-6996http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/IEUA/IN/InternationalNet.html

This research is supported by the European Commission, Lawrence Berkeley Nation-al Laboratory, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Table 2. Current participants in the INEDIS network.

National InstitutesLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory U.S.Utrecht University NetherlandsUniversidade de Coimbra, ISR PortugalFraunhofer, Gesellschaft ISI GermanyLund University SwedenFederal University of Rio de Janiero BrazilTATA Energy Research Institute IndiaCanadian Industry Energy End-Use Dataand Analysis Center Canada

Department of Minerals and Energy South AfricaInha University South KoreaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México MexicoPolytechnic University Bucharest UNESCO Chair RomaniaAKF DenmarkETH Zürich Switzerland

International OrganizationsAsia Pacific Energy Research Centre APECInternational Energy Agency OECDWorld Energy Efficiency Association Global

Table 1. Focus areas of INEDIS data-collection effort.

Sector Area of FocusMetals Iron, steel, aluminumFuel conversion Petroleum refining, coke productionBuilding materials Cement, glass, bricks, tilesForest products Pulp, paperChemicals Chlorine, ethylene, ammoniaLight industries Food processing, metals

fabrication, other light industriesCross-cutting Energy efficiency and CO2 mitigation

policies, cross-cutting technologies(e.g., cogeneration, motors)


Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) were establishedin 1955 to provide funds to large, medium, and smallindustry in India. They finance new industrial projects as

well as expansion, diversification, and modernization of existingindustrial enterprises. In 1997-98, for instance, the IndustrialDevelopment Bank of India (IDBI) and the Industrial Credit andInvestment Corporation of India, the two largest DFIs, provided$12 billion worth of financing. In recent years, DFIs have beenactive in managing and lending for industrial energy-efficiencyand environmental projects. Because of their role in lending forindustrial institutions, the DFIs are in a position to transform themarket for industrial energy efficiency and environmental pollu-tion-control activities.

We evaluated the potential role for IDBI in lending for energyefficiency and environmental pollution-control activities. TheAsian Development Bank had provided IDBI a $150 million loanfor the Industrial Energy Efficiency Project at the request of theGovernment of India to improve energy efficiency in the mod-ernization and expansion of industry. The primary energy-effi-ciency criterion for selecting industrial projects was that the mod-ernized or expanded plant show at a minimum an energy-effi-ciency improvement of 18%. In addition, a technical assistanceproject accompanied this line of credit to IDBI. This projectformed the basis of our evaluation.

The project’s main activities were to evaluate the investmentpotential for energy efficiency/environmental management(EE/EM) activities or projects in ten industrial sectors and to rec-ommend ways to strengthen IDBI’s institutional capacity, policies,and procedures for EE/EM lending on a regular and organizedbasis. The evaluation of these industrial sectors revealed aninvestment potential, with a payback period of less than fouryears, that exceeded $1 billion (Rs. 45 billion). The IDBI evalua-tion identified many areas where establishing an energy and envi-ronmental center would accelerate efficiency investments.

The consultant’s team also conducted in-house seminars, over-seas training programs, and site visits to steel, paper, and alu-minum plants; organized outreach workshops for industry; andprovided bibliographic information for the IDBI library.

The technical assistance project was managed by a U.S. com-pany, Energy Resources International, with primary responsibilityfor the technical aspects covered by Berkeley Lab and Dalal Con-sultants and Engineers Ltd. of India. Indian sector specialists werehired to study the potential for energy-efficiency improvementand environmental management.

Findings of the project reveal a need to (1) use EE/EM indica-tors during IDBI’s appraisal, approval, and monitoring of projects,(2) increase the EE/EM information resource base—in-house andout-of-house EE/EM experts, handbooks, and computerized databases—that IDBI staff can access, and (3) increase awareness ofEE/EM components among industrial borrowers. The sector stud-ies show that there is at least a 20% lag compared to best prac-tice for energy use and that a significant potential exists for invest-ment in EE/EM activities. These activities include housekeepingmeasures such as improved lighting, variable-speed motors/dri-ves, and improving power factor; installing co-generation andcaptive power generation units; and changing manufacturing

processes to more efficient and less polluting ones.Potential for investment in each sector varies with the types of

options identified in Table 1. These estimates are based on thecost-effective technical potential without taking into considerationthe practical challenges or the current industrial stagnation.

