Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Opportunities for low-grade heat recovery in the UK food

processing industry
Richard Law a, *, Adam Harvey a, David Reay b
a
School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
b
David Reay and Associates, PO Box 25, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear NE26 1QT, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Energy efficiency in the process industry is becoming an increasingly important issue due to the rising
Received 14 December 2011 costs of both electricity and fossil fuel resources, as well as the tough targets for the reduction in
Accepted 15 March 2012 greenhouse gas emissions outlined in the Climate Change Act 2008. Utilisation of waste heat sources is
Available online 23 March 2012
key to improving industrial energy efficiency, with an estimated 11.4 TWh of recoverable heat being
wasted each year, a quarter of which is from the food and drinks processing sector.
Keywords:
This paper examines the low-grade waste heat sources common to the food and drinks processing
Waste heat recovery
sector and the various opportunities for the use of this heat. A review of the best available technologies
Food and drink sector
Low-grade heat
for recovery of waste heat is provided, ranging from heat transfer between source and sink, to novel
technologies for the generation of electricity and refrigeration.
Generally, the most economic option for waste heat recovery is heat exchange between nearby/same
process source and sink, with a number of well-developed heat exchangers widely available for purchase.
More novel options, such as the use of organic Rankine cycles for electricity generation prove to be less
economical due to high capital outlays. However, with additional funding provision for demonstration of
such projects and development of modular units, such technologies would become more common.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction streams of greater than ambient temperature that are currently

Reducing industrial energy consumption is becoming an
increasingly important issue in the UK processing industries
because of various factors. The rising cost of both electricity and
fossil fuel resources [1] provides an ever increasing monetary
incentive while companies are also often keen to be viewed as
sustainable in order to be more attractive in the eyes of key
stakeholders, including the consumer.
However, the principal incentive for reduction in energy
consumption is provided by the tough self-imposed UK govern-
ment legislation outlined in the Climate Change Act 2008 [2]. This
legislation targets an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by
2050 (based on 1990 levels), and an interim target of 34% by 2020.
With UK industry contributing around 20% [3] of current emissions,
it is expected that particular emphasis will be placed on the process
industries to reduce emissions.
With the demand for industrial produce unlikely to drop,
especially in the crucial food/beverages sector, the emphasis is on
reducing energy consumption by increasing energy efficiency. A
key way of doing-so is to recover energy from waste streams, i.e.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: richard.law1@ncl.ac.uk (R. Law).
emitted to the environment.
The estimated potential for waste heat recovery in the UK pro-
cessing industry is significant at 11.4 TWh/year [4], around 5% of the
total energy consumption, with 2.8 TWh/year of waste heat avail-
able in the food/beverages sector. Utilisation of this heat can be
described as a green, carbon neutral, energy source as it is making
use of what is essentially a waste product. Hence if this heat may be
used in place of traditional fuels, the reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions would be significant, as would cost savings.
For example, the predicted reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
and operating costs for the best case theoretical scenario whereby all
of the available waste heat is recovered to replace heating duties
previously provided by natural gas is shown below in Table 1.
Table 1 shows that huge cost and emissions reductions are
possible through the complete recovery of waste industrial heat in
the UK. Overall, it is possible to save up to £285million and over 2
million tonnes of carbon by replacing previous gas heating duties by
recovering waste heat. The food/beverages sector accounts for
around 25% of this waste heat, with the potential to save £70million/
year and over 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide/year, and will
therefore be a key player in the recovery of industrial waste heat.
Although these are only our best estimates, (often there is
a surplus of waste heat preventing the matching of waste heat

1359-4311/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.03.024
 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196
Table 1
Potential cost and emissions savings per year due to recovery of industrial waste heat.
Units of waste energy Cost per unit
per year (kWh/year) gas [5] (£/kWh)
Industry total 11.4  109 0.025
Food & drinks 2.8  109 0.025
sector
sources with suitable heat sinks which leads to the need to explore
further heat recovery options), they are useful in giving a picture of
the overall magnitude of the potential for waste heat recovery in UK
industry.
Heat recovery has been explored many times previously and the
idea is not a new one: heat integration based on pinch analysis was
first introduced in the 1970’s for example [7]. However, various new
technologies have emerged in recent years to enable the recovery of
lower temperature heat streams, such as low temperature organic
Rankine cycles with novel working fluids [8] and compact heat
exchangers with low approach temperatures. As basic pinch tech-
nology is based around the shell and tube model of a heat
exchanger [7], and the general rule is that low temperature streams
are of little heat value, a lot of waste heat streams have been
ignored and only now has the focus shifted to utilising this low-
grade heat.
