Optimize your operations with industrial Energy Recovery
Industrial energy recovery is a key technology for businesses looking to optimize their operations, reduce carbon emissions, and achieve energy efficiency. By capturing and reusing waste heat, manufacturers can significantly lower their energy costs and environmental impact. Let’s explore how energy recovery systems can transform your industrial processes and evaluate the different solutions available for your site.
What is Energy Recovery or Waste Heat Recovery in Industrial Processes
Energy recovery or waste heat recovery, captures heat that would otherwise be lost from industrial processes, such as exhaust gases, cooling systems, and other heat-generating activities, and converts it into usable energy. This approach is essential to energy efficiency efforts, enabling businesses to transform waste energy into valuable resources like steam, hot water, or warm air. By reclaiming and repurposing this heat, industries can reduce energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and cut operating costs. JOA offers tailored solutions to help industries maximize the benefits of waste heat recovery efficiently.
How to recovery Heat from industrial processes
To recover heat efficiently, a strategic approach is necessary, ensuring that waste heat is captured from processes where it is most abundant and transferred to suitable applications. By integrating energy recovery systems, such as heat exchangers and heat pumps, it is possible to optimize heat transfer and make the best use of available energy resources.
Industrial Systems used for Recover Energy
At JOA Air Solutions, we offer energy recovery and waste heat recovery solutions tailored for the manufacturing industry. These systems are designed to capture and repurpose waste heat efficiently, converting it into usable energy resources like steam, hot water, or warm air. Our solutions help reduce energy consumption, lower emissions, and drive operational efficiency across industrial environments. Our solutions include:
Heat Exchangers
Heat Pumps
Energy Recovery Scrubbers
Dust Collection System with Integrated Heat Exchangers
*JOA is a global specialist in tailor-made industrial scrubbers and dust collection systems. We design solutions that integrate heat exchangers and heat pumps, ensuring effective upgrades of low-grade waste heat. JOA also assists with supplier selection and functions as a system integrator for complex projects, delivering end-to-end energy recovery solutions.
Application Examples of Recovered Heat in Industrial Operations
Heat recovery is most successful when appropriate consumers for the recovered heat are identified. Examples of heat consumers include:
Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV): Systems that preheat incoming air using heat from exhaust gases.
Process Heating: Reusing waste heat for industrial heating processes, enhancing overall efficiency.
Industrial Dryers: Incorporating recovered heat into drying processes reduces energy consumption and costs.
Heating of Site & Office Space: Utilizing recovered energy to maintain comfortable temperatures in workspaces.
Local Heating Networks: Supplying recovered heat to nearby neighbourhoods, supporting community energy needs.
Project Examples of effective Energy Recovery
Ammonium Sulfate Fertilizer Plant Case Study
At an ammonium sulfate fertilizer plant, JOA utilized an inline venturi scrubber effluent as process makeup water. The wet-scrubbing system provided both environmental and economic benefits, recovering exhaust air from dryers and flash towers to generate steam and hot water. The system achieved energy recovery efficiencies ranging from 70% to 85%.
Energy Efficiency Transition Project
In another project, JOA implemented heat exchanger solutions to support a plant’s transition towards energy efficiency. By managing polluted exhaust streams, the solution generated approximately 1,300 kg/h steam (equivalent to 1 MW) from residual heat. This approach significantly reduced the plant’s CO2 footprint and aligned with sustainability targets.
Benefits of improving Energy Efficiency on your site
Enhancing your site’s energy efficiency involves multiple strategies:
Reducing Consumption: Implementing measures to minimize energy use across processes.
Minimizing Waste: Optimizing systems to capture and utilize energy that would otherwise be lost.
Maximizing Recovery: Deploying efficient recovery systems to harness energy wherever possible.
Industries with Energy Recovery Potential
Some manufacturing processes are more energy-intensive than others. Industries that benefit most from energy recovery and energy efficiency projects, particularly those with high temperatures and intensive drying processes, include:
Food Production
Processes like baking, mixing and cooking frequently generate significant waste heat that can be recovered. Food Production has major potential for heat recovery.
Chemical Processing
High-temperature reactions and cooling systems during the production of chemicals are ideal for energy recovery solutions.
Paper & Materials Production
Heat recovery from drying paper and pulp processing can enhance energy efficiency.
Metal Processing
Smelting, casting, and other heat-intensive operations can integrate waste heat recovery systems.
Ingredients (Sugar, Starch, Cocoa, etc.)
These processes involve drying and heating, providing opportunities to effectively recovery waste heat for the manufacturing of ingredients.
By focusing on these areas, companies can achieve substantial energy savings and reduce operational costs.
Why you should focus on energy efficiency
Managing your energy resources effectively is crucial for the future of your site. Energy, especially heat, is a vital resource that is likely to become even more valuable due to resource scarcity. Reducing energy usage while maintaining output not only improves profitability but also aligns with global sustainability goals, including achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Why choose JOA for your Energy Recovery Project?
JOA offers a comprehensive approach to energy recovery by conducting professional assessments and custom solutions tailored to your site’s needs. Our process includes:
Measurements & Inspections
Collecting detailed data to assess energy flows.
Determining Heat Content
Analyzing sensible and latent heat for each source.
Assessing Pollution Risks
Evaluating the quality of exhaust streams.
Identifying Potential Consumers
Prioritizing closed-loop solutions to maximize efficiency.
Contact us
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Plan a short 30 minute meeting with one of our engineers who have experience with manufacturers worldwide, and start improving your industrial process.
Share details about your challenges
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Discuss what is happening at your site
Energy Recovery
JOA conducts thorough site assessments to evaluate all energy flows and potential recovery points. We use advanced monitoring and analysis tools to pinpoint where and how heat can be efficiently captured and reused.
JOA specializes in three main approaches:
- Air-to-Air: Capturing and reusing energy through air-based systems.
- Air-to-Steam: Converting waste heat into steam for process or space heating.
- Air-to-Water: Using captured heat to preheat or heat water, supporting various applications.
We focus on customized, site-specific solutions, ensuring that each project maximizes energy efficiency while fitting the specific needs and conditions of the plant. Our comprehensive approach includes data collection, system design, and system integration, ensuring successful implementation.
Common sources of waste heat in industrial settings include exhaust gases from combustion processes, hot air from drying systems, steam released during heating operations, and heat dissipated from cooling systems. Identifying these sources is the first step in designing an efficient waste heat recovery system.
The amount of energy savings depends on several factors, including the efficiency of the recovery system, relative humidity, the type of processes involved, and the quality of the waste heat. In many cases, companies can achieve energy savings of 10-30%, with some systems reaching up to 70-85% efficiency when optimized and integrated properly. Each project is unique, and JOA customizes solutions to maximize potential savings.