The factors that keep energy efficiency low vary among thesectors. A key barrier, however, is the institutional weakness inpromoting energy efficiency and better environmental manage-ment. Some sectors, such as textiles, have research institutionsthat provide information on energy efficiency, and the Indiangovernment has established the Energy Management Center andthe National Productivity Council to study and promote efficientuse of energy. The research and studies, however, have not beenfully deployed into energy-efficiency projects.

Financial institutions, such as IDBI, are in a position to helpindustry overcome some of these key barriers. We recommendthat IDBI establish a resource center for this purpose. It wouldhave or be equipped to call upon the necessary technical exper-tise, collate and maintain data for industry to use, prepare hand-books for each industry sector, and publicize the importance ofenergy efficiency and environmental management, through theissuance of annual reports and by establishing awards for bestpractices.

— Jayant Sathaye, Ashok Gadgil, and Manas Mukhopadhyay

Jayant Sathaye Ashok [email protected] [email protected](510) 486-6294; fax (510) 486-6996 (510) 486-4651; fax (510) 486-6658

Manas Mukhopadhyay is with Dalal Consultants and Engineers.

This research is supported by the Industrial Development Bank of India.

Development Banks and IndustrialEnergy Efficiency in India

Table 1. Energy-efficiency investment potential in India.

Sector Rupees (millions) $ (millions)Aluminum 8,400 190Cement 3,000 70Chemicals

(caustic soda) 5,000 120Copper 250 6Fertilizer 5,000 120Iron and steel 10,000 240Pulp and paper 5,000 120Sugar 3,200 75Textiles 9,000 200Zinc 150 3


For several years EETD staff have researched how to improveenergy efficiency in the buildings of high-technology indus-tries—mainly laboratories and cleanrooms, but other ener-

gy-intensive facilities as well. Energy usage in high-tech buildingsaccounts for a larger portion of the operating costs than in otherbuildings. Energy use is 4 to 100 times more in these buildings.In one 1993 calculation, high-technology buildings in Californiarequired approximately 8,800 GWh of electricity to operate. By1997 the overall electrical energy use of such facilities had grownby 10%. This is a significant increase because it indicates growtheven though the trend has been for companies to build thesetypes of facilities outside of California in part because of energycosts. Because these industries change processes and productsoften, frequent opportunities arise to capture energy savings.Potential reductions of up to 50% have been demonstrated bycase studies.

Industries utilizing laboratories and cleanrooms include semi-conductor manufacturers and suppliers; pharmaceutical, biotech,and disk drive manufacturing; and a host of others. Some firmshave already begun preliminary steps to reduce energy con-sumption. But firms with fewer resources could benefit from tech-nology transfer and innovative implementation.

Such reasoning led to the development of the Design Guidefor Laboratory-Type Facilities (see http://Ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/). This web-based, downloadable tool provides valuableinformation for building designers, owners, and operators. But tofoster even larger energy savings, a “Design Intent” tool underdevelopment will provide a mechanism to track energy-relatedinformation throughout the life cycle of the building.

To approach the challenge of capturing increased energy sav-ings, Applications Team researchers propose to apply researchwhere benefits can be captured from prior research investments.Crucial to this is a long-range roadmap that will give industryclear paths for development, setting performance targets, andovercoming barriers.

Areas for SavingsA number of technologies can be developed to overcome barri-ers to more energy-efficient cleanrooms. EETD’s focus is the facil-ity itself. Improvements in the process systems and equipment inthe facility are targeted as later priorities. The vision for savingsincludes:

• a 50% reduction in building energy use for comparableproduction within 10 years,

• emissions reductions,• measurement systems for continuous monitoring and

improvement,• improved facility productivity,• improved worker and public safety,• new technologies to reduce cleanroom area and optimize

cleanliness,• improved use of “green” technologies.

Prior Berkeley Lab work with commercial buildings demon-strated that performance-assurance practices need to take intoaccount the largest energy-using components. In most buildingsthese are the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems.