This paper concentrates on the potential for low-grade heat
recovery in the UK food and drink processing industry and reviews
the best available technologies for the utilisation of this heat. An
assessment of common low-grade heat sources in the industry is
provided along with a discussion of the merits of each technology
in each situation.
In this sector there are several challenges in heat and mass
transfer (some of which are unique), which must be considered if
heat recovery is to be implemented. The various obstacles include
the need for tight control of temperature and heat transfer rates,
and the high levels of fouling and complex rheologies of many
process streams. Also, any new equipment must comply with strict
health and safety regulations outlined by government agencies.
These difficult challenges must be overcome in order to achieve
successful heat recovery.
2. The UK food and drinks processing industry
2.1. Definition of the industry
Food and drinks processing in the UK is a major industrial sector,
employing 3.6 million people and amassing a profit of over
£80billion/year [9]. It accounts for around 25% of industrial energy
use (42 TWh/year).
The scope of the industry is any processing of foodstuff and
drinks in the UK. The main sub-sectors are meat and fish produc-
tion, processing and preservation of potatoes, vegetables and fruit,
dairy produce, manufacture of edible oils and fats, grain mill
products, bakery products, sugar production, brewing and distill-
eries, soft drink production, and tea/coffee production.
2.2. Energy use in the industry
As previously stated, this sector accounts for around 25% of
industrial energy use in the UK, around 42 TWh/year. This energy
use is broken down according to the various processes involved in
Fig. 1 [4].
Low temperature processes (including cooking of food in ovens/
fryers etc) dominate the energy usage in the industry, with the only
other significant thermal shares belonging to drying/separation
189
Greenhouse gas emissions Potential cost savings Potential emissions savings
per unit of gas [6] (kg/kWh) per year (£m/year) per year (tCO2eq/year)
0.1836 £285m 2093040
0.1836 £70m 514080
(which also often occurs at low temperatures) and refrigeration
(both synonymous with the industry).
With limited accurate data available on the specific temperature
grade of the waste heat available within the industry, assumptions
must be made to predict this. As the industry uses the majority of
its energy in running low temperature processes, a fair assumption
is that most of waste heat available will be in the low temperature
range. Hence a significant amount of low-grade waste heat is
available for recovery. Furthermore, waste heat streams associated
with refrigeration and drying generally fall into the category of low-
grade, thus strengthening the assumption.
Also, these data suggest that uses for the low-grade heat will be
abundant as the high degree of low temperature processes should
provide a large number of potential heat sinks. This means that the
savings in both running costs and greenhouse gas emissions should
tend to the theoretical predictions in Table 1.
3. Sources of low-grade heat
3.1. Definition of low-grade heat source
Low-grade heat is defined to be in the temperature range of
ambient up to around 260
C [10]. Therefore a low-grade heat
source is any process stream in this temperature range that is
currently emitted to the environment via the stack or drain
network. However, it is generally accepted that heat recovery in the
range of ambient to 60
C is extremely difficult [10], meaning novel
heat recovery solutions are often required.
Generally, the most efficient and economically sound recovery
of waste heat is to re-use it in the process from which it is emitted,
or in a nearby process [10]. There is great scope for this as over 60%
of the energy requirement in the sector is in the low temperature
range (as described in Section 2).
3.2. Common heat sources in the food and drinks industry
Low-grade heat sources in the industry are from both generic
industrial processes and sector specific processes. Generic indus-
trial processes such as boilers, power plant, air compressors all lose
Fig. 1. Breakdown of sector energy usage.
190 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196

low-grade heat to the environment in the forms of hot gases etc. boiling point of water and atmospheric pressure, utilisation of this
Processes like this should not be overlooked and common methods heat source within the process is difficult but novel open cycle heat
for the recovery of this heat such as flue gas economisers are not pump systems can be installed to exploit this waste heat, including
neglected in this study. the large amounts of latent heat in the stream. Distillation
Sector specific processes include unit operations common to the processes behave in similar ways, and heat recovery of the distillate
production of food and drinks, such as baking ovens, evaporators, can be similarly performed [16].
malt kilns, dryers, pasteurisers and refrigeration. Each of these Refrigeration is used routinely to prevent perishing of food
units emit heat to the environment, such as exhaust gases from during storage and transport. A significant amount of waste heat is
industrial ovens and fryers. emitted from the condenser section of the refrigeration system.
