Experimental assessment of energy consumption and CO ₂ impacts of compressed air leakage across industrial sectors

This study evaluates energy consumption resulting from compressed air leakage and the associated CO 2 equivalent emissions in industrial pneumatic systems. The analysis is based on ultrasonic field measurements conducted in 10 industrial facilities in Turkey. Measurements were performed under normal production conditions. Detected leakage points were classified by equipment category and measured flow rate range. Annual energy losses were calculated using a common SEC reference. The corresponding emission values were calculated using the national electricity emission factor. Leakage ratios ranged from 7% to 33% across the investigated facilities. Facilities with similar system scale showed different leakage ratios. Annual leakage-related energy losses ranged from 26.3 to 271.8 MWh per year. Normalized hourly losses ranged from 4 to 38 kWh/h. The calculated emission values ranged from 10 to 120 tCO 2 per year. Fittings and tubing showed the highest leakage contribution among equipment categories in the measured dataset. Connection sealing was the second major source group. Flow rate range classification separated leakage presence from leakage impact within equipment categories. The findings connect leakage location and measured flow rate with energy loss and calculated emission values in industrial compressed air systems.