HVAC systems within a research facility present complex chal-lenges because of the large volumes of exhausted and circulatedair as well as the need for humidity and filtering. Other areas thatcould offer additional energy savings include heat-recoveryprocess systems and lighting. EETD staff has conducted researchin collaboration with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,EPRI, and Sematech, and a number of industrial companies inter-ested in energy efficiency.

Low-Flow Fume HoodOne Berkeley Lab-developed technology that arose from effortsto save energy in high-tech buildings is a low-flow laboratoryfume hood. The design provides containment by introducing dis-placement air flow at the fume hood opening, creating an air dambetween the operator and hood contents. The air-dam approachdiffers from an air curtain in that the air flow is low velocity, sup-plied from top and bottom, and nonturbulent. The hood helpsprotect the operator and delivers dramatic cost reductions in con-struction and operation. Computational fluid dynamic modelingwas used to further optimize the performance of the technology.A commercial version of the fume hood is now being developedwith an industrial partner.

—Bill TschudiBill [email protected](510) 495-2417; fax (510) 486.4089http://Ateam.lbl.gov/DesignGuide/

This research is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Institutefor Energy Efficiency, and the California Energy Commission.

A low-flow fume hood could be part of an energy-saving strategyfor high-tech industries.

High-Tech BuildingsApplications Team Report


Industrial compressed air systems in the U.S. consume nearly90 billion kWh annually. The efficiency of these systems couldbe improved by 20 to 50% by applying best practices that rely

primarily on changes in operation and maintenance procedures.Yet these best practices are not in common use despite wide-spread recognition among industry experts. Taking advantage ofthe large but overlooked opportunities for improving the energyefficiency of entire systems will require a shift in thinking by bothsystem users and the businesses that serve them.

Is there a role for government to work within U.S. industrial mar-kets to encourage greater energy efficiency? EETD’s researchers inthe Washington, D.C., office think so, and have been developing,testing, and implementing ways to collaborate more effectively withindustry in the area of electric motor-driven systems.

EETD researchers have been seeking methods to effect aninstitutional and behavioral change, rather than the technologicalchange more typical of energy-efficiency market interventions. Itis assumed that the structural shifts resulting from institutional orbehavioral change will create an environment for further techno-logical innovation. Since it engages many aspects of a market, thisapproach is described as collaborative intervention. Its successdepends on identifying business opportunities to sustain thedesired market change.

Collaborative intervention places government in the role of abroker or facilitator, responsible for setting out initial goals. Mar-ket participants are invited to be champions of these goals andcollectively determine the best way to achieve these goals. Inexchange, government—acting as the broker—can recognizethem for the risks they assume. This approach seeks to exploit thedifferent, and potentially complementary, roles and competenciesof the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. The four key ele-ments of this strategy are:

• broadly defining the goals with no predetermined way ofachieving them;

• creating an atmosphere of mutual respect;• acknowledging and accepting that the participants will act

in ways that are consistent with their economic and politi-cal self-interest; and

• establishing a high tolerance for the ambiguity and tensioninvolved in forming coalitions across typical market structures.

The first application of this approach is the Compressed AirChallenge (CAC), which seeks to transform the customer and sup-plier relationships for industrial compressed air systems. The CAC isan outgrowth of work on Industry Partnerships for the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy’s Motor Challenge Program. This industry is suitedfor a collaborative intervention because of characteristics includingmarket structures, market size, pressure to change, system improve-ment opportunities, and barriers to achieving those opportunities.

Fourteen project sponsors each contributed $30,000 per yearfor two years to provide development funds for the project. Thesponsors make up an Advisory Board. Another body, the ProjectDevelopment Committee, represents a cross-section of stakehold-ers, whether or not they were sponsors. The group decided thatits primary mission was education and awareness to encourage ashift from a components to a system services approach. The focusis on encouraging this shift in the relationship between users of

compressed air systems and the businesses that serve them.Accomplishments to date include:

• in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, pre-pared, published, and sold more than 1,200 copies ofImproving Compressed Air System Performance: A Source-book for Industry;

• developed and tested a one-day training program for plantengineers, Fundamentals of Compressed Air Systems;

• selected and trained 24 instructors;• conducted 35 Fundamentals training sessions as of June

1999;• placed full-page ads in Plant Engineering and Plant Ser-

vices magazines and sent a national mailing to 5,000 plantengineers;

• created a web site (http://www.knowpressure.org); and• began work on a two-day advanced training session.

