Simplification of data acquisition in process integration retrofit of a milk powder production facility

Process integration techniques, such as Pinch Analysis, can be used to effectively detect energy saving opportunities in the industrial sector. However, their application is mainly limited to energy-intensive processes, leaving a large potential untapped in the remaining industrial sectors. One factor that discourages the application of these tools is the requirement of a large amount of reliable data, which may be difficult or time-consuming to gather. This paper presents the application of a method to simplify the data acquisition step of process integration studies on a milk powder production facility. By employing uncertainty analysis and sensitivity analysis techniques, the solution of the factor fixing problem was shown, and a subset of parameters whose accurate estimates were essential to obtain reliable analysis results, were detected. The required data reduction was significant, as only 20 out of the 41 parameters initially considered were deemed to be important. Moreover, the maximum acceptable level of inaccuracy in the definition of these parameters in order to ensure a satisfactory uncertainty level in the analysis output was presented. The output standard deviation was reduced from the initial 47.8 % to 10.0 %, relative to the mean value.