This is often water cooled and producing a liquid low-grade heat
3.2.1. Generic unit operations source at around 60
C which is often lost in cooling towers. Uti-
Air compressors are common in all industrial sectors and lisation of this waste heat would again help improve plant effi-
account for a significant portion of plant electricity use. A lot of the ciency and reduce utility costs, but high temperature condensers
energy input to the compressor is wasted in the form of heat from mean low efficiency cycles, so care is needed.
the compressor motor and cooling system. The compressor cooling Pasteurisation is routine in the production of dairy products
system can be designed to provide low-grade heat source at around (and in breweries). This process can be heavily energy intensive,
60
C for water cooled systems, and 30e40
C [11] for air cooled with around one billion litres per month of milk alone produced in
systems. This heat could then be recovered for applications such as the UK [49]. Heat recovery is possible using the traditional method
process water and space heating respectively, thus increasing the of pasteurisation, with heating of milk to around 70
C before
efficiency of the compression process and reducing plant utility cooling. This has been commonly implemented using plate heat
requirement. exchangers to transfer heat between milk leaving the pasteuriser
The boiler in an industrial plant is also a significant energy and the inlet feed. However, heat recovery from the ultra high
consumer, providing steam to heat the various unit operations temperature (UHT) process provides a different challenge, with
around the site. Boiler flue gases are a source of low-grade heat, milk being rapidly heated/cooled (within seconds) to around
providing a gas/vapour stream at typically 200
C [12]. Econo- 135
C. Heat recovery directly from the outlet milk feed would be
misers, condensing economisers and air pre-heaters are widely difficult so any heat recovery would have to be from the cooling
used to recover this heat but it is not uncommon to find the flue gas fluid of the pasteuriser. In-can pasteurisation should not be
being sent to the stack, especially in smaller processing plants. neglected in this context.
Other generic heat sources found in all industrial sectors include Finally, cleaning and sterilisation of equipment, storage vessels
condensate return from the steam heating network, and spent and bottles is common to almost all of the food and drinks industry
cooling water from unit cooling systems. Such streams provide in order to comply with rigorous health and safety laws. This often
waste heat as liquid water in the range of 60e90
C. This, as produces waste liquid streams of around 40e80
C which again
explained later in the paper, can be a useful source of waste heat could be utilised using modern waste heat recovery methods.
and should not be discounted.
3.2.3. Summary of low-grade heat sources
3.2.2. Sector specific unit operations In summary, low-grade waste heat is available from a number of
Sector specific unit operations are mainly centred around the sources in a typical food and drinks processing plant, generally in
cooking of food, drying of food stuffs, evaporation, washing and the form of gas/vapour and liquid effluent streams. Table 2 below
sterilisation, pasteurisation, distillation and refrigeration. These gives a general summary of the most common heat sources avail-
units produce a variety of low-grade heat sources including gases, able and their nature.
vapours and liquid streams.
The cooking of food is most commonly carried out in either
4. Potential uses of waste heat
industrial ovens or fryers, both of which produce sources of low-
grade heat often discharged to the environment. Industrial ovens
Potential uses for waste heat range from simple solutions such
produce exhaust gases at around 150e250
C, while industrial
as direct re-use to more novel approaches such as generation of
fryers generally produce exhaust gases of around 200
C [13] via the
electricity or refrigeration (e.g. via absorption chillers). Key to
gas burners used to provide heat. The recovery of this waste heat
can be extremely useful in applications such as space heating [14]
or combustion air pre-heating, as has been demonstrated, but it Table 2
is still common for this heat to be discharged to atmosphere via the Summary of heat sources and their nature [adapted from 24].
stack. Source of heat Nature
The drying of food products covers a wide range of unit opera-
Gas Liquid Vapour
tions and products. For example, spray dryers are used to produce
powdered products such as instant coffee and tray dryers are used Air Compressor X X
Boiler X X X
to dry/preserve fruit products. All dryers have an exhaust providing Distillation X X
a low-grade gas/water vapour heat source, typically in the range of Drying X
up to 160
C. Common utilisation of this heat source includes pre- Evaporation X X X
heating of the dryer air inlet [15]. In the case of spray dryers, the Kilns X X
Ovens X X
exhaust gas can often be heavily fouled meaning extra consider-
Pasteurisers X
ation must be taken when designing heat recovery equipment. Process Cooling X X
Evaporation processes are common to most of the drinks pro- Process Heating X X X
cessing sector, featuring in the production of alcoholic drinks, soft Refrigeration X X
drinks and fruit juices. The obvious heat source from such units is Sterilisation X X
Ventilation X
the water vapour released via the evaporation process which is Washing X
commonly sent to the stack. With temperatures of just above the
 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196 191

finding suitable uses for the waste heat is the completion of a plant Space heating, although seasonal, can often provide an economi-
wide energy audit [17]. This will also identify where the plant cally viable use of the heat sink as, conditions permitting, cheap
requires heat and at what temperature this heat is required. direct use systems can often be implemented.