While the impact of this effort is too new to measure, evidenceof change is accumulating. For instance, at one recent meeting ofa distributors’ association, one seasoned distributor describedhow the change to a system services approach had built a lastingcustomer relationship:

“A new customer called me asking for a third bid on a 200 hpair compressor. In the past, I would have sharpened my penciland submitted the lowest bid possible to try to get a new cus-tomer. This time, I asked two questions: ‘Are you sure you needone? Do you mind if I come out and take a look at your systemto see if you do?’ The result was that I didn’t sell him a 200 hpcompressor; I sold him a smaller one, controls, storage, and oth-er services. I got his system running better than it ever had before.Now that customer thinks I’m a hero.”

The collaborative approach is also being applied to the pulpand paper industry, industrial pumping systems, and internation-al work on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Motor Chal-lenge program.

—Aimee McKaneAimee [email protected](202) 484-0880; fax (202) 484-0888

This work is sponsored by the Office of Industrial Technologies.

Working Within Marketsto Affect Change

Materialsprocessing

Refrigeration

Other

Pumps

Fans

Aircompressors

Materialshandling

Source: DOE/OakRidge

Motor system energy by application.


Anew lightweight, inexpensive, accurate carbon monoxide(CO) sensor and monitoring system have been developedby EETD researchers and Quantum Group Incorporated

(QGI, San Diego). Field testing of the new device at the MosconeConvention Center in San Francisco has shown that it is moreaccurate than the personal CO monitors currently on the market.

About 19,000 accidental CO poisonings were reported by theAmerican Association of Poison Control Centers in 1995, but verylittle is known about the actual extent and distribution of COexposures in the U.S. Five hundred to a thousand accidentaldeaths a year are attributed to CO poisoning, and it is the num-ber one cause of unintentional poisoning in the U.S. Total num-bers of poisonings are difficult to estimate because the effects ofsub-acute CO poisoning are easily misdiagnosed as flu-like symp-toms such as headaches and dizziness.

Limited Knowledge of ExposuresBecause there has been no affordable way to accurately measureCO in the field, understanding about CO exposure risks is limit-ed. Some of the current methods of measurement require expen-sive, heavy equipment or unwieldy air bag samplers. Others arerelatively inexpensive and lightweight, but they are not accurateor sensitive enough to provide credible quantitative results for alarge number of sites.

To fill this gap in technology, Berkeley Lab and QGI workedtogether to develop the new CO sensor, which can clip onto aperson’s clothing. It can be used as an occupational dosimeter,which measures a worker’s time-weighted average exposure toCO over an eight-hour period, or as a residential passive samplermeasuring time-weighted average exposure in a home or office

over a one-week period. CO poisonings are most often caused by exposure to exces-

sive indoor levels of the gas. Faulty combustion appliances, suchas gas stoves or gas-burning water or space heaters, can raise COlevels into the danger zone, as can automobile exhaust inenclosed spaces. Although CO concentrations are regulated out-doors by national and state ambient air quality standards, most

people spend 90% or more of their time indoors,which is where elevated CO exposures are likely tooccur.

How it WorksThe LBNL/QGI Occupational CO Dosimeter(LOCD) consists of a square polystyrene vial lessthan two inches long. The device contains a COsensor made of palladium and molybdenum, a dif-fusion tube to control the rate at which CO is sam-pled, and a cap to seal the system.

When the user removes the cap, CO diffuses tothe sensor at a constant rate over the sampling peri-od, typically an eight-hour work shift. CO in the airreacts with the sensor at the end of the tube, turn-ing it from yellow to blue in proportion to COexposure. Analysis is simple—the device is placedinto a standard lab spectrophotometer, which, bymeasuring its color change, instantly indicates howmuch CO the sensor absorbed. A single LOCD canbe reused many times.

