The waste-heat recovery in batch processes has been studied using the pinch-point method. The aim of the work has been to investigate theoretical and practical approaches to the design of heat-exchanger networks, including heat storage, for waste-heat recovery in batch processes. The study is limited to the incorporation of energy-storage systems based on fixed-temperature variable-mass stores. The background for preferring this to the alternatives (variable-temperature fixed-mass and constant-mass constant-temperature (latent-heat) stores) is given. It is shown that the maximum energy-saving targets as calculated by the pinch-point method (time average model, TAM) can be achieved by locating energy stores at either end of each process stream. This theoretically large number of heat-storage tanks (twice the number of process streams) can be reduced to just a few tanks. A simple procedure for determining a number of heat-storage tanks sufficient to achieve the maximum energy-saving targets as calculated by the pinch-point method is described. This procedure relies on combinatorial considerations, and could therefore be labeled the “combinatorial method” for incorporation of heat storage in heat-exchanger networks. Qualitative arguments justifying the procedure are presented. For simple systems, waste-heat recovery systems with only three heat-storage temperatures (a hot storage, a cold storage, and a heat store at the pinch temperature) often can achieve the maximum energy-saving targets. Through case studies, six of which are presented, it is found that a theoretically large number of heat-storage tanks (twice the number of process streams) can be reduced to just a few tanks. The description of these six cases is intended to be sufficiently detailed to serve as benchmark cases for development of alternative methods.
Design of heat storage networks for repeatable batch processes