In general terms, it is more economical to recover the heat for
transfer to a suitable heat sink by heat exchange or direct re-use as
4.2. Considerations for batch processing
this equipment has the cheapest capital outlay. Inherently, it is also
preferable to transfer this heat to within the process from which it
Many processes in food/drinks processing operate as either
is emitted or to a nearby process as this saves the cost of transport
batch or semi-batch processes, such as the production of alcoholic
via pipe work, ducts and auxiliary equipment. Solutions such as
beverages. Therefore, it is worthwhile to discuss some of the
heat pumps (to provide a temperature lift) and units to generate
considerations associated with waste heat recovery systems in
electricity or refrigeration require more capital outlay due to higher
batch processing.
equipment costs. Over the fence heat sinks, i.e. heat sinks outside
One key problem is associated with batch scheduling (of
the boundaries of the current process plants are also an option, as
different unit operations) and the availability of matching heat
well as the opportunity for a secondary enterprise to exploit the
sources and sinks at specific times. Often, batch scheduling may
waste heat source but generally these options require significant
have to be altered in order to utilise the use of waste heat in other
capital outlay and market research. Fig. 2 shows a basic flow chart
unit operations. This may become a complicated procedure and
representing the capital cost of each type of project.
incur penalties on the productivity of the overall production
process.
4.1. Common sinks in the food/drinks industry
It is possible to use energy storage systems (such as common hot
water tanks) which allow collection and utilisation of waste heat at
The heat sinks common to the food and drinks industry are
different times, but drawbacks include higher capital costs and
synonymous with the unit operations outlined in Section 3 of this
often heat loss to the environment during storage, thereby reducing
paper. The streams leading to these units often represent obvious
the temperature (and usefulness) of the waste heat.
heat sinks as the pre-heating of the streams will lower the heating
Therefore, it is advised that, where possible, heat recovery in
duty provided by utilities. Dryer inlets and oven air inlets are
batch processing should be achieved via use back in the same
obvious examples. These allow the exploitation of economically
process. Examples of this are plentiful, for example in whiskey
cheap heat recovery solutions such as direct re-use and heat
processing where novel open cycle heat pumps may be used to
exchanger heat recovery. A plant refrigeration system can be
drive evaporation processes using the vapour leaving the vessel
loosely described as a heat sink as the waste heat could be used to
[16]. This is further discussed in Section 5.
drive an absorption refrigeration unit which could help reduce the
load of the current system.
Heating of evaporative systems can also provide a useful heat 5. Heat recovery technology
sink which can exploit open cycle heat pump technology which
allows the heating duty to be provided by the evaporated vapour, 5.1. Selection criteria
thereby negating the need for external heating duty once the
system reaches steady state. Initial selection criteria are based on whether or not a suitable
Several generic heat sinks should also be considered such as heat sink is available for heat exchange between source and sink. If
space heating, hot water supply and boiler air/water pre-heating. so, the most economical method of heat exchange will be designed.

Fig. 2. Flow chart of capital costs of each type of project, from low to high.
192 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196
Also, refrigeration and electricity loads of the plant should be
considered for alternative use of the waste heat, even when a heat
sink is available, in order to investigate the best available tech-
nology for each situation. Factors affecting choice of technology
include the efficiency of heat recovery and ease of installation,
although inevitably economical factors such as project payback
time have the strongest influence.
5.1.1. Heat source/sink characterisation
The characteristics of the heat source, and optional identified
heat sink, play a key role in the selection of equipment. The main
parameter of interest is the source temperature which undoubtedly
determines its overall value e the higher the temperature the more
scope for source/sink matching, and the more useful the source in
absorption refrigeration and electricity generation cycles [18]. The
mass flow of the heat source is also crucial as this determines its
possible heating duty.
Almost all types of heat recovery system require the use of
a heat exchanger (excluding direct re-use) so the key parameters in
heat exchanger design can be considered to be essential to the
design of heat recovery systems. These include the specific heat
capacity (affects heating duty), fluid viscosity and density (affects
flow regimes within heat exchanger), fluid phase and pressure
(determines the type of heat exchanger), fluid fouling and corrosion
properties (determines maintenance and cleaning requirements),
leakage/contamination allowance (determine type of heat
exchanger) and allowable pressure drop (determines type of heat
exchanger) [19].
5.2. Heat exchanger technology
A wide range of heat exchangers are now available from repu-
table manufacturers around Europe, including intensified compact
units. This facilitates the uptake of heat exchanger heat recovery
projects. The merits of a number of heat exchangers are explained
as follows.
5.2.1. Gasegas heat exchangers
Several gasegas heat exchangers are on the market to facilitate
the transfer of heat (sensible and often latent) between gas/vapour
streams. One of these is the rotating regenerator (or heat wheel).