To prove that the sensor works accurately in thefield, the EETD research team conducted a study ofthe CO exposure of workers at San Francisco’sMoscone Convention Center in cooperation withCrawford Risk Control Services, an Oakland firm.

Carbon MonoxideOccupational Sensor

Seal

Blue IndicatorSilica Gel

Sealing materialFittingPlug

PolystyreneCuvette

Polycarbonatesensor holder

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continued on page 16

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Expose in OccupationalEnvironment worker/workplace

ExposedDosimeter

The LBNL/QGI carbon monoxide occupational dosimeter. (NOTE: Silica gel’s true color is blue.)

When the user removes the plug, air flows into the diffusion tube at a constant rate(2). The CO in the air reacts with the sensor at the end of the tube, slowly turningit blue. The color change as measured by placing the device into a spectropho-tometer, before and after use, indicates the exposure to carbon monoxide (1,3).


Most proposed reductions in industrial energy use arereductions in the energy used to produce a constantamount of product, or substitutions of a less energy-

intensive material. What are generally absent are “demand-side”or “end-use” approaches that change the way materials are usedto reduce the amount that needs to be produced in the first place.As with building energy efficiency, the services delivered aremaintained or improved.

The potential for this type of reduction in materials demandhas not been explored comprehensively, so is not known. How-ever, reducing materials demand across the board by 20% wouldreduce industrial energy use by about 20% as well, with tremen-dous economic and environmental benefits. Many of these bene-fits are of such a nature that changes in production efficiency donot deliver. In general, end-use efficiency does not conflict withproduction efficiency; rather it complements it (except for reduc-ing the rate of production facility turnover).

Since end-use efficiency is traditionally not considered anoption for materials, little work has been done in the area. How-ever, recent EETD work on paper use illustrates the topic well.Most office workers know from personal experience that theamount of office paper used is considerably larger than necessaryto accomplish the tasks at hand, so the notion that paper use canbe reduced is readily acceptable.

Our work has focused on “copy paper”—the type of paperused in copiers, printers, and fax machines. Most of our effort hasdocumented baseline patterns of paper use, such as measuringthe amounts used in different types of devices, activities, andorganizations; the costs associated with paper use (particularlyimaging); and particular use patterns, such as duplexing rates. Wehave assessed methods for reducing paper use and their poten-tial, and benefits, and measured the effect of several interven-tions. Finally, we produced information that others can use tounderstand and improve their use of copy paper.

A key finding of our work is that while the cost of purchasingcopy paper is typically only about $50 per office worker per year,the costs of use are generally about ten times this, or $500. Thisamount is large enough to make efficiency improvements com-pelling. We measured duplexing rates on many copiers overextended periods of time. We found that the rates vary widelyand that even simple, inexpensive interventions can save consid-erable paper. In assessing technologies and policies, we haveidentified several good ways to transform future office equipmentto reduce paper use without involving consumers directly. Final-ly, we provided background research for several “paper efficien-cy” requirements that were incorporated into the “Copier of theFuture,” a project of the International Energy Agency.

A Savings ExampleAn obvious way to use less paper is to use both sides of each sheet.This use is measured by the “duplexing rate,” the fraction of imagesthat are on sheets of paper imaged on both sides. For example,three images—two on one sheet and one on another—result in aduplexing rate of 67%. Duplexing rates are usually measured overa period of time for one or more pieces of imaging equipment.

Most copies made today are single-sided. Some documents

need to be single-sided or are only one page; others need to beduplexed. However, for many copies, either is acceptable, soshifting some from single-sided to duplexed is a paper-savingopportunity.

For historical reasons, the majority of copiers have one-to-onecopying as the default, but most copiers can be set to default tomaking double-sided copies.

We measured the duplexing rate on two copiers for severalmonths, and after one month changed the default copy mode todouble-sided. For both copiers, the average duplexing rate rosemarkedly with default duplex. On copier 1, the duplexing raterose from 38% to 55%; on copier 2, it was already high at 59%, butmaintained a 74% average rate. The reduction in paper use in bothcases was just over 10%. The “national average” figure of 18% forthis size of copier is questionable, but is the best data available.

