Boiler Repair
Mechanical Construction
Project Details
A large meat packing plant in the Midwest was running into production limitations due to boiler capacity constraints. Instead of investing in a fourth boiler, the facility opted for a the installation of a condensing waste heat recovery system. This upgrade allowed the plant to meet increased steam demands using the existing three 750 HP firetube boilers.
The facility relied on PIC heaters to produce hot water for sanitation processes. These heaters mix steam directly with incoming cold water, consuming steam without returning it to the boiler system. As a result, significant volumes of fresh make-up water were continually required.
With the new heat recovery system installed, boiler exhaust gases are now used to preheat the water before it reaches the PIC heaters. By raising the incoming water temperature, the plant dramatically reduced the amount of steam needed for hot water generation, cutting down on overall steam load and improving energy efficiency.
By reducing fuel usage, the plant saw a corresponding drop in greenhouse gas and carbon emissions.
The condensing heat exchanger was specifically designed to cool flue gas below the dew point, allowing for water vapor to condense. This process recovers both the latent heat from the condensing vapor and the sensible heat from the lower exhaust temperatures—delivering significantly higher energy savings than traditional economizers.
Project Details
- Design: Single-coil configuration
- Exhaust Source: Common header for 3 boilers, space for future 4th
- Final Exhaust Gas Temp: 70°F
- Heat Sink: Process water at 1,000 GPM
- Incoming Water Temp: 45°F
- Heated Water Outlet Temp: 92°F
- Annual CO₂ Reduction: 8,155 tons
- Annual NOx Reduction: 5.46 tons
- Energy Recovered: 10 MMBTU/hr