Heat is transferred between two separate streams flowing through
a slowly turning wheel. The matrix material of the wheel is alter-
nately heated and cooled allowing heat transfer. Merits of the heat
wheel include thermal efficiency of up to 95% which can also be
altered to incorporate the transfer of latent heat [19]. Various sizes
are manufactured for different gas flow rates. Light fouling is
generally not a problem with the unit as a purge section can be
incorporated to permit self cleaning. Large differential pressures
cannot be tolerated by the equipment and leakage is often apparent
between the two streams, thus affecting its selection. This unit has
been used to good effect in various dryer exhaust applications [20]
with high levels of heat recovery and payback times of around 2.5
years.
The gasegas plate heat exchanger is also an effective unit, which
operates by hot and cold streams flowing in a cross or counter flow
configuration between plates through which heat is transferred.
The units are manufactured in a wide range of materials and sizes
for off the shelf purchase, covering the entire range of temperature
and flow rates for low-grade heat recovery applications. No cross
contamination occurs, so they provide a good, but lower thermal
efficiency, alternative to heat wheels when cross contamination
cannot be tolerated. However, units can often be difficult to open
and clean due to the plate configuration meaning heavily fouled
streams may not be compatible. This heat exchanger has been used
in many fields including the recovery of heat from exhaust lines for
warm-air space heating, achieving payback times of 1e3 years in
processeprocess uses [21].
The run around coil heat exchanger is used when zero cross
contamination is essential between source and sink. Two coiled
heat exchangers (often finned) are connected by pipe work,
through which a working fluid such as water or thermal oil is
pumped, therefore cross contamination of source and sink is
extremely unlikely. Heat is collected at one heat exchanger and
emitted to sink at the other. This system has a number of merits
including the ability to transfer heat over long distances (often
between processes), wide operating pressure differentials and the
ability to handle various sources and sinks. However, increased
capital costs are associated with the extra equipment required and
maintenance costs are inherently higher due to the inclusion of
a pump. This type of system has been used effectively in the
recovery of heat from a malt kiln to pre-heat the incoming air feed,
achieving heat recovery with zero cross contamination. If the
exhaust is corrosive, as in this case, the coil could be made of glass
tube, while the pre-heating coil remains as aluminium/copper.
Payback times in the region of 3 years can be achieved [22].
The heat pipe heat exchanger uses a working fluid within
a number of pipes to transfer heat between source and sink. The
working fluid is isothermally evaporated and condensed at the
source the sink end respectively. A splitter plate splits the two
streams, making a recuperative heat exchanger with good cross
contamination tolerance. High heat transfer coefficients can be
achieved using heat pipe heat exchangers facilitating high levels of
heat transfer in relatively small areas. Other merits include the
prevention of cold spots in the heat exchanger (useful during
condensation applications) and a high temperature and pressure
differentials (determined by the splitter plate). However, this heat
exchanger is more expensive than traditional heat exchangers,
adversely affecting the economics of the heat recovery. Also, the
temperature range is governed by the working fluid, meaning that
novel, expensive working fluids may be required for some appli-
cations. Numerous examples of heat pipe heat recovery systems
have been published from all process industries, showing excellent
heat recovery efficiency and payback times as low as 2 years can be
achieved [23].
The tubular recuperator can be used in heat recovery but has
little application in the economic recovery of low-grade heat. It is
best used ‘where size is not important, but access for cleaning is
essential’ [24]. Generally the use of these units does not cover the
full range of low-grade heat recovery, with convection recuperators
requiring an operating temperature of greater than 200
C. They do
have the advantage of easy cleaning, and a wide range of
construction materials (such as glass for corrosive heat streams).
However, more compact units are often preferred for ease of
installation into current systems, although glass tubular recuper-
ators have been often used when cleaning is essential due to
heavily fouled streams, such as in spray dryer exhaust heat recovery
[25] e see also the run around coil above.
5.2.2. Gas-liquid heat exchangers
Gas-liquid heat exchangers are available for the heating of
liquids using waste gas streams, the most common of which is the
economiser which is widely available for both domestic and
industrial applications. An economiser is, most commonly,
a tubular heat exchanger in which the hot gas flows over finned
tubes containing a liquid. By far the most widespread application of
this is the heating of boiler feed water using flue gas, but there are
other uses. The design can be modified to include condensation of
the vapours in the gas, thus improving the efficiency of the unit. The
unit has various merits including being widely available off the
 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196
shelf in a number of specification for a wide range of applications
[26,27]. Various materials are also available meaning compatibility
with source/sink fluids shouldn’t be an issue. However, in tradi-
tional applications the condensation of flue gas can lead to acid
formation in the condensate. Material selection and downstream
processing would therefore have to be considered e even polymers
may be used. Economisers have been widely installed throughout
the process industries with payback times of less than a year
regularly reported.
