Process Combustion Corporation specializes in providing fully integrated thermal oxidizer systems which many times include down stream heat recovery equipment and additional down stream pollution control equipment as required for the specific pollution control application. PCC supplies recuperative thermal oxidizers which integrate a Waste Heat Boiler into the complete system. If the application is such that the end user needs a thermal oxidizer system for pollution control and also has a need for steam, adding a Waste Heat Boiler to the thermal oxidizer system is a very effective way to recover energy that would otherwise be discharged to atmosphere. Typically the Waste Heat Boiler is located after the thermal oxidizer combustion chamber. The primary function of the Waste Heat Boiler is to utilize the thermal oxidizer hot products of combustion to generate steam which can be utilized within the end users production process, within their building facilities, within the thermal oxidizer system itself, or even sold to neighboring facilities that need steam. All of these options result in a financial benefit for the end user because their steam requirements are satisfied using the Waste Heat Boiler without the added capital and operating expense associated with a separate direct fired boiler system. Additional energy recovery & fuel conservation can be realized with the use of a Waste Heat Boiler as follows:
Adding a boiler feed water economizer to the Waste Heat Boiler. The boiler feed water economizer is basically a gas-liquid heat exchanger located after the boiler evaporator section. The economizer also uses a portion of the energy contained in the thermal oxidizer combustion gases (after the waste heat boiler) to preheat the boiler feed water before it enters the boiler evaporator section.
Using excess steam produced by the Waste Heat Boiler to preheat a waste gas or combustion air stream coming to the thermal oxidizer system. A waste gas or combustion air steam pre-heater uses the excess steam from the Waste Heat Boiler to preheat these streams prior to entering the thermal oxidizer. This reduces the thermal oxidizer auxiliary fuel use and therefore reduces the overall system operating costs.
Typical Waste Heat Boilers used on thermal oxidizer applications include firetube boilers and watertube boilers. Firetube boilers are generally used in smaller applications where the thermal oxidizer system heat release is below 20 MM Btu/hr and when high pressure steam is not required. For larger applications with high pressure steam requirements a watertube boiler is more suitable. There are many different process configurations available for integrating a Waste Heat Boiler into a recuperative thermal oxidizer system. PCC has supplied recuperative thermal oxidizer systems with a Waste Heat Boiler as the primary heat recovery device followed by multiple heat recovery devices such as combustion air and waste gas pre-heaters. Careful analysis of the end users emission requirements, steam requirements, process operating conditions, and operating cost objectives is our expertise. For additional information on waste heat boilers contact PCC directly or link to www.rentechboilers.com