Thermal Oxidiser Exhaust Heat Recovery
This facility is one of many that manufactures fresh bread and roll products servicing the Northeast region of the United States. The plant is equipped with three manufacturing lines that operate continuously on a 24/5 basis. Building makeup air is heated with natural gas; tray wash water is heated with natural gas and electricity; and domestic hot water (DHW) is heated with steam.
Thermal Energy International (TEI) helped the facility to obtain state funding to evaluate the feasibility of displacing natural gas consumption with waste heat from the plant’s existing thermal oxidiser exhaust. Following TEI’s study which projected energy savings of over $94,000 annually, the state assisted in financing the project’s implementation.
TEI engineers built a heat recovery system to deliver waste heat to two existing gas-fired makeup air units and three boiler make-up water streams. In addition, the initiative included:
- installation of a glycol heating distribution system;
- modifications to existing makeup air units;
- installation of three new make-up water heat exchangers; and
- installation of one new heat exchanger for DHW.
Natural gas metering of building makeup air and tray wash water was conducted after the new system became fully operational. In comparison with historical natural gas consumption, a payback of less than two years was projected. Although difficult to measure, the facility has also reduced its use of steam as a result of the recovered heat used for DHW.
Explore More Food & Beverage Case Studies
Speak to our team
Complete the form to speak with a thermal energy specialist about heat recovery, steam trap optimisation, and proven solutions that deliver rapid payback and measurable carbon reduction.