The heat pipe heat exchanger can also be used for economising
applications, with the same merits as outlined above. However, it is
rare that this unit could compete economically with the traditional
economiser unit.
Spray condensers are an interesting type of heat exchangers
with various merits for different applications. The basic principle of
this direct contact heat exchanger is to spray the liquid, most
commonly water, into a hot, humid gas stream. The gas stream then
condenses creating a stream of hot water from which the heat can
be recovered using a further heat exchanger unit, or used directly
depending on the gas stream contents. This type of system has
a particular niche in recovering heat from heavily fouled gas
streams. For example, this has been used to good effect in the
chemical industry where heat was recovered from a heavily fouled
air/steam/solids stream using a spray dryer and further heat
exchange, avoiding the difficult design of a heat exchanger for
recovery from the heavily fouled gas stream. These units have been
applied to similar streams such as spray dryer exhausts and paper
dryers. Payback time for such projects can be as low as 9 months,
where high utilisation is achieved [28].
5.2.3. Liquideliquid heat exchangers
The most common of all liquideliquid heat exchanger is the
shell and tube heat exchanger. This is a well known technology, and
is not discussed further here.
The plate heat exchanger is the first of a number of compact
units to be accepted in the process industry and was originally used
in the dairy industry to allow precise control of heating and cooling
in pasteurisation [29]. This unit can achieve heat exchange areas in
excess of 200 m2/m3, allowing for compact units which ease the
retrofit burden and smaller capital outlay on material. Thermal
efficiency of up to 95% can be achieved. This is a well known
technology and a number of design options are available. Plates can
be joined by gaskets allowing off the shelf purchase and on-plant
assembly, minimising installation cost. These units are limited by
a temperature range of up to 200
C and pressure range to 25 bar,
but can easily be opened for cleaning. If higher operating param-
eters are required, the plates may be brazed, welded or diffusion
bonded allowing temperatures and pressures of 900
C and 300 bar
[30] respectively, this limits maintenance and cleaning options, and
increases cost, however. The main drawback of this heat exchanger
is the susceptibility to fouling, with the unit allowing only around
25% of the fouling capacity of shell and tube heat exchangers [30].
The plate heat exchanger has been used to good effect for heat
recovery purposes throughout the process industry achieving high
thermal efficiencies and low payback times in the region of 18
months.
The scraped surface heat exchanger is a useful unit for low-
grade heat recovery, particular in the viscous, often slurry-type
streams found in the food sector. Heat is transferred between the
source and sink through a tubular type heat exchanger, with the
viscous fluid flowing in the outside shell aided by a rotating blade to
prevent fouling of foodstuff. The unit allows effective heat transfer
between source and sink whilst being specifically tailored for the
needs of the food industry, thus allowing heat recovery from
otherwise inaccessible sources [31]. The main drawback of this
193
equipment however is its limited availability and high capital cost.
No publications currently show the use of this unit for heat
recovery purposes but there is certainly scope for the use of this
novel heat exchanger in this field.
5.3. Heat pump systems
Heat pumps have been used to good effect for waste heat
recovery, creating a temperature lift in the heat source allowing its
use in a wider range of applications. Open cycle heat pumps have
found a useful niche in the various evaporation processes associ-
ated with the production of soft and alcoholic drinks.
They work on the principle of increasing the pressure of the
boiled vapour leaving the unit via mechanical work or by supple-
mentation of high pressure steam (thermo-compression). This
increases the condensation temperature of the vapour, thereby
allowing the transfer of latent heat from the vapour to the evapo-
ration contents. Such projects can be expensive, due to the high
capital costs of electrical compressors and thermo-compression
systems. Also, retrofit of the heat exchanger units used to heat
the heat sink can be costly. However, payback times as low as 2
years have been reported [32]. This type of heat pump has become
particularly popular in the production of Scotch whiskey [16]
without gaining popularity in the other sub-sectors of beverage
production. Government demonstration schemes publishing
the results of successful open cycle heat pump projects may help
to encourage further successful projects throughout beverage
processing.
Closed cycle vapour compression heat pumps use a working
fluid intermediate which is evaporated via heat exchange at the
heat source, compressed, and condensed at a higher temperature at
the heat sink, before being expanded and returning to the heat
source heat exchanger. This therefore creates a temperature lift.
