UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Industrial heat pumps and the case for cleaning industrial heat

Q1. In the context of decarbonising industrial process heat, which one of the following best describes an 'industrial heat pump'?

  • A. An electrically-driven device that transfers thermal energy from a lower-temperature source to a higher-temperature process, enabling process heat supply without on-site combustion
  • B. A biomass-fired boiler retrofitted with flue-gas desulphurisation that delivers process steam at sub-critical pressure
  • C. A concentrating solar thermal collector that focuses radiation onto a working fluid to generate medium-pressure industrial steam
  • D. A waste-heat recovery furnace that captures sensible heat from kiln exhaust and feeds it back to upstream combustion air

Q2. The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, which targets energy-intensive industries including those relying on industrial process heat, is administered by which one of the following?

  • A. NITI Aayog under the Green Transition, Energy, Climate and Environment Division
  • B. Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power
  • C. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through the National Bioenergy Programme
  • D. Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Q3. With reference to industrial heat pumps (IHPs) viable in the 90–200°C range, consider the following industrial sectors: 1. Textiles 2. Cement clinker production 3. Food processing 4. Primary iron and steel smelting Which of the above are correctly identified as low-to-medium temperature process-heat sectors most amenable to near-term IHP deployment?

  1. Textiles
  2. Cement clinker production
  3. Food processing
  4. Primary iron and steel smelting
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q4. Which one of the following is the flagship market-based mechanism under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) that targets specific energy consumption norms in India's energy-intensive industries?

  • A. Standards and Labelling Programme
  • B. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)
  • C. Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme
  • D. Bachat Lamp Yojana

Q5. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the nodal agency for industrial energy efficiency interventions including PAT, is a statutory body established under which one of the following?

  • A. The Electricity Act, 2003
  • B. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • C. The Energy Conservation Act, 2001
  • D. The Factories Act, 1948