Potential alternative for water and energy savings in the automotive industry: case study for an Austrian automotive supplier

This paper show the alternative possible optimization measures to increase the water and energy efficiency in the automotive industry. Within a potential study the technological system optimization of an automotive supplier was performed by combining the fields of process water reuse and heat recovery. Possible optimization measures to retrofit existing processes with the focus on high pressure die casting and component cleaning were worked out. Furthermore, limiting factors for a successful and extensive implementation in the case of retrofitting existing processes and systems were evaluated.

► We examined process water reuse & heat recovery measures for an automotive supplier.
► Influences between sub-processes and limiting factors were investigated.
► Laboratory and pilot tests to evaluate process water reuse options were performed.
► We pointed out problems for an extensive integration of optimization measures.