International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—This study aimed to evaluate the potential for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the implementation of energy-efficient measures that involve the replacement of existing machinery and equipment with high-efficiency alternatives. The study’s scope encompassed all industrial factories situated within the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand’s (IEAT) industrial estates. The study utilized data from the designated factory’s energy management report database, which included information regarding the machinery, equipment, and other relevant data pertinent to the research. The categorization of machinery and equipment systems could be done based on the type of energy consumed, which includes electricity and thermal energy. The potential for increasing energy efficiency could be evaluated for each of these energy systems. The study conducted an initial evaluation based on the available data from the designated factory database with regards to enhancing the efficiency of machinery and equipment. Subsequently, the scale-up concept was applied to evaluate the potential of energy efficiency enhancements for the entire industrial factory. The study findings revealed a total GHG reduction potential of 4.63 MtCO₂e, with thermal energy measures accounting for 3.05 MtCO2e (65.83%) and electricity measures accounting for 1.58 MtCO₂e (34.17%). Among the various measures, the implementation of insulating measures for thermal equipment in the furnace system showcased the most significant potential for GHG reduction, with a potential reduction of 2.26 MtCO₂e, accounting for 48.73% of the total GHG reduction potential. Based on these findings, it can be inferred that a reduction of 1 MtCO₂e in GHG emissions could potentially result in a corresponding reduction in energy costs amounting to approximately 8,449–8,889 million baht.

Index Terms—Greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas mitigations, energy efficiency improvements, Thailand’s industrial estates, climate action

Varoon Raksakulkarn is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Wongkot Wongsapai is with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sopit Daroon, Chaichan Ritkrerkkrai, Tassawan Jaitiang, Waranya Thepsaskul, Phitsinee Muangjai, and Orapun Chaikwang are with the Energy Technology for Environment Research Center, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
*Correspondence: wongkot@eng.cmu.ac.th (W.W.)

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Cite: Varoon Raksakulkarn, Wongkot Wongsapai*, Sopit Daroon, Chaichan Ritkrerkkrai, Tassawan Jaitiang, Waranya Thepsaskul, Phitsinee Muangjai, and Orapun Chaikwang, "Potential for Energy Efficiency Improvements to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Thailand’s Industrial Estates," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 299-303, 2023.

Copyright © 2023 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).