As the heater was being designed for a test site , we manufactured and supplied a 2m “ dummy ” section between the combustor and cooler to allow the system to be fully commissioned and operated without the very specialist heat recovery unit being in place . This means the system can be tested at varying heat load / temperature and air flow settings without the heat recovery unit being present to allow for the test protocol to be formalised and proved without risk to the heater battery .
A further adaptation to accommodate the test conditions included the mounting of the combustion chamber section on roller type feet to allow it to be moved to ease the installation of the differing heat exchanger sections .
Both the heater and cooler unit are made of carbon steel construction throughout and are fully ceramic lined ( including the dummy section ) to cope with the high operating temperatures . The system is natural gas fired and we also supplied a gas booster to provide up to 70 mbar of lift , plus a suitable in-line gas meter with analogue input to the MIXBLOC heater control system to display and re-transmit the gas consumption under test conditions .
The final unit consisted of a fully packaged plant complete with all controls and interfaces for both local and remote monitoring plus remote adjustment of set parameters prewired and mounted to the heater . Control is via Siemens PLC with touch screen HMI .
The innovative heat recovery technology developed by the I-ThERM project has already received significant interest across Europe from industrial organisations – especially those within the steel , cement , glass and petrochemical industries - looking to reduce their energy consumption and emissions whilst also increasing their global competitiveness . With an electrical power output of 50 kilowatt-electric ( kWe ), the sCO2 system is expected to deliver energy and GHG emission savings in excess of 15 % and ROI of under three years .
The technology has been recognised by the EC ’ s Innovation Radar , which identifies the most promising innovations . Professor Savvas Tassou , I-ThERM project coordinator and Director of the Institute of Energy
Futures , Brunel University London , states : “ The supercritical CO2 waste heat-to-power cycle is a unique technology and the first complete system to be operational in Europe .” The project has further funding to develop advanced heat exchanger and controls for full scale industrial sCO2 heat to power systems .
Babcock Wanson offers a complete range of products and services for boiler houses and other process heating needs .
For further information , please visit www . babcock-wanson . com
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