Comparison Study of Energy Intensity in the Textile Industry: A Case Study in Five Textile Sub-sectors

Abstract

This paper contributes to the understanding of energy use in the textile industry by comparing the energy intensity of textile plants in five major sub-sectors, i.e. spinning, weaving, wet-processing, worsted fabric manufacturing, and carpet manufacturing in Iran. Results of the study showed that spinning plant electricity intensity varies between 3.6 MWh/tonne yarn and 6.6 MWh/tonne yarn, while fuel intensity ranges between 6.7 MBtu/tonne yarn and 11.7 MBtu/tonne yarn. In weaving plants, electricity intensity ranges from 1.2 MWh/tonne fabric to 2.2 MWh/tonne fabric, while fuel intensity was 10.1 MBtu/tonne fabric and 16.4 MBtu/tonne fabric for the two plants studied. In three wet-processing plants, the electricity intensity was found to be between 1.5 MWh/tonne finished fabric and 2.5 MWh/tonne finished fabric, while the fuel intensity was between 38.2 MBtu/tonne finished fabric and 106.3 MBtu/tonne finished fabric. In addition, some methodological issues to improve such energy intensity comparison analysis and benchmarking in the textile industry is discussed.