INDUSTRIAL UTILITIES

Maria Luisa Botero

mlboterov@eafit.edu.co
Semestre 2023-II
Objectives
• Discuss energy efficiency policy in
Colombia
• Explore methods for recovering
process waste heat
• Learn pinch method to optimize
process heat recovery
Energy Efficiency
The use of less energy to perform the same task
or produce the same result
IEA “single largest measure to avoid energy
demand”
 Energy Efficiency
Colombia - BEU

29% 49%

22%

31%

42%

20%
 Energy Efficiency
Colombia - UPME
Programa Uso Racional de la Energía – PROURE
 Energy Efficiency
Colombia - UPME
Programa Uso Racional de la Energía – PROURE

El mayor potencial de E.E

42%
se encuentra en los usos
de calor directo, en los que 64%

se estima que una

eficiencia promedio de
55% cuando se podrían
20%
alcanzar niveles entre 46%
68-80%
16%
Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
 Energy Efficiency
Colombia - UPME
Programa Uso Racional de la Energía – PROURE
 ENERGY RECOVERY

• Electricity • Heat (coolers)

Energy • Steam Process Energy • Hot flue gases
• Fossil fuels • Waste heat
… …

Products
HEAT RECOVERY

• Recovering heat to used elsewhere increases process efficiency and minimize cost.
• When? Depends on value of the recovered energy (marginal cost of energy at the
site) and the cost of recovery (capital and operating cost of additional equipment).
ENERGY RECOVERY
METHODS FOR HEAT RECOVERY

• HEAT EXCHANGE
• WASTE-HEAT BOILERS
• HIGH-TEMPERATURE REACTORS
• HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESS STREAMS
• HEAT PUMPS
• WASTE STREAM COMBUSTION
HEAT RECOVERY
HEAT EXCHANGE

 Use heat in a high-temperature process stream to heat a colder stream.

 The cost of recovery will be reduced if the streams are located
conveniently close within the plant.
 A reasonable temperature driving force must be maintained to keep the
exchanger area to a practical size.
 In an industrial process there will be many hot and cold streams and
there will be an optimum arrangement of the streams for energy
recovery by heat exchange (HEAT EXCHANGER NETWORK): PINCH
ANALYSIS
HEAT RECOVERY
WASTE-HEAT BOILERS (HRSG)

 If the process streams are at a sufficiently high temperature and there are no
attractive options for process-to-process heat transfer  generate steam.
 Are often used to recover heat from furnace flue gases and the process gas
streams from high-temperature reactors.
 As with any heat-transfer equipment, the area required increases as the mean
temperature driving force (log mean ΔT) is reduced.
 The permissible exit temperature may also be limited by process considerations.
If the gas stream contains water vapor and soluble corrosive gases, such as HCl
or SO2, the exit gas temperature must be kept above the dew point.
HEAT RECOVERY
HIGH-TEMPERATURE REACTORS

 If a reaction is highly exothermic, cooling will be needed. If the reactor temperature

is high enough, the heat removed can be used to generate steam.
 Industrial LP steam normally about 3 bar, so any reactor with a temperature above
150 °C is a potential steam generator.
 If the steam production exceeds the site steam requirements, some steam can be fed
to condensing turbines to produce electricity to meet site power needs.
HEAT RECOVERY
HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESS STREAMS

 Where high-pressure gas or liquid process streams are throttled to lower pressures,
energy can be recovered by carrying out the expansion in a suitable turbine.

Gas streams: processes that involve compression and expansion of large quantities of
gases
 The energy recovered by expansion is often used to drive the compressors directly (turbo compressor)
 If the gas contains condensable components, it may be advisable to consider heating the gas by heat
exchange with a higher temperature process stream before expansion. Power generated will be
increased.
 The process gases do not have to be at a particularly high pressure for expansion to be economical if
the gas flow rate is high.

