Waste Heat Recovery Unit for Energy Intensive Industries Thermoelectricity Harvesting

Abstract

It is proven that the carbon footprint associated with various human activities leads to a steady increase in global mean temperature. Most of the gases that human activity emits into the atmosphere are due to the industrial processes that require a lot of energy. A large part of the energy consumed in the industry is dissipated as heat. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in the construction of waste heat recovery systems as guarantors of energy return systems.Within this context, this paper presents the model, simulation and results of the waste Heat Recovery Unit (HEAT-RU), intended for use in energy demanding industries (iron & steel, petrochemical, etc.). It is based on the use of thermoelectrical generator (TEG) cells. It is proposed as a modular solution to be installed on any hot surface, such as a pipe or chimney. In industrial applications, harvested energy is converted to a stable 14 VDC, and then reinjected to the main 230 VAC grid. Also, the HEAT-RU device can be fully sensed for gathering information of the process. Data are wireless sent to a gateway.The contribution of this paper is to establish a methodology for building a heat recovery system for widespread use in waste heat processes. In fact, a system consisting of several HEAT-RUs working in parallel is already operating at Bodegas Torres’ biomass boiler. Collected experimental data are presented in this paper and compared with the theoretical expected results.