Influence of Energy Cost on Industrial Competitiveness in a Refined Tuna Protein Processing Company

Abstract

The present work aims to evaluate the factors involved in energy consumption and determine the impact on production costs and competitiveness of the refined tuna protein processing company. Historical data, consumption records, and productive volumes of the 5 stages (reception of raw material, reactor or solids separator, filtration, evaporation, and drying) were analyzed, where the equipment involved in each stage was identified. The electricity demand is 24 h a day, and on average 6 days a week, generating costs that are around 153,000.00 USD per year. As result of the analysis, it was identified that in a general way the percentage of incidence of costs within the production process is 23% of intervention, where the values ​​in dollars invoiced were analyzed, with the costs of the energy consumed per stage within the production process of refined tuna protein. This analysis will allow making decisions regarding investing in projects that help improve energy management through clean energy systems, to protect the environment and be more competitive in the market.