Waste Heat Recovery Systems

Generally, waste heat is released into the atmosphere after cooling it using a cooling system. However, there are ways in which this waste energy can be harnessed, by using this released heat. Waste energy thus represents an important alternative energy source. Because it complements traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels or electricity for instance, waste heat recovery has significant environmental benefits.

The primary concern in a waste heat recovery system is to monitor the temperature of the system. The ideal temperature that water in most domestic heating systems is required to achieve is around 60 and 105˚C. Higher temperatures are not desirable for considerations of public safety. In addition, transfer of the heating media immediately outside the generation area is not desirable in order to avoid any danger of contamination due to hydrocarbons. This problem can be resolved by incorporating a heat exchanger, such as plate exchangers, to separate the heat recovery media from the heating system.