HEAT TRANSFER SOLUTIONS

Heat Pipe Heat ExchangerAn energy recovery solution

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Recovering the unrecoverable

Energy recovery from industrial exhaust gases has the potential to unlock large amounts of valuable energy savings and reduce CO2 and carbon emissions. However, in the past this opportunity has largely gone unexploited due to the hostile exhaust environments.

For the first time, our innovative Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger (HPHE) design, combined with new manufacturing techniques has enabled our customers to cost effectively recover energy from hot corrosive and dirty exhaust. This will enable you to:

• Reduce fuel demands,CO2 and carbon emissions

• Capture waste energy

• Increase process efficiency

• Reduce costs by lowering fuel consumption

These are just a few of the applications where valuable waste energy can be recovered:

• Biomass boilers

• Heavy fuel oil boilers

• Coal boilers

• Kilns

• Furnaces

• Ovens

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Harnessing your previously unrecoverable waste heat

Traditional heat exchangers struggle to operate effectively in hostile environments such as those found in industrial exhaust streams, often suffering from a build-up of materials and corrosion, leading to a reduction in heat recovery efficiency and equipment failure. Therefore, until now this potential has gone untapped.

However, a breakthrough in manufacturing techniques and Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger design has allowed Spirax Sarco to make the recovery of corrosive and contaminated exhaust heat a reality.

Our Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger solution resists fouling and efficiently recovers heat, creating a cost effective energy recovery solution which is completely at home within these previously unsuitable environments.

The HPHE solution is:

Robust and reliable✓ Manufactured using a range of robust materials

✓ Free thermal expansion and contraction of individual components

✓ Isothermal pipe temperature avoids cold spots to help reduce corrosion

✓ Heat pipes operate independently so individual pipe failures will have minimal impact on performance

Flexible✓ Simple, sturdy HPHE construction can be applied in hostile environments

✓ Easily add or remove individual heat pipes for precise optimisation and maintenance

Cost effective✓ Short payback period

✓ Solution will continue to make energy savings for many years

✓ Removable heat pipe cassettes and a side inspection panel make maintenance quick and easy

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Unique and innovative design

The unique design of the HPHE system provides an extremely efficient transfer of energy, 1000 times more efficient than copper.

The patented superconductor heat pipe contains a vacuum filled with heat transfer fluid to exchange heat from the source to the process.

Heat pipe heat exchanger construction

Separator plateExhaust out

Heat pipe area in fluid

Heat pipe area in exhaust

Cool fluid inHeated fluid out

Exhaust in

Heat pipes

Seal

Heat out

Vacuum tube

Condensation

Steam

Heat in

Separation plate

Heat pipe operation

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Heat Pipe Heat Exchange systems

Standard HPHE modulesMany application demands can be met from a standard range of modules, where standard ‘cartridges’ of heat pipes are installed into a heat exchanger casing.

Benefits include:

✓ Speed of availability

✓ Easily aligned to process requirements

✓ Easy access and cleaning

✓ Low maintenance

Gas to waterGas to water HPHE’s are designed to produce hot water from exhaust gas.

Gas to gasHPHE standard units are also able to transfer heat between a hot gas and a cold gas. Often air is heated and can be used in several ways, from preheating for combustion to use in production cycles or building heating.

Standard gas to liquid HPHE unit

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Bespoke HPHE modulesWhere a standard modular unit is not available, a HPHE system can be specifically designed to meet your exact requirements, delivering optimised performance and energy recovery. This includes gas to water and gas to gas.

Steam generationIndirect steam generation is unique to Spirax Sarco. Our expertise allows us to produce saturated or superheated steam from recovered waste energy over a wide range of pressures and flowrates.

Steam Generation unit

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HPHE success stories

Heat source: Exhaust at 450ºC from melting furnaces

Application: Heating HVAC services water

Energy recovered: 560 kW

Heat source: Exhaust at 316ºC from kilns

Application: Pre-heating the air entering the kilns

Energy recovered: 610 kW

Heat source: Exhaust at 400ºC from an aluminum furnace

Application: Pre-heating the air entering the aluminium furnace

Energy recovered: 530 kW

Steel casting company in the Czech Republic

Ceramic manufacturing company in India

Automotive parts manufacturer in the USA

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Heat source: Exhaust at 325ºC from heavy fuel oil boilers

Application: Pre-heating heavy fuel oil

Energy recovered: 120 kW

Heat source: CHP engine

Application: Hot water for heating system

Energy recovered: 870 kW

Heat source: CHP vegetable oil engine

Application: Steam for vulcanisation of tyres during pressing

Energy recovered: 206 kW

Portable power provider in Botswana

Food manufacturing process in Italy

Tyre manufacturing in Italy

HPHE recovers 2.1 MW from anaerobic digester incinerator exhaust

Industry: Public buildings & institutions

Application: Exhaust gas heat recovery

A client responsible for operating the established waste- biomass facility within a district energy system required a solution to recover energy from an incinerator.

The incinerator burning anaerobic digester sludge was used to heat a central boilerhouse at an industrial park’s district heating system. The customer needed a solution which would preheat the water from 73.5°C to 90°C. However, in the past, the customer had found considerable problems in capturing waste heat from the exhaust. In particular the exhaust was corrosive and contained particulates leading to build up of material. The application was also at too high a temperature with limited space making it inappropriate for traditional heat exchange systems.

This incinerator was producing 17,500 kg/h of exhaust at 650°C.

The specification: Exhaust inlet: 650°C

Exhaust mass flow: 17,500 kg/h

Recovery media inlet: 73.5°C

Recovery media mass flow: 125,000 kg/h

Fuel type: Biomass

Target heat energy recovery: 2.1 MW

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The solutionSpirax Sarco HPHE unit incorporating the innovative heat pipe technology was ideal in this scenario;

- Sufficiently robust to withstand aggressive conditions

- Met the requirements for energy capture

- Compact enough to be installed in the limited available space on the exhaust stack.

Spirax Sarco supplied a HPHE System, complete with diverter system, water side distribution pump and a complete operating and safety control system. The primary exhaust side of the heat exchanger casing was manufactured from stainless steel to cope with the corrosive exhaust while the secondary water side was manufactured from carbon steel to keep the cost of the construction down. The pressure drop across the system is very low at 95mm H2O.

ResultThe customer had only previously considered conventional heat exchanger designs, none of which were suitable because of the aggressive nature of the exhaust, its high temperature, space limitations and low pressure drop requirements. The Spirax Sarco HPHE system overcame all of these problems enabling the customer to recover 2.1 MW. This was enough to heat 125,000 kg/h of district heating water from 73.5°C to 90°C. Calculated payback for the customer is under two years, saving 10.5 million kWh and 1,900 tonnes of CO2 per year.

ROI period: 2 years

Energy recovered 2.1 MW

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Spirax-Sarco Limited, Charlton House, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 8ER, UK

T +44 (0)1242 521361 F +44 (0)1242 573342

E enquiries@uk.spiraxsarco.com

SB-P211-02 CH Issue 1 © Copyright 2014 Spirax Sarco is a registered trademark of Spirax-Sarco Limited

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