Liquid streams: for pressures >15 bar

 Centrifugal pumps are used as expanders and coupled directly to other pumps.
HEAT RECOVERY
HEAT PUMPS

Device for raising low/grade heat to a temperature at which the heat can be used.
Same as refrigeration cycle but objective is to deliver heat in the condenser.
It pumps heat from a Low Temp source to a Higher Temp sink, using a small amount of
energy relative to the heat energy recovered.

Mostly used in countries with strong winters for building heating

Industrial processes
Use low/grade heat from the condenser of a distillation column
to provide heat for the reboiler.
Dryers: heat is abstracted from the exhaust air and used to
preheat the incoming air
HEAT RECOVERY
WASTE STREAM COMBUSTION

Process waste products that contain significant quantities of combustible material can
be used as low-grade fuels, for raising steam or direct process heating.
 Only if the value of the fuel justifies the extra cost of special burners an other equipment
needed to burn the waste.
 If the combustible content of the waste is too low to support combustion, the waste must be
supplemented with higher calorific value primary fuels.
 Waste gases are best used for steam raising, rather than for direct process heating, as this
decouples the source from the use and gives greater flexibility.
 Reactor off-gases: vent gas typically saturated with organic compounds such as solvents and
high volatility feed compounds. And recycle stream purges are often of high enough calorific
value to be used as fuels.
 Liquid and solid wastes: can be disposed by burning instead of dumping. Incorporate a steam
boiler in the incinerator design. If combustion products are corrosive, flue gases must be
scrubbed to reduce air pollution.
HEAT RECOVERY
PINCH ANALYSIS
Allows rigorous energy targets to be calculated for how much heat exchange is
possible, hence minimum possible levels of hot and cold utility use.

PROCEDURE
1. Categorize streams as hot (give up heat as they cool down or condense)
or cold (require heat).
2. Characterize each stream with temperature and heat load.
3. Plot Temperature vs. Enthalpy for hot and cold streams.
4. Plot Temperature vs. Enthalpy for composite streams.
HEAT RECOVERY: pinch
analysis

The maximum heat recovery is reached when the hot

and cold curves touch each other
(ΔT zero hence inf large H.E.)
HEAT RECOVERY : pinch
analysis

ΔTmin optimum in the range of 10-30°C

HEAT RECOVERY: pinch
analysis
Q = mCp(Ts – Tt)
m*Cp

4
m
ea
str ΔTmin<5°C
3
m
ea
str
HEAT RECOVERY: pinch
analysis

Displaced cold streams curve to

the right until
ΔTmin = 10°C

This ΔTmin is a target

And in the HE network it is
called the pinch temperatura

Here the pinch occurs at aprox

90°C of the hot stream and
80°C of the cold stream
HEAT RECOVERY: pinch
analysis
The pinch divides the system into two distinct thermodynamic regions:
 Above the pinch (heat sink): with heat flowing into it from the hot utility.
 Below the pinch: heat flows out of the region to the cold utility.

Heat is transferred from a hot stream at

T>pinch to a cold stream at T<pinch
HEAT RECOVERY: pinch
analysis
For maximum heat recovery and minimum utility use:
 Do not transfer heat across the pinch.
 Do not use hot utilities below the pinch.
 Do not use cold utilities above the pinch.
HEAT RECOVERY

1. Represent streams as a grid

2. Network design above the pinch CPh ≤ CPc

Stream 1 can be used to heat Stream 4
Stream 2 can be used to heat Stream 3
HEAT RECOVERY

3. Network design below the pinch CPh ≥ CPc

Stream 1 can be used to heat stream 3
Stream 2 can complete heating of stream 3 to the pinch

If heat capacities do not allow to make a match at the pinch, then the stream can be
split. This reduces the mass flow rate and hence the CP
HEAT RECOVERY

KEYS
 Divide the problem at the pinch
 Design away from the pinch
 Above the pinch match streams that comply with CPh ≤ CPc
 Below the pinch match streams that comply with CPh ≥ CPc
 If stream matching criteria cannot be satisfied, split a stream
 Maximize the exchanger heat loads (composite curve)
 Supply external heating only above the pinch
 Supply external cooling only below the pinch