Energy and economic assessments of waste heat recovery by designs of economizer, condensing economizer and air preheater

Abstract

In this study, the waste heat loss of flue gases from the boilers of Kafkas University district heating system has been calculated between 6-8% according to the combustion analysis and the annual cost of this heat loss has been found as $58,658.79. In terms of energy efficiency and the national economy, we think that this lost energy should be recovered as much as possible and fuel and energy savings should be achieved. In the paper, the effects of variants such as air excess coefficient, flue gas temperature, boiler capacity and fuel consumption on the heat recovery from flue gas have been presented in detail. The heat recovery scenarios have been presented for reusing this waste energy for space heating, domestic hot water, and preheating combustion air and the applicability of these scenarios has been investigated in terms of thermodynamics and economics. According to the results of the study, in the second scenario examined to cover the domestic hot water need of the guest house building, the energy savings of the scenario can be provided during 20 years of economic life is $122,820.83, and it has the highest savings income among the scenarios. In addition, it is possible to recover approximately 50% of the flue gas loss with thanks to the scenario. On the other hand, the third scenario of heating the boiler combustion air with waste heat is the easiest and most economical scenario because its payback period is only one year, and there are no extra excavation and pipe costs. © 2023 Gazi Universitesi Muhendislik-Mimarlik. All rights reserved.