Resource and Energy Efficiency Analysis in Bottle-To-Bottle Recycling Plant—Case Study

This research presents a practical approach towards resources and energy efficiency in production systems in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The approach is based on mapping the production line using the modelling tool UMBERTO (R) Efficiency+ for the representation of the material and energy flows. A case study from a bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Egypt is selected. Material flow bottle-necks are spotted and energy hotspots are identified. Optimization is implemented in the model and the new values for savings in material, energy and carbon emissions are calculated. The optimized model estimates yearly savings by around 8% in materials and 10% in electricity consumption and consequently in costs and CO2 emissions. The modelling tool UMBERTO Efficiency + facilitated the simple and time efficient assessment of the production sustainability as well as the prediction of the expected savings upon implementation of the modifications which is a practical and convenient approach for the industrial field.