The figure shows the data in more detail. The x-axis is thenumber of images made and corresponds to time. Each “stairstep”represents about 2 weeks. The duplexing rate below 20% isalmost certainly a data-collection error, as the data point before itis also suspiciously high. The errors cancel each other out whencalculating the duplexing rate for the entire period.

Similar results are likely for printers. A 10% reduction in copypaper use nationally would reduce annual paper use by abouthalf a million tons, with a value to the economy in excess of halfa billion dollars and energy savings equivalent to 1.6 TWh.

—Bruce Nordman Bruce [email protected](510) 486-7089; fax (510) 486-4673

For further information on reducing copy paper use, see the “Cutting Paper” website, http://eetd.lbl.gov/paper.

This research is sponsored by the the Department of Energy's Waste MinimizationProgram and the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® Program.

Materials End-Use Efficiency toReduce Industrial Energy Demand

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The x-axis is the number of images made and so corresponds totime. Each “stairstep” represents about two weeks.


Max Sherman, group leader of EETD’s Energy Performance ofBuildings Group has written two articles describing the draftASHRAE Standard 62.2P in the May 1999 editions of the ASHRAEJournal and Contracting Business (Sherman, M.H. “Standard 62Goes Residential,” Contracting Business, May 1999. 56: 5, pp 56-59; Sherman, M.H. “Indoor Air Quality for Residential Buildings,”ASHRAE Journal, May 1999.) Sherman is the chairman of theASHRAE Standard Project Committee 62.2P. This standard, “Venti-lation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise ResidentialBuildings,” is now ready for public review. It defines the mini-mum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systemsand the building envelope in single-family and low-rise multi-family structures. The intent of the standard is to address publicinterest in residential indoor air quality and ventilation; that inter-est has grown with the increase in energy-efficient houses andhealthier building materials.

Public review will begin this summer. For more information,contact Max Sherman, (510) 486-4022, or visit the ASHRAE website (http://www.ashrae.org/ash_home.htm).

XRF Helps Archaeologists Determinethe Origin of Ancient PotteryEETD’s Frank Asaro and Robert D. Giauque worked with D.Adan-Bayewitz of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University to demonstrate theeffectiveness of a new methodology of X-ray fluorescence (XRF)for determining the origin of ancient pottery.

Determining the origin (“provenance”) of ancient pottery canhelp archaeologists better understand the relationships and influ-ences between peoples. Correlating pottery fragments found inexcavations with the ancient workshops in which they weremade helps illuminate the trade and cultural contacts amongancient settlements.

By measuring the abundances of trace and major elements ina pottery fragment and comparing them with the same parame-ters in the soil and artifacts at known pottery workshops,researchers can often determine provenance. Instrumental neu-tron activation analysis (INAA) has been the method of choice formeasuring elemental abundances because of its great precisionand reliability, but it has some disadvantages. One is that INAArequires a nuclear reactor, and XRF does not. Another involvescomplicated sample preparation and analytical procedures—INAA results can often take several weeks to complete, even fora small number of samples.

Asaro and Giauque demonstrated that XRF can be used todetermine pottery provenance with measurement precision com-parable to INAA’s. XRF does not require a nuclear facility, relyinginstead on a widely available lab equipment—a conventional sil-icon X-ray spectrometer with an X-ray tube. A single investigatorcan often complete XRF results in just a few hours.

The research team analyzed pottery samples from severalancient Palestinian sites in the Galilee and Golan areas of theMiddle East using both the standard INAA method and XRF. Theages of the artifacts ranged from the first century B.C. to fourthcentury A.D. Adan-Bayewitz, Asaro, and Giauque demonstratedthat the 10 most precisely measured by XRF were measured as

well as the 10 most precisely measured elements by INAA. XRFwas also able to distinguish better than INAA between two setsof pottery from nearby sites that were very similar in composition.The team showed that XRF holds promise as a cheaper, fastermethod than INAA for determining archaeological provenancewhile being equally effective.