Economic temperature lifts in excess of 40
C can be achieved;
however the overall efficiency of energy recovery is reduced due to
energy input into the system. The system also has the advantageous
option of acting as a dehumidifier at the evaporator end, thereby
recovering latent heat from common streams such as dryer
exhausts. Installation of such systems is common throughout
Europe but less-so in the UK. A survey of attitudes towards waste
heat recover [33] revealed that 36% of UK food industry engineers
consider heat pumps ‘risky’ or are ‘unsure’ despite the fact that
payback times in the region of 2e5 years are reported throughout
Europe [34,35], and in the limited UK case study publications. It is
suggested that the UK government put a greater emphasis on heat
pump utilisation through up-to-date demonstration schemes in
order to encourage the utilisation of this highly useful technology.
(Note that payback periods are based upon capital and operating/
fuel costs at the time the installation was originally reported).
5.4. Electricity generation
5.4.1. Thermoelectric units
Thermoelectric units work on the same principle as a common
thermocouple in which a temperature difference between the hot
and cold side of the semiconductor material produces a small
electric current at the cold end [36]. The unit basically acts as
a number of larger thermocouples in parallel to increase the
current. Data provided by manufacturer Hi-Z [37] states that single
units can provide a current in the range of 20e50 W for heat source
temperatures of around 200
C, whilst units in series can produce
up to 1 kW of electricity if configured correctly. While the efficiency
and electrical output of the units is extremely low, they could prove
to be useful in individual cases as they are essentially maintenance
free once installed and have a life expectancy in the region of 20
194 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196
years. Therefore, if there is a need for a low current near the heat
source, for monitoring equipment for example, the unit would be
useful. This type of unit may not be the most desirable, but if no
other options are available it is worth investigating the merits of
the system for individual cases.
5.4.2. Rankine cycle
The Rankine cycle works on the principle of using the heat
source to evaporate a working fluid which in turn would drive
a turbine to generate electricity, which would then be further
cooled before returning to the heat source evaporator. The tradi-
tional Rankine cycle operates using water as working fluid and is
not suitable for heat sources below around 240
C, meaning it is
mostly outside the scope of low-grade heat recovery. However, the
organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is a derivative using various organic
working fluids and success has been reported for electricity
generation using sources as low as 40
C [38]. The use of ORCs has
recently been suggested for low-grade heat recovery from an
industrial fryer [50].
Few publicised cases of industrial ORC use in the UK are re-
ported but there is growth in interest due to government funding
for such projects. DRD Power [39] are demonstrating a 200 kW unit
using typical low-grade heat sources such as 1e2 tonne/hr low
pressure steam, which has been installed in a Teesside chemical
factory with the aid of financial support from a number of sources
including the Carbon Trust [40].
These units offer only limited heat recovery efficiency (up to 18%
[41]) and capital costs are high, but if funding is available for such
a project payback times could significantly decrease hence
lowering the risk of such projects. As is the case with heat pump
systems, ORC utilisation is a lot greater in Europe than the UK but
demonstration of projects such as the aforementioned DRD power
unit may help improve UK attitudes towards this novel use of waste
industrial heat.
5.4.3. Kalina cycle
The Kalina cycle is an evolution of the Rankine cycle tailored for
utilisation of low-grade heat using an ammonia/water mixture as
the working fluid. The basic Kalina cycle contains the same
components as a standard (organic) Rankine cycle: an evaporator,
turbine, condenser and pump. It has the advantage that the boiling
of the working fluid mixture occurs over a range of temperatures.
This allows a greater degree of heat recovery from the heat source
as, in a counter-current evaporator arrangement, the heat source
can be cooled to a lower temperature [51].
The Kalina cycle has since been adapted to include a novel
absorption-type element. In this advanced cycle, the concentration
of ammonia in the mixture is varied at different points in the cycle
using a separation column and absorption units. Most commonly,
this principle is utilised to allow a lower concentration of ammonia
at the condenser end of the cycle which lowers both the dew-point
temperature and pressure of the working fluid mixture. This allows
the use of a lower pressure (and lower cost) heat exchanger and the
potential to vary the concentration of the working fluid at the
condenser on a seasonal basis according to the temperature of the
heat sink (most commonly air or water cooled, both of which vary
by season) [51].
It is claimed that the novel features of the Kalina cycle lead to an
increase in power output of up to 20% compared to conventional
organic Rankine cycles [51]. However, other studies suggest that in
practise this increase may be as small as 3% [52], which may not
out-weigh the disadvantages associated with the greater
complexity of this cycle, which may lead to greater maintenance
costs and higher capital outlay (compared to the conventional
organic Rankine cycle) [53].
The Kalina cycle is yet to be implemented on a large scale, with
less than 5 case studies published (none of which are in the UK).
