Energy Audit in the Meat Processing Industry—A Case Study in Hermosillo,Sonora Mexico

Abstract

The meat processing industry, due to its high energy consumption, needs to be assessed in an energy usage basis. This paper reports the results and implications of an energy audit in a meat processing industry. In addition, this work provides a comprehensive and practical approach to energy saving measures in the assessed company to recognize factors that can determine a possible transition to sustainable patterns of electricity consumption. The paper described the application to energy auditing, developed by AFNOR (2014) for efficient energy management along with ISO 50001 (energy management systems). For a more specific energy auditing the guide described by Dall “O” (2013) was used. In this case, a study of an integrative characterization of the company’s energy consumption is made. The research has been divided in two main sections: the first includes an analysis about the characterization of the energy consumption within a meat processing company in the three sustainable approaches such as economical, societal and mainly environmental implications; second, a proposal for strategic energy management measures focusing on high consumer types of facilities. The results obtained allow the identification of main processes with significant correlations in terms of energy consumption within the company. This data has the potential for energy savings. The data acquisition process prompts the development of practical and accessible energy efficiency measures. In addition, a benchmarking analysis with several tools is performed. Altogether, this work gives guidance on the implementation of energy auditing in industries within its geographical and industrial sector limitations.