Potential alternative for water and energy savings in the automotive industry: case study for an Austrian automotive supplier

This paper show the alternative possible optimization measures to increase the water and energy efficiency in the automotive industry. Within a potential study the technological system optimization of an automotive supplier was performed by combining the fields of process water reuse and heat recovery. Possible optimization measures to retrofit existing processes with the focus on high pressure die casting and component cleaning were worked out. Furthermore, limiting factors for a successful and extensive implementation in the case of retrofitting existing processes and systems were evaluated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.