Current applications include use in geothermal power plants and in
low-grade waste heat recovery [54]. This cycle has great potential
in the utilisation of waste heat for the generation of electricity in
the food industry, although further industrial demonstration is
required to confirm this potential and the cycle’s predicted
advantages compared to the conventional organic Rankine cycle.
5.5. Absorption refrigeration systems
The absorption refrigeration system works on the principle of an
absorption heat pump system, in which the traditional mechanical
compressor is replaced by a ‘thermal compressor’ and an absorp-
tion liquid. The absorption liquid is desorbed as a vapour upon
heating (by low-grade heat source) and then condensed at the
condenser end. This then flows through an expansion valve to the
evaporator, where it is evaporated, hence producing a refrigeration
effect [42].
Two main systems are available commercially; lithium bromide/
water and ammonia/water. Typically, refrigeration temperatures of
around 7
C can be achieved using a common heat sources such as
low pressure steam [43]. In a typical costing example, the overall
capital cost is expected to be in the region of £150,000 (excluding
pipe work and pumps. Example published in May 1999) for a 800 kW
sized unit [43]. Custom units can also be built at a greater cost which
can achieve refrigeration temperatures as low as 60
C [43].
Such absorption refrigeration systems may prove useful in
plants requiring a lot of refrigeration, typical of the food industry,
including integration with CHP units to produce tri-generation [44].
However, payback times for retrofit systems stand at around 10
years [43], which is too high to often be considered. This is lowered
to around 3 years in a ‘new build’ situation [43], i.e. if the existing
refrigeration plant must be replaced due to unrelated issues.
Therefore absorption refrigeration systems generally aren’t
considered for standard retrofit waste heat recovery projects.
5.6. Further options
With regard to other options, a number of secondary enterprise
routes have been successfully demonstrated such as the building of
green houses for the growing of crops to utilise waste heat [45],
and, specifically in distilleries and breweries, the evaporation of
water from spent grains to produce animal feed [46]. These have
proved successful but have a number of problems associated with
them, not least the capital cost of extra equipment and extra man
hours required for maintenance.
Over the fence heat sinks could be useful, such as providing heat
for domestic use. This has been demonstrated to good effect in
Europe [47] but has yet to be implemented on any scale in the UK.
The size of the retrofit for such systems would be huge and would
have to be implemented by a major government driven project.
Therefore, currently this cannot be considered a viable option for
waste heat recovery in the UK process industries but it is worth
noting that the 11.4 TWh/year of waste heat available from the entire
processing sector could theoretically provide enough heat for over
630,000 homes (based on the average gas consumption in a home of
18,000 kWh per year [48]). Figures such as this may encourage future
governments to consider a change of infrastructure and incorporate
industrial waste heat into a domestic heating network.
6. Conclusions
The increased utilisation of waste heat sources in the process
industries will be crucial to improving overall plant efficiency and
 R. Law et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 53 (2013) 188e196
lowering greenhouse gas emissions, with food and drinks pro-
cessing identified as one of the key sectors due to the large amounts
of waste heat available (25% of total industrial waste heat). Use of
this waste heat is often difficult due to the heat and mass transfer
challenges associated with the food industry including tight
temperature control and often heavily fouled fluid streams with
complex rheological properties.
A number of common sources of low-grade waste heat have
been identified (both generic and sector specific), as well as several
heat sinks and the technology available for source/sink heat
transfer. Also, details of less common technologies for the uti-
lisation of waste heat for the generation of electricity and refrig-
eration have been provided.
The most economical recovery of the waste heat is by heat
exchange/direct re-use to a nearby heat sink, preferably from
within the same process e a number of different heat exchange
systems are well-developed and economically available for such
projects.
Other options are less common due to large capital expenditure,
low recovery efficiencies and/or lack of expert knowledge in
industry. These include organic Rankine cycles, heat pumps,
absorption chillers and even some compact heat exchangers.
However, increasing energy costs and the drive towards energy
efficiency and associated carbon reductions should increase moti-
vation for such projects. Additional government funding towards
demonstration schemes highlighting successful cases of novel
waste heat recovery projects would be a major in factor in reducing
the perceived risk and uncertainty of such projects amongst UK
engineers. Also, the development of knowledge-based systems,
such as the one being developed in this project, will decrease the
reliance on the need for expert knowledge of such topics within the
process industry and raise the awareness of novel equipment.
Acknowledgements
This work is being carried out as part of the EPSRC project entitled
OPTImising THermal energy, Recovery, utilisation and Management
in the process industries; OPTITHERM (project no. EP/G061467/1).
The overall aim of this project is to develop an Expert System tool for
the selection of the most appropriate technology for low-grade heat
recovery. The authors would like to extend their gratitude to the
EPSRC for providing the funding for this project.
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