Donate Join Our Mailing List Home
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project Southwest Energy Efficiency Project

Alcoa North American Extrusions Plant

Spanish Fork, Utah

Alcoa North America ExtrusionsIn July 2000, the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) at Colorado State University conducted an energy assessment at Alcoa's aluminum extrusion plant in Spanish Fork, Utah. Through the Department of Energy, the IAC has been providing free energy audits for small- and medium-size manufacturing facilities in the region since 1984. The purpose of the assessment was to identify, evaluate, and recommend the most significant opportunities to conserve energy, prevent pollution, and increase productivity at the facility, while at the same time reducing production costs and increasing profits.

Alcoa's plant in Spanish Fork, Utah, produces extruded aluminum products for the automotive industry, electrical equipment, and miscellaneous other uses nationwide. About 300 employees are involved in processing 82 million pounds of extruded products annually. The plant operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year.

Manufacturing at the facility includes both casting and extrusion processes. Process equipment, air compressors, lighting, office cooling, and miscellaneous loads use electricity to operate. Process furnaces for casting and extrusion, as well as space heating for the plant, use natural gas.

IAC recommendations were based on observations and measurements made in the plant. Specific and quantitative recommendations for cost savings, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, and productivity improvement were identified where possible. As of September 2002, the following recommendations had been implemented.

Recommendation Annual Resource Savings Annual Cost Savings ($) Implementation Cost ($) Payback (years)
Turn off melt burners while charging 23,455 MMBtu natural gas 74,960 1,050 0
Turn off saw blow-off hose when not in use 168,200 kWh 6,150 400 0.1
Reduce peak electric demand 600 kWh 6,360 10,000 1.6
Reduce compressed air leaks 171,900 kWh 4,980 1,000 0.2
Install low-pressure blower for agitation of water quench tank 114,200 kWh 4,180 6,780 1.6
Minimize open time of melt furnace door 304 million Btu natural gas 1,260 500 0.4
Install dross press 198,600 lbs solid waste 238 million Btu natural gas 107,610 75,000 0.7
Increase chip recovery from extrusion saw 441,900 lbs solid waste 39,460 10,000 0.3
TOTALS 24,087 million BTu natural gas 454,300 kWh electricity 640,500 lbs solid waste 244,960 104,730 0.43

The measures implemented to date at the Spanish Fork plant have been estimated to reduce electric energy consumption by 454,300 kWh/year; reduce natural gas energy consumption by 24,087 million Btu/year; and reduce nonhazardous solid waste generation by 640,500 lbs/year. The total cost savings is estimated to be $244,960 per year, with an implementation cost of $104,730. Thus, the simple payback period on average was just over five months.