ENERGY-CONSERVATION RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT IN INDUSTRY

A range of retrofit and process changes can lead to substantial reductions in energy use and, of increasing importance, improved competitiveness and pollution abatement. Possible actions for improving energy efficiency in industry are classified. Several examples of past and present research work on heat exchangers and industrial processes are given. The European Commission intends to develop an energy conservation R&D strategy to ensure to an even greater degree that the next R&D programme complies with the needs and possibilities of industry. In a first stage, and in order to establish the strategy, the likely trends in each industrial sector are being assessed, chemicals forming one example. A number of topics have been provisionally selected as being of highest priority.