Overview of Energy Consumption Model for Manufacturing Processes

The energy consumption for manufacturing processes is the largest impact contributor in various characterization categories, based on the assessment of environmental effects during the whole life cycle. It is necessary to investigate the manufacturing processes in depth to find out mechanism that can improve energy efficiency. This paper presents a comprehensive overview on two important aspects of energy consumption models for manufacturing processes: 1) two data collection methods: top-down and bottom-up; 2) two process-based analytical methods: thermodynamic model (including energy flow analysis and exergy analysis), and mechanical model. These models can improve energy efficiency.