Heat recovery opportunities in UK industry

A database of the heat demand, and surplus heat available, at United Kingdom industrial sites involved in the European Union Emissions Trading System, was used to estimate the technical potential of various heat recovery technologies. The options considered were recovery for use on-site, using heat exchangers; upgrading the heat to a higher temperature, using heat pumps; conversion of the heat energy to fulfill a chilling demand, using absorption chillers; conversion of the heat energy to electrical energy, using Rankine cycles; and transport of the heat to fulfill an off-site heat demand. A broad analysis of this type, which investigates a large number of sites, cannot accurately identify site level opportunities. However the analysis can provide an indicative assessment of the overall potential for different technologies. The greatest potential for reusing this surplus heat was found to be recovery at low temperatures, utilising heat exchangers; and in conversion to electricity, mostly using organic Rankine cycle technology. Both these technologies exist in commercial applications, but are not well established, support for their development and installation could increase their use. The overall surplus heat that was technically recoverable using a combination of these technologies was estimated at 52PJ/yr, saving 2.2MtCO2e/yr in comparison to supplying the energy outputs in a conventional manner. It is thought that a network and market for trading in heat and the wider use of district heating systems could open considerable potential for exporting heat from industrial sites to other users.

[1]  Y. Çengel,et al.  Thermodynamics : An Engineering Approach , 1989 .

[2]  Geoffrey P. Hammond,et al.  Exergy analysis of the United Kingdom energy system , 2001 .

[3]  R. Benstead.  Industrial heat pumps , 1988 .

[4]  Godfrey Boyle,et al.  Energy Systems and Sustainability , 2003 .

[5]  William T. Choate,et al.  Waste Heat Recovery. Technology and Opportunities in U.S. Industry , 2008 .

[6]  Addressing the barriers to utilisation of low grade heat from the thermal process industries , 2010 .

[7]  Geoffrey P. Hammond,et al.  Interdisciplinary perspectives on environmental appraisal and valuation techniques , 2006 .

[8]  A Hallsworth,et al.  Sustainable Consumption and Consumer Policy. A report to the Dept. of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. London BERR , 2008 .

[9]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  A review on transportation of heat energy over long distance: Exploratory development , 2009 .

[10]  W. Gool,et al.  The value of energy carriers , 1987 .

[11]  Deepak Gupta,et al.  Industrial Energy Efficiency , 2013 .

[12]  Patrik Thollander,et al.  Barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in the non-energy intensive manufacturing industry in Sweden , 2006 .

[13]  F. Moser,et al.  Heat pumps in industry , 1985 .

[14]  Rosemary Norman,et al.  Low grade thermal energy sources and uses from the process industry in the UK , 2012 .

[15]  N. Mazet,et al.  Comparative assessment of processes for the transportation of thermal energy over long distances , 2012 .

[16]  Sven Werner.  District Heating and Cooling , 2013 .

[17]  Stephen J. DeCanio,et al.  Barriers within firms to energy-efficient investments , 1993 .

[18]  Erwin H. Bulte,et al.  Does the Energy-Efficiency Paradox Exist? Technological Progress and Uncertainty , 2001 .

[19]  Conor J. Walsh,et al.  Barriers to improving energy efficiency within the process industries with a focus on low grade heat utilisation , 2012 .

[20]  Jonathan B. Norman,et al.  Spatial modelling of industrial heat loads and recovery potentials in the UK , 2010 .

[21]  Jin-Kuk Kim,et al.  Integrated design and optimization of technologies for utilizing low grade heat in process industries , 2014 .