The benefits of heat regeneration in heat exchanger systems

10 July, 2020

Benefits of heat recovery

Heat recovery improves the energy efficiency of heat exchange processes. This can manifest itself in different ways depending on the type of heat exchanger and the installation in question.

The most obvious benefit of improved efficiency is that less energy is required to achieve the necessary level of heating or cooling. In turn, this reduces running costs and also improves the environmental footprint, compared to other exchangers which do not include heat recovery.

The lower initial energy requirement can also make it possible to utilise heat sources or heating media which would otherwise not be feasible. For example, if warm water is available, adding heat recovery may allow it to be used as a heating medium elsewhere in the process. Alternatively, the improvement in efficiency can be used to provide the same level of heat transfer but in a smaller package. When combined with technologies such as corrugated tubes, heat recovery can enable a heat exchanger to be installed in locations with restricted space or other limited factors.

Where energy input and space is not an issue, with all other factors being equal, the improved process efficiency provided by heat regeneration may allow faster processing or greater product treatment rates. Whatever lies behind the decision, utilising heat recovery when specifying a heat exchanger installation is good for your process, good for your wallet and good for the environment.

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Image caption -  Regenerating the heat used to pasteurise digestate can reduce overall energy requirements.