On-Site Experimental Study on Low-Temperature Deep Waste Heat Recovery of Actual Flue Gas from the Reformer of Hydrogen Production

Lianbo Mu, Suilin Wang (), Guichang Liu, Junhui Lu, Yuncheng Lan, Liqiu Zhao and Jincheng Liu
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Lianbo Mu: School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Institute of Waste Energy Utilization and Energy Saving, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Suilin Wang: School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Institute of Waste Energy Utilization and Energy Saving, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Guichang Liu: Department of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, China
Junhui Lu: School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Institute of Waste Energy Utilization and Energy Saving, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Yuncheng Lan: School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Institute of Waste Energy Utilization and Energy Saving, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Liqiu Zhao: Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co., Ltd., Binzhou 256500, China
Jincheng Liu: Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co., Ltd., Binzhou 256500, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: Improving the energy-saving efficiency of flue gas deep waste heat and reducing the emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants have been two issues that need to be paid attention to in petrochemical heating furnaces. A hydrogen production reformer with high energy consumption and high carbon emissions in the petroleum refining process affects the thermal and productive efficiency of the hydrogen production, amounts of heat from flue gas are wasted with the exhausted corrosive gas of the reformer, and latent heat is not recovered. To recover the sensible and latent heat from the exhausted gas, a new anti-corrosion, high-efficiency, and low-pressure-drop flue gas condensing heat exchanger (FGCHE) with low consumption and pressure drop was developed. The energy-saving performance was evaluated through on-site measurements and theoretical analysis. The results show that the exhausted gas temperature was reduced from 161.3~175.9 °C to 33.9~38.9 °C after using the new FGCHE to recover waste heat. The energy-saving efficiency and the utilization ratio of flue gas waste heat were 12~16.1% and 74~81.9%, respectively. The latent heat accounted for 41.3~48.1% of the total recovered heat. The exergy efficiency and the total thermal efficiency of the reformer reached 73~86.8% and 95.2~96.6%, respectively. The condensation in the flue gas reduced pollutant emissions (SO 2 and NO x ). This paper provides a practical application reference for the technology development of waste heat recovery and the application of an FGCHE for petrochemical heating furnaces.

Keywords: hydrogen production unit; exhausted gas; low-temperature waste heat; heat recovery; on-site measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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