Waste heat utilization using Intelligent Thermal Battery

In manufacturing processes, a significant amount of waste heat is often generated, and its utilization is of critical importance. In the case under study, the technology is heated using steam produced by a gas boiler. After the heat treatment cycle is completed, the system is cooled down using cooling towers.

With the help of thermal energy storage, thermal batteries can store the waste heat from the cooling water flowing into the cooling towers. This stored heat can later be used to preheat the make-up water required for steam generation, thereby reducing the load on the cooling towers.

By utilizing waste heat, the make-up water is preheated, thereby reducing the energy consumption of both the steam boiler and the cooling tower. In addition to easing the load on these systems, this also leads to lower maintenance costs and extends the operational lifetime of the equipment.

Savings calculation:

In the examined system, 10,500 kWh/day of thermal energy is available, which is sufficient for preheating the following amount of water.

Thus, the available waste heat enables the preheating of 362 m³ of water per day.

Based on the above calculations, preheating the make-up water can save 10,500 kWh of thermal energy per day. For the full year, assuming a steam-boiler efficiency of 95%, the savings are:

By utilizing the heat from the cooling water, the power consumption of the cooling towers is also reduced. The cooling tower's EER value is 125.