Waste heat recovery technologies and applications

TLDR

Industrial processes generate substantial waste heat that is typically lost to the environment, representing a significant opportunity for energy recovery. This review surveys waste heat recovery methodologies and cutting‑edge technologies applicable to industrial sectors such as steel, iron, food, and ceramics, aiming to assess current practices and optimization opportunities. The authors evaluate a broad array of recovery devices—including recuperators, regenerators, heat wheels, preheaters, burners, heat exchangers, economisers, boilers, RAC units, condensation systems, heat pumps, HRSGs, heat pipes, ORC/Kalina cycles, and emerging thermoelectric, piezoelectric, thermionic, and TPV generators—detailing their operation, performance, and relative advantages and disadvantages.

Abstract

Industrial waste heat is the energy that is generated in industrial processes which is not put into any practical use and is lost, wasted and dumped into the environment. Recovering the waste heat can be conducted through various waste heat recovery technologies to provide valuable energy sources and reduce the overall energy consumption. In this paper, a comprehensive review is made of waste heat recovery methodologies and state of the art technologies used for industrial processes. By considering the heat recovery opportunities for energy optimisation in the steel and iron, food, and ceramic industries, a revision of the current practices and procedures is assessed. The research is conducted on the operation and performance of the commonly used technologies such as recuperators, regenerators, including furnace regenerators and rotary regenerators or heat wheels, passive air preheaters, regenerative and recuperative burners, plate heat exchangers and economisers and units such as waste heat boilers and run around coil (RAC). Techniques are considered such as direct contact condensation recovery, indirect contact condensation recovery, transport membrane condensation and the use of units such as heat pumps, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), heat pipe systems, Organic Rankine cycles, including the Kalina cycle, that recover and exchange waste heat with potential energy content. Furthermore, the uses of new emerging technologies for direct heat to power conversion such as thermoelectric, piezoelectric, thermionic, and thermo photo voltaic (TPV) power generation techniques are also explored and reviewed. In this regard, the functionality of all technologies and usage of each technique with respect to their advantages and disadvantages is evaluated and described.