Conclusions

In this chapter we have looked at industrial restructuring options in terms of improving energy efficiency in a developing country. We have drawn largely from the example of India because it is not only a poor developing country but has a high rate of industrialization, and thus offers a wide spectrum of possibilities for improvement in efficiency and energy savings. One can assume that what is applicable to India will to a certain degree also hold for all other developing countries. Also, what is applicable to energy consumption in the industrial sector (including transport) will in some respects also be applicable to other raw materials and natural resources.

In general, energy-conservation measures have a positive environmental effect by reducing the volume of pollutants discharged from the energy-conversion process as well as by reducing the throughput of raw materials. However, their effect will depend on the type of measure, the type of industry, and the quantity of energy saved.

The qualitative environmental effects of energy conservation in four energy-intensive industries in India are presented in table 15. These measures have particular relevance for developing countries undertaking major industrial projects as, subject to financial con straints, they can bypass outmoded technologies. This is what has been called the "advantage of the late-comers."

Fig. 2 Potential for energy saving, selected industries in India (Source: Energy Management Centre)

Table 15 Energy-conservation measures in major Indian industry subsectors and environmental impact

Industrial subsector	Pollution	Major energy-conservation measures	Impact on environment
Iron and steel	Coke ovens: sulphur dioxide in air; ammonia steel wastes and light-formed coke oil decanter wastes containing phenols, ammonia, cyanides, chlorides and sulphur compounds	Substitution of metallurgical coke by formed coke	Easier accommodation to pollution control Dry quenching helps in reduction of pollution from the quench tower
	Blast furnace: particulate emissigns in off-gases; H2S and SO2 in air; suspended solids; cyanides, in water; a solid waste as slag	Direct reduction and electric furnace melting	Need for metallurgical coal is voided along with attendant pollution problem
	Steel-making processes: fumes from furnaces; suspended soils in water	Basic oxygen steel-making	Reduction in energy consumption. Better control options on pollution than with open-hearth furnace
	Steel-rolling and furnishing: air borne scale, lubricating oils, spent pickle liquor, and pickling rinse water		Continuous casting; heat conservation; gas cleaning
Cement	Rotary kiln: SO2, Nox, and particulates	Wet process to dry process	Owingto significant impact upon energy requirements, there is a reduction in airborne pollution
	Grinding: particulates		Discharge of water from wet process cement plants is absent in dry-process cement manufacture
		Precalciners	The generation of nitrogen oxides is reduced by both the low temperature and the short time combustion gases he stay in the burning zone, relative to conventional kilns.
		Use of pozzolanic cements and slag cement	The increased use of these cemeets would provide beneficial and economic use of such waste materials as blast furnace slag or fly ash, thereby tending to reduce the environmental prob lems associated with these waste materials
Aluminium	Pollution associated with burning of coal to raise steam for alumina plant and electricity for both alumina and aluminium plants. Fluoride emissions from electrolytic cells	Aluminium chloride electrolysis process to coal saving and reduction related coal-burning	Reduction in electrial energy consumption by 30 per cent leads
		Hard metal cathode made of titanium carbide or titanium dibromice replacing carbon cathode	Reduction in electrical energy is with y 20 per cent, attendant reduction in coal consumption and hence in pollution from coal-buming

Source: Pachauri and Sambasivan, 1989.

In summarizing, the policies of developing countries for the industrial sector should:

- increase awareness about the needs and benefits of energy conservation;
- develop technical expertise through training at various levels;
- provide fiscal incentives/disincentives to implement energy-saving schemes;
- institute a nodal organization to coordinate energy-conservation efforts in industry;
- encourage manufacturers to coordinate energy-conservation efforts in industry;
- encourage manufacture of energy-efficient equipment, devices, and instruments; and
- strike a balance between energy use, energy conservation, and pollutionabatement measures.

What applies to energy consumption naturally also applies to other material inputs, as well as to waste disposal. It seems to us that the pursuance of a conservation strategy such as the one outlined above, motivated by various environmental and economic incentives, constitutes the industrial restructuring agenda for a sustainable development path in developing countries.

The process of industrialization is far from satisfactory in developing countries. There are persistent shortages of basic industrial products such as iron and steel and low per capita availability of these products, in spite of an abundance of natural resources. This being the case, the consumption of raw materials and the production of wastes are probably going to increase further. However, industrial restructuring to reduce the throughput of energy and materials in the industrial system can also occur simultaneously with the process of industrial growth that is under way in developing countries. The potential for this restructuring and, implicitly, for an improved "industrial metabolism" is enormous, as the preceding sections should have demonstrated.