Heat Recovery from Industrial Compressed Air Systems

By CAGI Promotional Subcommittee

The rise in energy prices is an unwelcome reality in todays manufacturing and business
environment. And while the rate of price increases for natural gas, heating oil and electricity
may vary from year to year, the upward trajectory is clear. Energy cost reduction strategies are
vital to staying competitive.

Related considerations are protection of the environment and the focus on sustainable growth.
Some industries are under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, and many
companies are proactively taking steps to do so.

With manufacturing plants and other facilities doing what they can to streamline their operations
and improve efficiencies, facility engineers face the challenges of optimizing the energy
efficiency of their operations and extracting as much productivity out of every unit of energy
consumed and paid for.

Compressed Air as an Energy Source

One important way operational efficiencies can be increased is by harnessing heat from
compressed air systems, which make up a significant share of industrial energy consumption.

The law of thermodynamics and the principle of the conservation of energy tell us that energy
isnt created or destroyed; it can only change form. The air that enters a compressor at
atmospheric pressure has a base level of energy content. After the compression process
increases the air pressure and raises its temperature, the energy becomes available for transfer.
The heat must be removed to maintain proper compressor operating temperatures and to cool the
compressed air to make it suitable for plant use.

The heat generated by compressed air systems can be a very good source of energy savings. In
fact, nearly all (96%) of the electrical energy used by an industrial air compressor is converted
into heat. (The balance remains in the compressed air or radiates from the compressor into the
immediate surroundings.)

Too often, that heat is simply ejected into the ambient environment through the compressor
cooling system. But heres the good news: Nearly all this thermal energy can be recovered and
put to useful work and significantly lower a facilitys energy costs. Some uses of recovered
energy from compressed air systems:

Supplemental space heating

Heat Recovery with Rotary Screw Compressors

The most common compressor equipment found in manufacturing plants is the air-cooled,
lubricated rotary screw design. The amount of heat recovered using these systems will vary if
the compressor has a variable load. But in general, very good results will be achieved when the
primary air compressor package is an oil-injected rotary screw type design.

Oil-less rotary screw compressors are also well-suited for heat recovery activities. As with other
compressor systems, the input electrical energy is converted into heat. Because they operate at
much higher internal temperatures than fluid injected compressors, they produce greater
discharge temperatures (as high as 300F or even greater).

Warm Air Applications

Capturing warm air is easily accomplished by ducting the air from the compressor package to an
area that requires heating. The air is heated by passing it across the compressors aftercooler and
lubricant cooler. This extracts heat from the compressed air as well as the lubricant, improving
both air quality and extending lubricant life.

By integrating standard HVAC ductwork and controls, warm exhaust air from compressors can
be channeled to remove or provide heat in the compressor room and adjacent areas. Typical uses
include:

Heating for warehouses or storerooms

Nearly all current models have cabinets that channel airflow through the compressor, and many
current designs exhaust warm out the top of the unit. This simplifies adapting compressors for
space heating to the installation of ducting and (sometimes) a supplemental fan to handle duct
loading and eliminate back pressure on the compressor cooling fan.

Space heating can be regulated easily using thermostatically controlled, motorized louver flaps
for venting, thereby maintaining consistent room temperature by making continuous adjustments
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to the heating air flow. This also means that when heating is not required, the hot air can be
ducted outside the building to reduce cooling costs.

Water/Fluid Heating

Rejected heat can also be used to heat water or other process fluids. It can be done with either
air-cooled or water-cooled compressors, although the best efficiencies are usually obtained from
water-cooled compressor installations where discharge cooling water is connected directly to a
continuous process heating application such as a heating boilers return circuit for year-round
energy savings.

The key to heat recovery effectiveness with water-cooled compressors is attaining a thermal
match between the heat being recovered and the heat that is needed on a regular (hourly) basis.

Plate heat exchangers offer a cost-effective way to capture heat from the rotary screw
compressor and utilize it to heat water for diverse processes such as electroplating, chemical
processing and laundry services.

Fail-safe heat exchangers provide additional protection against contamination of process water
or fluids by the compressor cooling fluid. This makes them more suitable for heating
applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry sectors as well as for heating potable
water.

Some compressor manufacturers offer built-in heat recovery heat exchangers as options. In
some cases, they are fully integrated inside the compressor cabinet and require very little onsite
engineering.

Energy Savings and More

Most process applications in production facilities can benefit from heat recovery from
compressed air systems throughout the year, not just during the cold-weather months. In most
space heating applications heat is required during three seasons. And during the warmer months,
removing the heat of compression will make the compressor room temperatures much more
comfortable. Maintaining proper ambient conditions will also improve compressor efficiency
and facilitate air treatment. Moreover, controlling operating temperatures will extend
compressor air equipment life.

Current energy costs make an investment in heat recovery systems highly attractive. However,
when attempting to calculate energy savings and payback periods for heat recovery efforts, its
important to compare heat recovery with the current source of energy for generating thermal
energy, such as relatively lower-cost natural gas.

Generally, the larger the system the faster the payback, but payback on heat recovery also
depends on the amount of rejected heat that can be used, and the cost of the alternative energy
source. After factoring in the installation cost, its possible that smaller systems will not provide
enough recoverable BTUs of energy to make the investment worthwhile.

Naturally, higher energy savings will be realized when the alternative heating source is an older,
less efficient technology. Investing in newer, more efficient equipment may be more cost
effective. Many heaters are now operating at ~85% efficiency or better, and thus compressor
heat recovery activities will result in relatively less annual energy savings.

Beyond energy savings, an important argument can also be made that heat recovery activities
benefit the environment. After all, substantial energy savings also mean a reduction in the
carbon footprint of a plant. As energy policies and regulations continue to evolve in the United
States and other countries, these considerations are only expected to become more important.