Adan-Bayewitz, D., F. Asaro, and R.D. Giauque. “DeterminingPottery Provenance: Application of a New High-Precision X-RayFluorescence Method and Comparison with Instrumental NeutronActivation Analysis,” Archaeometry 41 (1999), 1-24.

EETD Research Team Wins ArchitectureResearch AwardRecognizing the research program “Daylighting with IntegratedEnvelope and Lighting Systems,” Architecture magazinebestowed a 1999 Award for Architectural Research on a team ofEETD building scientists. The six-year research program demon-strated how to integrate existing and prototype window and light-ing technologies into advanced systems that attain greater energyefficiency and occupant comfort than conventional design prac-tice.

The winning team was led by Stephen Selkowitz, head ofEETD’s Building Technologies Department, and Eleanor Lee,EETD Project Manager. It also included Dennis DiBartolomeo,Francis Rubinstein, Liliana Beltrán, Joseph Klems, Robert Sullivan,Edward Vine, and Robert Clear, all of EETD.

The award, co-sponsored by Architecture magazine and theInitiative for Architectural Research, is one of the profession’shighest honors for innovative research. The Initiative is a cooper-ative effort of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architec-ture, the American Institute of Architects, and the ArchitecturalResearch Centers Consortium.

“This is an excellent example of applied research in which theresults are greater than the sum of the individual componentsbecause of an integration of scientific knowledge—a real modelof what architecture can bring to the table,” said Richard Eribes,one of three award jurors. Selkowitz accepted the award for theproject team at a ceremony in New York City’s Paula CooperGallery. The Berkeley Lab research is described in the April 1999issue of the magazine.

“The honor is yet another recognition of Berkeley Lab’s out-standing contributions toward improving our nation’s efficientuse and conservation of energy,” said Laboratory Director CharlesShank. “Stephen Selkowitz and his colleagues are to be congrat-ulated for their creative solutions to the challenges of maximizingthe use of natural light in building design.”

More information about the award can be found at http://win-dows.lbl.gov/comm_perf/daylight/.

Research Highlights

An Overview of Proposed ASHRAE Standards


During the set-up of shows in the Center’s 442,000 square feet ofexhibition space, some 40 propane-powered forklifts are activealmost continuously throughout the building. Diesel trucks alsodrive up to interior docks from the outside.

Before the study, Moscone Center management had alreadyput a number of safety measures in place to reduce worker andbuilding occupant exposures to CO, including installing catalyticconverters on the forklifts and modifying the building’s ventila-tion system to reduce exhaust concentrations.

The Berkeley Lab team gave the 60 workers who volunteeredfor the study the new occupational sensor, which was clipped tothe workers’ lapels. They were also given commercially availablediffusion tubes, used to measure CO exposure. The team alsomeasured CO levels using traditional methods, including air bagsamples analyzed in an EPA-approved lab procedure and real-time CO personal monitors containing an electrochemical sensor.Exposures were measured over a three-day period.

The tests showed that the LOCD measured average workshiftCO exposures accurately to within one part per million. The com-mercially available diffusion tube underreported CO exposuresby an average of about three parts per million. The results showthat the new device represents a major improvement over currentmeasurement technology.

Worker CO exposures were almost all below the strict Cal-OSHA occupational standard of 25 parts per million. One workerwhose exposure exceeded the standard probably received exces-sive exposure from operating a forklift in an enclosed semi-trucktrailer. QGI is now looking for private-sector partners for distrib-ution and plans to manufacture and market the CO occupationaldosimeter.

—Allan Chen and Michael Apte

Michael [email protected](510) 486-4669; fax (510) 486-6658

“A New Carbon Monoxide Occupational Dosimeter: Results from a Worker Expo-sure Assessment Survey,” by Michael Apte, Katherine Hammond, Lara Gundel, andDaniel Cox, will be published in the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environ-mental Epidemiology.

This research was sponsored by the Department of Energy under an Office of Sci-ence-sponsored Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. An early phaseof the research was funded by the Office of Building Technologies, State and Com-munity Programs.

Ernest Orlando Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory

Environmental Energy Technologies Division1 Cyclotron RoadBerkeley, CA 94720 USA

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