Electrification potential of U.S. industrial boilers and assessment of the GHG emissions impact

Journal Article · Sun Feb 20 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Advances in Applied Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adapen.2022.100089· OSTI ID:1854585

Schoeneberger, Carrie ^[1]; Zhang, Jingyi ^[1]; McMillan, Colin ^[2]; Dunn, Jennifer B. ^[1]; Masanet, Eric ^[3]

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1. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
2. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
3. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)

Electrification is a key strategy for decarbonizing the industrial sector. Industrial process heating, which still relies heavily on fossil fuel combustion and accounts for the majority of sector wide GHG emissions, is a particularly attractive electrification target. Electrifying industrial boilers represents a cross-cutting opportunity for GHG emissions reductions, given their widespread use in most manufacturing industries. Yet, there are gaps in the understanding of the current population of conventional industrial boilers in the United States that preclude a characterization of boiler electrification's technical potential to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions. In this study, we develop an up-to-date dataset of the industrial boiler population in the U.S. and quantify the county-level electricity requirements and net changes in fuel use and GHG emissions under the current electric grid and theoretical future grid scenarios. Our results show an increase of 105 MMmtCO₂e and 73 MMmtCO₂e in GHG emissions from boiler electrification, with and without the replacement of byproduct fuels, respectively, under the current electric grid, and a reduction of 19 MMmtCO2e and 7 MMmtCO2e in GHG emissions under a future high renewables electric grid. GHG emissions savings are currently possible only in certain regions of the U.S. unless future grids are decarbonized. We also provide discussion that could be useful for policy makers and manufacturing facilities for advancing the electrification of industrial boilers in locations and industries toward fuel savings and GHG emissions reductions.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Strategic Programs
• Grant/Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1854585
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA-6A20-81721; MainId:82494; UUID:ab3e85f2-7873-4573-b292-7ab91d0a21fc; MainAdminID:64020
• Journal Information: Advances in Applied Energy, Journal Name: Advances in Applied Energy Vol. 5; ISSN 2666-7924
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
boiler capacity characterization
decarbonization
electrification
greenhouse gas emissions impact
industrial boiler dataset