Optimisation of the Melting Furnace Unit in an Italian Aluminium Foundry to Reduce Gas Methane Consumption

The foundry industry is one of the most energy-intensive industrial sectors. Consequently, the energy cost can reach 7–15% of the cost of the operations. Among all the types of energy used, the most significant part of energy consumption is associated in Italy with gas methane in different typologies of melting furnaces. According to the treated material (e.g., aluminium, steel, cast iron), the foundry process can vary; however, some operations characterize the entire sector, such as the metal melting phase, which is the most energy-intensive stage of the process (it can account up to 70% of the total energy consumption of the foundry). The energy crisis, which has affected companies in these years, determines instability and volatility in energy availability and costs and requires implementing some improvements to optimize energy efficiency and reduce consumption. With the aim of investigating the potential energy reduction in the foundry sector, an Italian aluminium foundry has been considered. The analysis consisted of three main activities: (i) Analysis of the process and mapping of energy and resource consumption at the factory level and in each unit; (ii) Quantification of energy and resource consumption at the factory level according to the ViVACE® method; and (iii) Addressing the critical points (energy consumption) to improve the environmental impact of the foundry. According to this methodology, the optimization of the melting furnace unit has been addressed, allowing the potential saving of gas methane up to 13%.